Welcome to Bitesize Payments: Digital. I’m Paul Thomalla.

You use money every day. You work for it. You worry about it. You plan your life around whether you have enough of it.

But what is it?

 Not what does it buy. Not how does it work. Not who controls it.

What actually is it?

This seems like an obvious question. Of course we know what money is. It’s the thing in your bank account. The numbers on your screen. The stuff you use to buy coffee.

 But here’s what’s strange: when you try to define it — really define it — the answers start falling apart.

 Is it the paper notes? No, many people don’t touch paper anymore.

Is it the gold backing it? No, we left that decades ago.

Is it what the government says it is? Maybe, but governments are losing control of that story.

Is it what banks track in their ledgers? Possibly.

So what is it, exactly?

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