Elliott & Thompson to publish deep dive into ways money moves

Elliott & Thompson will publish The Pay Off, a "brilliantly engaging and accessible" exploration of how money moves and where global financial power really lies.

Director Olivia Bays acquired world rights direct from the authors, Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Terán. The title will be published on 1st April 2021. 

The synopsis reads: "How we pay is so fundamental that it underpins everything – from trade to taxation, stocks and savings to salaries, pensions and pocket money. Rich or poor, criminal, Communist or capitalist, we all rely on the same payments system, day in, day out. That system sits between us and economic meltdown and a total breakdown in law and order. Why then do we know so little about how it really works? Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Terán shine a light on the hidden workings of the humble payment and in so doing reveal how payments affect every part of our lives."

Bays commented: "Gottfried and Natasha wear their considerable expertise lightly in this authoritative, accessible and entertaining deep dive into the way money moves (or doesn’t) and the global forces shaping the way we pay. Perfect for fans of Tim Marshall, David Graeber and Michael Lewis, The Pay Off is intelligent non-fiction for the reader who wants to better understand the world we live in."

Leibbrandt is the former c.e.o. of SWIFT, the cross-border payments network, and de Terán is a former journalist, specialising in financial regulation and market structures. She has written for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Times and Financial Times and was the head of corporate affairs at SWIFT from 2012 to 2019.