Rabah Arezki is director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and a faculty affiliate at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He previously served as vice-president and chief economist at the African Development Bank and as chief economist for the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa region, where he led the Bank’s initiative on digital-payment connectivity across the Middle East and Africa.
Social media inspired revolutions that autocrats quickly smothered. Digital payments are different: Rulers cannot switch them off without ruining their own economies. Quietly, they enrich citizens, broaden markets, and build the foundations for a freer society.
