China has moved to prevent online peer-to-peer cash loans as more of its citizens struggle to pay back their debts. In the midst of a global move towards decentralising finance, China is working in the opposite direction, pushing for a more tightly controlled, centralised lending process.

In May, the Trump administration allowed U.S. credit card firms – including Visa and Mastercard – to access China’s market. But with China skipping credit cards and going straight for digital payments, these credit companies may have no place in the Chinese economy.

Whether driving Lamborghinis or splashing out at Louis Vuitton, the 20-something sons and daughters of China’s wealthiest business moguls are living the life. But as a nation in the midst of an anti-austerity drive, no one in China likes a show-off. Are the fu’erdai really as bad as their rep?

Rapidly shifting market forces have made China the largest and most sophisticated digital (and notably mobile) payment market in the world. In turn, these forces are also changing consumer behaviour and pushing the country’s consumers towards a society that no longer uses cash.