Waiting for the beep that clears our payment at the checkout can feel like forever. Considering all the parties that have to be called up, it is astonishingly quick. Platforms like Apple or Google are only among the more recent additions to this multitude of intermediaries that process our payments. However, payment has become platformized long before tech companies became involved. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, this talk will expand the toolkit developed for analyzing digital platforms to explore how payment providers shape encounters between payers and payees, and in the process, remake money.

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Markus Unternährer is a sociologist specializing in the study of technologies and the digital economy. He researches how technology is shaped by and shapes society. His most recent project examines the technologies and social relations that make money move. He is also a father, wrestler, and farmer.