The emergence of bills of exchange in the late medieval and early modern periods in Europe

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to trace the emergence of bills of exchange in the late medieval and early modern periods in Europe and to discuss the primary reasons for the increased use of bills of exchange, which include: the need for cashless settlements; credit lending by merchant bankers; negotiability through agency; and avoiding charges of usury. Double-entry bookkeeping played a key role in facilitating each of these activities. The contribution of this article is to develop a better understanding of the emergence of bills of exchange and the origins of double entry bookkeeping in Northern Italy in the thirteenth century.