A BRIEF HISTORY OF PAYMENTS
Debt pre-dated money, and even when money is gone, we’ll still have debt and credit. Many texts claim that barter pre-dated money, but this is not true – as barter was only suitable between parties that did not meet often and had very specific needs. From ancient times, people have used debt to do business. You sell me what I need now, and I’ll pay you back later when I have sufficient resources.
Humans have always conducted commerce and exchanged goods for money. And money has evolved to meet the changing needs of exchange, acting as the acceptable ‘middle-man’ in transactions. Money, no matter what form it takes must be valued by both parties to make the exchange acceptable. At one time it was a pile of conch shells, then precious metals, and now it can be a note in a purse, a digital record in a bank account or a cryptocurrency in a digital wallet. It can still be a gold bar too!