We can obtain a better picture of the functions of money and the forms it has taken
over time by looking at the evolution of the payments system, the method of conducting
transactions in the economy. The payments system has been evolving over
centuries, and with it the form of money. At one point, precious metals such as gold
were used as the principal means of payment and were the main form of money. Later,
paper assets such as checks and currency began to be used in the payments system
and viewed as money. Where the payments system is heading has an important bearing
on how money will be defined in the future.
To obtain perspective on where the payments system is heading, it is worth exploring
how it has evolved. For any object to function as money, it must be universally acceptable;
everyone must be willing to take it in payment for goods and services. An object
that clearly has value to everyone is a likely candidate to serve as money, and a natural
choice is a precious metal such as gold or silver. Money made up of precious metals
or another valuable commodity is called commodity money, and from ancient
times until several hundred years ago, commodity money functioned as the medium
of exchange in all but the most primitive societies. The problem with a payments system
based exclusively on precious metals is that such a form of money is very heavy
and is hard to transport from one place to another. Imagine the holes you’d wear in
your pockets if you had to buy things only with coins! Indeed, for large purchases
such as a house, you’d have to rent a truck to transport the money payment.
The next development in the payments system was paper currency (pieces of paper
that function as a medium of exchange). Initially, paper currency carried a guarantee
that it was convertible into coins or into a quantity of precious metal. However, currency
has evolved into fiat money, paper currency decreed by governments as legal
tender (meaning that legally it must be accepted as payment for debts) but not convertible
into coins or precious metal. Paper currency has the advantage of being much
lighter than coins or precious metal, but it can be accepted as a medium of exchange
only if there is some trust in the authorities who issue it and if printing has reached a
sufficiently advanced stage that counterfeiting is extremely difficult. Because paper
currency has evolved into a legal arrangement, countries can change the currency that
they use at will. Indeed, this is currently a hot topic of debate in Europe, which has
adopted a unified currency (see Box 1).
Major drawbacks of paper currency and coins are that they are easily stolen and
can be expensive to transport in large amounts because of their bulk. To combat this
problem, another step in the evolution of the payments system occurred with the
development of modern banking: the invention of checks.
A check is an instruction from you to your bank to transfer money from your account
to someone else’s account when she deposits the check. Checks allow transactions to
over time by looking at the evolution of the payments system, the method of conducting
transactions in the economy. The payments system has been evolving over
centuries, and with it the form of money. At one point, precious metals such as gold
were used as the principal means of payment and were the main form of money. Later,
paper assets such as checks and currency began to be used in the payments system
and viewed as money. Where the payments system is heading has an important bearing
on how money will be defined in the future.
To obtain perspective on where the payments system is heading, it is worth exploring
how it has evolved. For any object to function as money, it must be universally acceptable;
everyone must be willing to take it in payment for goods and services. An object
that clearly has value to everyone is a likely candidate to serve as money, and a natural
choice is a precious metal such as gold or silver. Money made up of precious metals
or another valuable commodity is called commodity money, and from ancient
times until several hundred years ago, commodity money functioned as the medium
of exchange in all but the most primitive societies. The problem with a payments system
based exclusively on precious metals is that such a form of money is very heavy
and is hard to transport from one place to another. Imagine the holes you’d wear in
your pockets if you had to buy things only with coins! Indeed, for large purchases
such as a house, you’d have to rent a truck to transport the money payment.
The next development in the payments system was paper currency (pieces of paper
that function as a medium of exchange). Initially, paper currency carried a guarantee
that it was convertible into coins or into a quantity of precious metal. However, currency
has evolved into fiat money, paper currency decreed by governments as legal
tender (meaning that legally it must be accepted as payment for debts) but not convertible
into coins or precious metal. Paper currency has the advantage of being much
lighter than coins or precious metal, but it can be accepted as a medium of exchange
only if there is some trust in the authorities who issue it and if printing has reached a
sufficiently advanced stage that counterfeiting is extremely difficult. Because paper
currency has evolved into a legal arrangement, countries can change the currency that
they use at will. Indeed, this is currently a hot topic of debate in Europe, which has
adopted a unified currency (see Box 1).
Major drawbacks of paper currency and coins are that they are easily stolen and
can be expensive to transport in large amounts because of their bulk. To combat this
problem, another step in the evolution of the payments system occurred with the
development of modern banking: the invention of checks.
A check is an instruction from you to your bank to transfer money from your account
to someone else’s account when she deposits the check. Checks allow transactions to
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