How Transferring Money Has Changed Over The Years

Whether coins or notes, money makes it possible for people to acquire products and services. Today, whether you want to transfer money locally or internationally, there are numerous options that you can use.

However, not always been that way, and just like anything else, money transfer has undergone different stages and numerous developments over the years.

Evolution Of Money Transfer

International money transfer has a rich past that has continually changed with technology advancements and people traveling abroad from different continents. With technological advances, we have become more connected with everyone worldwide.

To understand the evolution of money transfer, you have to understand the different phases it has been through.

The hawala system

This is the first phase of money transfer, which did not involve physical money movement. It is an ancient system that dates back to the 8th century in South Asia.

It is a well-known system –in many parts of the world in different names. In Persia, it is known as “havelah” or “hundi,” and in Somalia, it is known as “xawilaad” or “xawala .” “Hawala” is an Arabic name meaning transfer.

Hawala was an informal system of transferring goods or money. If you wanted to send money, you would give it to an agent, who then sends your money via a network of hawala dealers. These dealers could be family members, friends, or trusted acquaintances.

The dealers could settle debts between people with services, property, or cash. This system mostly involved batter trading goods instead of currencies.

Coin and paper currency

Kling Alyattes created the initial known coin currency in Lydia, which is currently Turkey, in 600 B.C. The coins were called “trites” and were made using electrum, a naturally-occurring mixture of silver and gold. It had the head of a roaring lion on each side.

The initial paper currency originated from the Chinese Tang Dynasty. They were mainly used in China but became famous in other parts of the world around 1661 AD.

These types of currencies operated within limits of certain cities, towns, and countries, but with the growth of communities, banks had to develop a way to transfer money to further places.

Credit cards, telegraphs, and online money transfer

Western Union was established in 1851, and they began a telegraph service, which later became telegraph-based money transfer in 1871. The Federal Reserve Banks also started transferring currencies through telegraphs in 1918.

In the 1920s, some oil companies and department stores started giving their clients courtesy cards. These were metal cards that clients would only use at the specific store and pay for it every month.

John Biggins later introduced Charg-It in 1946, which was the start of credit cards. In 1973, SWIFT was founded, and it changed the operation of credit cards. It became a safe way to message money via an international banks system.

In 1999, European banks started money transfer through cell phones, and in 2008, the introduction of radio frequency identification allowed for touchless identification. It began in the United Kingdom but quickly became more popular in other parts of the world.

Money transfers today

Today, there are numerous ways to transfer money internationally and domestically, including bank-to-bank, mobile apps, and cryptocurrency. Today, numerous companies are offering digital money transfer services.

Before transferring money domestically or internationally, ensure you research and compare the different options to see which one suits your needs best.

If you want to transfer money locally from Western Union, you can visit their website and look for Western Union location near you.

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