Money history in UK
Throughout human history, the way that we pay for goods and services has been becoming progressively less tangible and more remote. Early human history was a barter economy. Then coins started appearing in the world around 600 BC, and the Romans brought them to Britain around the first century AD. The Royal Mint was founded in 886 and is the 10th oldest company on the planet. Cheques appeared around
1660 - issued by Goldsmith bankers for making loans. Banknotes - exchangeable for the equivalent value in gold - were produced in the UK from the mid-18th century. Wire transfers became possible around 1871. Around 1960, wages started to be paid direct into bank accounts, and the first ATM was introduced in 1967. The rate of change has accelerated rapidly over recent decades, with credit cards, debit cards, contactless, online banking, mobile banking and digital wallets. With each wave of innovation, money is less physical. and increasinglv has simply become a digitised number. As our relationship with money changes, the way that we authorise, understand and control our payments have changed at incredible pace over recent years. In 2022, 86% of payment transactions in the UK were digital, compared to 44% in 2012
