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I've heard this system compared to the old Renaissance Medici double entry banking system. It's possible that Italian bankers learned about this system and saw it as more secure than moving boxes of money and valuables around thus establishing the foundations of modern banking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medici_Bank

It's also pretty much how Western Union works.

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Yep! That was one of the realizations that dawned on me as I was writing that article in 2006 and carefully reading through de Roover's description of how the home Florence branch would transact with the foreign branches using drafts and other instrument: "hey, this is just like hawala! They would spend each other's money and occasionally balance the books with import/export deals."

interesting, i wasn't aware that the medicis pioneered the double entry accounting methods.

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