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Florentine bill of exchange
Written bills of exchange (cambium) used by Florentine merchant bankers to settle cross-border trade and transfer credit without shipping large quant…
Timeline
- c. 1400–1460Florence · TuscanyFlorentine merchant guilds and bankers developed conventions for issuing, endorsing, and redeeming bills of exchange at a distance, using written cambio instruments to link local deposits with settlement at overseas branches.
- 1471–1480Florence · TuscanyUnder Lorenzo de' Medici, the Medici Bank made large-scale use of Florentine-format bills of exchange at its branches in Bruges, London, and Rome, supporting cross-border clearing of wool, spices, and church finances; bills of exchange became a key instrument of Florentine financial dominance.
Sources
- de Roover, Raymond. The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, 1397-1494 — Raymond de Roover (1963)