ABSTRACT
A cheque has certain advantages compared with a bank note. It can be made out for the exact sum required, whereas bank-notes are for round sums: moreover, a cheque can be made payable to “ the order of ” a particular person, and in order to obtain the money that person must " endorse ” the cheque, i.e., write his name on the back of it. A thief, therefore, would have to commit the heavily punishable crime of forgery in order to cash the cheque. On the other hand, cheques are not suitable for making payments to persons who do not possess banking accounts. The cheque system, therefore, will only develop in places where there are a large number of people with banking accounts. This was the case in London. Moreover, the popularity of the Bank of England notes probably made it difficult for the other London banks to develop on note issuing lines.
