"Professor He Liping and Dr. Zhao Yao take history as a mirror, reality as the background, and the future as the orientation. They review, systematically and in depth, the long-term evolution of cross-border payments, revealing the flesh-and-blood links between cross-border payments and the international economy and monetary evolution. They explore the institutional change and technological innovation of cross-border payments, as well as the far-reaching impact of the digital age on the accelerating evolution of the cross-border payment system. As a pioneering work in the global history of cross-border payments, this book can serve as an important reference for finance scholars and professionals in the field. I believe it will benefit academic prosperity and progress."
—— Zhang Xiaojing, Researcher at the Institute of Finance, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Director of the National Institution for Finance & Development

"Payment and cross-border payment instruments are indispensable to the establishment of human social relations, closely tied to the breadth and depth of commodity exchange and trade, and deeply shaped by the technological systems and credit cultures of every era and nation. They are also a mirror reflecting the economic and trade-financial development level of each country. A Global History of Cross-Border Payments is broad in vision and richly documented; it tells us the past and present of payment and cross-border payment, and will surely inspire us to look ahead to its future."
—— Chen Weidong, Director of the Bank of China Research Institute; Secretary-General of the China International Finance Society

"The rapid development of digital technology has brought important opportunities and challenges to the evolution of the international payment system. Professor He Liping and Dr. Zhao Yao take history as a mirror and systematically study the development path and major events of human cross-border payments, distill fundamental lessons, explore future trends, and envision the current state and future evolution of digitally driven cross-border retail payments. As a pioneering work in the economic and historical study of cross-border payments, this book holds important reference value for those concerned with or researching cross-border payments and the international monetary system."
—— He Dong, Deputy Director of the IMF Capital Markets Department; Member of the China Finance 40 Forum

★ Written by He Liping, professor at Beijing Normal University (PhD, SOAS University of London), with his doctoral student Zhao Yao. A leading scholar of international finance and monetary history, He is the author of A History of World Finance and Hyperinflation: A World History.
★ Foreword by Zhang Xiaohui, former dean of Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance and former assistant governor of the People's Bank of China. Recommended by Zhang Xiaojing (CASS / National Institution for Finance & Development), Chen Weidong (Bank of China Research Institute), and He Dong (IMF Capital Markets Department).
★ From Maldivian cowries and the Tang-dynasty "flying money" to the Medici bills of exchange and SWIFT, the book traces the evolution of payments behind world trade through a global-historical lens.
★ Engaging the digital economy and digital currency, it analyzes the decline of traditional correspondent banking and presents new prospects for the e-CNY and cross-border settlement.
★ A cross-border payments history for scholars and general readers alike, it charts the evolution of credit from cowrie shells to digital currency and offers a clear, systematic account for understanding today's global payment system.

Cross-border payments refer to the cross-country and cross-region transfer of funds that settles international creditor-debtor relations arising from international trade, investment, and other activities between two or more countries or regions, through designated settlement instruments and payment systems. Cross-border payments lie at the core of international trade and economic activity and are of great significance to globalization.

Throughout the global evolution of cross-border payments, such payments emerged and grew alongside the continuous development of the international division of labor and cross-border exchange.

This book traces the evolution from cowrie shells, gold and silver coins, and paper money to non-cash instruments such as bills of exchange, and on to the digital currencies now developing rapidly. Along the way it explains the development of related monetary systems, the roles of central and commercial banks in payment systems, and the prospects for the e-CNY.

Comprehensive and theoretically grounded, the book offers high academic reference value and serves as an accessible introduction for general readers seeking to understand the history of cross-border payments.

He Liping
Professor at the School of Economics and Business Administration, Beijing Normal University; vice president of the China Society of World Economics and member of the academic committee of the China International Finance Society. MA from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1987), PhD in Economics from SOAS, University of London (1996); Fulbright visiting scholar at Columbia Business School (2002–2003). Long engaged in research on the world economy, international finance, and monetary history. Recent works include Research on the RMB–USD Exchange Rate (Economic Science Press, 2023), A History of World Finance: From Origins to the Formation of the Modern System (China Financial Publishing House, 2022), and Hyperinflation: A World History (Routledge, 2018).

Zhao Yao
PhD at the School of Economics and Business Administration, Beijing Normal University; researches monetary theory and policy. Works on digital finance and digital currency in theory and practice; previously at a major state-owned commercial bank and a financial regulator. Published in core Chinese academic journals including Financial Research, Finance Forum, and Financial Review. Author of Mobile Finance + Inclusive Finance: Theory and Practice (China Financial Publishing House, 2015) and Financial Development, FinTech and Economic Growth (China Financial Publishing House, 2023). Won a ministerial-level third prize from the People's Bank of China.

Preface / Zhang Xiaohui — I
Introduction: Basic Features and Development of Cross-Border Payments
Chapter 1 — The Birth of Cross-Border Payments and Money
The Prevalence of Barter in Early Human Society — 015
"Bi" First Appeared in Cross-Border Payments Between Tribes — 020
Were Cowrie Shells the Earliest Cross-Border Payment Instrument? — 025
Cross-Border Payments in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods — 033
Cross-Border Payments on the Ancient Silk Road — 039
Gold and Silver Coins Going Abroad — 048
Chapter 2 — The Gold–Silver Competition in Cross-Border Payment History
Centralizing and Networking Forces Driving Cross-Border Payment Development — 065
The Historical "Gold Empire" — 072
The Historical "Silver Empire" — 082
Cross-Border Payments and the Global Flow of Silver — 086
Why Did the Gold Standard Win? — 092
The Rise of Multilateral Cross-Border Payments — 104
Chapter 3 — The Development of Banks and Non-Cash Cross-Border Payment Instruments
The Relationship Between Tang "Flying Money" and Bills of Exchange — 112
The Knights Templar as a Closed-Loop Operator System — 117
The Medici Bank and the Creation of Medieval European Bills of Exchange — 122
The Rise of Deposit Banks and Their Role in Cross-Border Payments — 132
The Spread of Correspondent Banking and New Developments in the Bill System — 139
Traditional and Semi-Traditional Cross-Border Payment Systems — 150
Chapter 4 — Cross-Border Payments in the 20th Century
The Dollar Becomes the Dominant International Currency in the Latter Half of the 20th Century — 160
Intergovernmental Multilateral Payment Organizations Take the Stage — 167
Commercial Banks Become the Main Providers of Cross-Border Payment Services — 175
Central Banks Become the Builders of Domestic Payment Systems — 185
Card Networks and Cross-Border Retail Payments — 191
The Creation and Development of the Euro-Area Settlement System — 197
Infrastructure for Cross-Border Payment International Networks — 204
Chapter 5 — Cross-Border Payments in the Digital Age and Their Future
The Arrival of the Digital Age and Its Impact on Cross-Border Payments — 219
The Rise of PayPal and the Emergence of Mobile Payments in China — 225
The Popularity of Cross-Border Retail Payments and the Decline of Traditional Correspondent Banking — 232
Crypto Frenzy and Facebook's "Idea" — 238
Cross-Border Payment Challenges and Transformation — 247
Digital Currency and the e-CNY — 261
References
Index
Postscript: Lessons from the International Development of Cross-Border Payments
Acknowledgments

Cross-border payment activity appeared at the dawn of humanity; the economic exchanges and barter between different tribes and clans in ancient times may have been the earliest form of cross-border payment. In that era, many kinds of objects served as cross-border payment instruments, and the cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives were very likely the cross-border payment instrument used in China during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Since the Middle Ages, the field of cross-border payments has undergone several major innovations and leaps. From the Tang-dynasty "flying money" to the Medici family's private transnational bank, from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), from mobile payments to digital currency—every transformation in global cross-border payments vividly demonstrates the indispensable role that innovation-driven development has played in this evolution. Especially since the 21st century, with the acceleration of globalization and the rapid development of digital technology—particularly the rise of network and communication technologies—payment methods and cross-border payments are undergoing a new round of major historical change, continuously driving the further integration of the global economy and finance.

First, cross-border payments provide solid support for economic development and trade convenience. The establishment and expansion of global industrial chains require an efficient and secure international payment system, and the convenience and efficiency of cross-border payments directly affect the international business activities of enterprises and individuals, playing an irreplaceable role in promoting global economic growth and cooperation.

Second, payment and cross-border payment, as core components of the financial system, closely connect the global economy with global finance, and their stability is directly related to the health of the global financial system. As a key link in the global economy, the importance of payment and cross-border payment is increasingly evident.

Finally, cross-border payments have a direct and far-reaching impact on the status of international currencies. Historically, the pound sterling and the US dollar achieved significant international currency status in the first and second halves of the 20th century respectively, precisely because of the rapid development of domestic and cross-border payments in those two countries. In today's world, as a major trading nation and a large balance-of-payments country, China's renminbi should rationally play a greater role in the world economy and trade. In the process of RMB internationalization, the great development of China's cross-border payment industry will inevitably play a key role in promoting the widespread use of the renminbi in the international economic system.

As an emerging industry of important stature, cross-border payments and domestic payments are increasingly interacting frequently and closely, jointly providing important support for the high-quality development of China's economy. Domestic payment, as the foundation and starting point of cross-border payment, must be given attention in its development. In the early and middle stages of reform and opening up, because China's domestic payment development lagged relatively, cross-border payments involving China mainly applied foreign achievements and norms in cross-border payment. Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the continuous growth of China's economy and the emergence and continuous innovation of new digital technologies, China's payment industry has undergone fundamental changes. A number of domestic enterprises have risen and marched into the international market, becoming new and important players in the global cross-border payment field. It can be foreseen that in the future China will play an even more significant role in the global cross-border payment industry, providing strong support for the良性 interaction between domestic and cross-border payments, and helping the high-quality development of China's economy.

It is regrettable that payment, especially cross-border payment, was relatively neglected and under-researched in China's academic circles in the past... Today, both academic and industry circles need to strengthen comprehensive research on payment and cross-border payment...

Professor He Liping has long been engaged in the research and teaching of international finance and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. He led his doctoral student Zhao Yao, roaming the sea of history, and over several years finally completed this Global History of Cross-Border Payments, filling a gap in the historical research on cross-border payments in China.