"Global History of Cross-border Payments": Cross-border payments are undergoing a new round of changes
2024-08-17
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Cross-border payment activities appeared at the beginning of human beings. Economic exchanges and commodity exchanges between different tribes and clans in ancient times may be the earliest cross-border payments. At that time, a variety of commodities had served as cross-border payment tools. Seashells from the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives were probably the cross-border payment tools used in China during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Since the Middle Ages, the field of cross-border payments has experienced several major innovations and leaps. From the "flying money" of the Tang Dynasty in China to the private multinational bank of the Medici family, from the Bank for International Settlements to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication,From mobile payments to digital currencies, every change in the global cross-border payment field vividly demonstrates the indispensable role that innovation-driven and innovation-led play in this development process.Especially since the 21st century, with the acceleration of globalization and the rapid development of digital technology, especially the rise of network and communication technology, payment methods and cross-border payments are undergoing a new round of major historical changes, and continue to promote the further integration and development of the global economy and finance.
First, cross-border payments provide solid support for economic development and trade convenience. The establishment and expansion of the global industrial chain requires 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. Secondly, as a core component of the financial system, payments and cross-border payments closely connect the global economy and 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 payments and cross-border payments in the global economy is becoming increasingly prominent.Finally, cross-border payments have a direct and far-reaching impact on the status of international currency.
Historically, the British pound and the US dollar achieved significant international currency status in the first half and second half of the 20th century, respectively, which was inseparable from the rapid development of domestic and cross-border payments in the two countries. In today's world, as a major trading country and a major international balance of payments country, China should play a greater role in the world economy and trade in the future. In the process of RMB internationalization, the great development of China's cross-border payment industry will play a key role and promote the widespread use of RMB in the international economic system.
As an emerging industry with an important position, the interactive relationship between cross-border payments and domestic payments is becoming increasingly frequent and close, and together they provide important support for the high-quality development of China's economy. As the foundation and starting point of cross-border payments, the development of domestic payments must be taken seriously. In the early and middle stages of reform and opening up, due to the relatively backward development of domestic payments in my country, cross-border payments involving my country mainly applied foreign achievements and norms of cross-border payments. Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the sustained growth of China's economy and the emergence and continuous innovation of new digital technologies, my country's payment industry has undergone fundamental changes. A group of domestic companies have emerged and entered the international market, becoming new important players in the global field of cross-border payments. It can be foreseen that in the future, China will play a more significant role in the global cross-border payment industry, provide strong support for the benign interaction between domestic and cross-border payments, and help China's high-quality economic development. Regrettably,Payment, especially cross-border payment, has been relatively neglected and under-researched in the academic circles of my country in the past. This is mainly due to the fact that in the early and middle stages of reform and opening up, payment was mostly an "ancillary" business of banks, and payments by small and medium-sized enterprises and ordinary people mainly relied on cash. The "international settlement" discipline at that time was able to deal with most of the problems of cross-border payments. Compared with other issues in the economic and monetary and financial fields, the importance of domestic and cross-border payments has not received due attention, and few people have conducted in-depth research.
Today, it is necessary for both academia and industry to strengthen comprehensive research on payment and cross-border payment. This is because academic research on the origin of cross-border payment can help us better understand and respond to the ever-changing payment environment in the global economy, and provide strong support for building a more robust and innovative financial system.Innovative industry research on cross-border payments will enable us to seize the new opportunities for high-quality development brought about by digital technology and the digital economy, and better serve the real economy and people's livelihood construction.; Forward-looking policy research on cross-border payments urges us to seize the historical initiative in various complex international environments and lay a solid development condition and security foundation for the goal of building a financial power.
This book fills a gap in the historical research of my country's cross-border payment field, and has far-reaching practical significance for promoting innovative research in my country's cross-border payment field and promoting the application of new technologies such as digital currency.
(The author is the former dean of Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance and former assistant governor of the People’s Bank of China)
