handler from one part of the world to the other part. These money handlers (akin to today’s banks) formed a closely knit network based on kinship.
People of a specific family, who were good at this work, lived in different parts of the world. A signed document from one family member to lend or accept money was enough for the other family member to oblige. Economist Avner Greif has highlighted this aspect very well in his research on medieval trade practices, especially the maghribi traders.
Of course, signatures can be forged. This was a problem in the older times as well as the modern one. In the older times, the professionals who involved themselves in this trade had other subtle ways of checking the authenticity of the signatures (specific mark on the paper, the quality of paper, etc).
In the early days of modern banking, cheques only used to be accepted when clerks used to pull out those bulky registers and countercheck with the original signature. It might seem a time-consuming exercise now, but in those days there were not many people who had bank accounts.
People used to withdraw money only sparely; keeping money at homes was still pretty much in vogue, and the money did not change hands that fast as happens today (in econo speak it’s called velocity of money). So it was feasible to compare signatures through account cards. But as the number of accounts grew, the practice became unfeasible. Instead, the register counter cheques became random. Usually a percentage of signed cheques would be matched with the original ones in order to verify the authenticity.
Modern-day signatures are not as important as they used to be. Their relatively low importance in commercial and financial transactions owes to the fact that there are now numerous ways of detecting fraud other than via signatures. For example, you cannot use a debit or credit card without a pin number.
In case of smaller transactions of credit and debit cards, some people don’t even sign. They in fact draw different shapes or put a cross. But it’s still useful to sign your signatures rather than draw a shape or cut the signature line. That’s because in case you lose a credit card or debit card, or a cheque and it is used somewhere, then the disputed transaction will be resolved through comparing signatures.
So the next time you try to be cheeky and draw a smiley or something in place of a signature, you might just want to state your signature. It’s a tradition that is thousands of years old, and some traditions are worth keeping alive.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
Email: shahid.mohmand@gmail.com
Twitter: ShahidMohmand79
The Supreme Court’s decision to abandon 50 years of judicial precedent on a woman’s constitutional right to...
On April 25, Twitter’s board of directors announced an agreement to sell the company to Elon Musk, the world’s...
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan may have a charismatic personality but charisma is of no use without...
Recently, the Punjab government, notably spokesperson for the government and Minister Attaullah Tarar, has spoken...
During election season, our politicians cleverly tap into one of the best resources of our country – our youth. The...
There are lessons to be learnt from the failures of the last six years. But can Pakistanis nurture the audacity to...
Comments