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“The money supply is the blood of the economic body; when it flows freely, the economy prospers.” 

— Irving Fisher

In New York City, paying by check first became commonplace in the booming economy of the 1840s. 

This was a major financial innovation: Instead of walking out of the bank with a satchel of borrowed cash to pay for, say, a steamer full of Southern cotton at the docks, a merchant could have a loan credited to a checking account and then settle his purchases with a few strokes of the pen.

As banking expanded and commerce sped up, checks offered a safer, faster way…

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