In presenting the development of credit relationships and payments in a chronological manner, this chapter begins with barter schemes, which invokes the notion that economic activity can be carried out without a means of payment and settlement. This is then followed by outlining the idea of commodity money as a means of payment. Given the drawbacks of settlement in precious metal coins, the chapter then describes how the adoption of credit instruments by way of promissory notes—and in particular, by combining promissory notes with endorsement—ushered in the first paper-based means of payments. The chapter concludes by discussing the limitations of early paper-based means of payments.