Banking in Ancient Rome

The ancient Romans, who were strongly influenced by Greek civilization, soon became acquainted with the banking concept that originally emerged from the Near East.

Following the same developmental sequence, the Roman banking was also initially linked to religious temples such as the temple of Artemis of Ephesus or Castor and Pollux in Rome. As time passed, the Roman bankers applied the same patterns found in Greece – they were in charge of receiving deposits, granting loans, maintaining accounts whose registers were accepted as proof in court; and managing customer’s assets. But, the Romans who were fond of administration also made significant progress in the administrative aspect of banking by making its institutions and practices more advanced and competitive. As a result of these efforts, in Roman times it was possible to transfer large sums of money between individuals or between places in different provinces without actually moving coins.

Various financial activities in ancient Rome have been the field of interest of two main groups of people − elite members of society and professional dealers in money.