James C. Fargo, president of the American Express Company, was well off and well known. It’s not surprising that he felt insulted when he couldn’t get cheques cashed during a trip to Europe in 1890. But the European bankers were steadfast. Fargo was not known to them. So they would not cash his cheques. Was an American always going to have a cash problem when travelling in Europe? An employee of the American Express Company, Marcellus F. Berry, set out to find a solution. He wrote later— “There’s one thing every person does in a distinctive way. That is writing his signature. Therefore the foolproof device for taking money to strange places must carry the signature of the bearer. It must declare that it will be cashed only when a second, and matching, signature is added before witnesses.” On July 7, 1891, Berry was granted four copyrights for what he called ‘the travellers cheque’, and William Fargo, James Fargo’s son, got the first one. He had no difficulty when he wanted fifty dollars a few weeks later in Leipzig, Germany. In 1891, American Express sold $9,120.00 worth of traveller’s cheques, and the amount has risen every year.
