Banker (ancient)

Long, long ago, in ancient times, people would keep their money and valuable possessions in their homes. However, this was pretty dangerous because thieves could easily break in and steal their stuff.

So, some clever people called bankers came up with an idea. They would keep people's money and valuable possessions in a safe place and charge a fee to do so. This way, people's items would be protected from robbers and they wouldn't have to worry about it at home.

But, people didn't just want their money to sit there. They wanted to be able to use it to buy things or even trade with other people. So the bankers came up with a way to help people use their money without actually having to give them the physical coins or money.

They would create a system of IOUs or promissory notes. These notes would represent the money that people had stored with the bank. So, if someone wanted to buy something, instead of giving the seller actual coins, they would give them the IOU or promissory note. Then the seller could go to the bank and exchange the note for actual money.

The bankers became very trusted members of the community because they had a lot of money and they didn't steal it. They would also lend money to people in need and charge interest. This meant that they would get a little extra money back when the person paid them back.

In summary, ancient bankers were people who kept other people's money and valuable possessions safe in a secure location, lent out money and charged interest, and helped people use their money without actually giving them physical coins by creating a system of IOUs or promissory notes.