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{{short description|Person or organization that exchanges the currency of one country for that of another}}
{{For|types of mechanical device|Coin dispenser|Change machine}}
[[File:Changeur juif - Tunisie - avant 1910.jpg|thumb|Money changer in [[Tunisia]]]]
A '''money changer''' is a person or organization whose business is the exchange of [[coin]]s or [[currency]] of one country for that of another.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/money%2520changer|title=Dictionary and Thesaurus {{!}} Merriam-Webster|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=2016-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042740/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/money%20changer|archive-date=2017-12-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> This trade was a predecessor of modern [[bank]]ing.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ycPK-fky31cC |title=Money, Banking and Credit in Mediaeval Bruges - Italian Merchant Bankers, Lombards and Money Changers - A Study in the Origins of Banking |author=Raymond De Roover |publisher=Read Books |date=2008 |page=464 |ISBN=978-1-4437-2609-2 }}</ref>

The advent of [[paper money]] in the mid-17th century and the development of [[history of banking|modern banking]] and [[floating exchange rates]] in the 20th century allowed a [[currency exchange]] market to develop. This provided a way for banks and other specialist financial companies such as [[bureaux de change]] and other similar financial entities to easily change one country's money for another, and with the added confidence of [[Transparency (market)|transparency]].

==History==
[[File:CastingoutMoneyChangers.jpg|thumb|[[Jesus]] casting out the money changers in [[Second Temple|Herod's Temple]]]]
[[File:Pietro di miniato, polittico con incoronazione della vergine, 1412-13, da s.matteo a prato 06.jpg|thumb|Money changer by [[Pietro di Miniato]], 1412.]]
{{See also|Cleansing of the Temple}}
In ancient times in [[Jerusalem]], pilgrims visiting the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Jewish Temple]] on [[Jewish Holy Days]] would change some of their money from the standard [[Ancient Greek coinage|Greek]] and [[Roman currency]] for [[Shekel|Jewish]] and [[Tyrian shekel|Tyrian money]], the latter two the only currencies accepted as payments inside the Temple.<ref name = "Sanders">Sanders, E. P. The historical figure of Jesus. Penguin, 1993.</ref><ref name = "JInt">[[Bart D. Ehrman|Ehrman, Bart D.]] [[Jesus, Interrupted]], HarperCollins, 2009. {{ISBN|0-06-117393-2}}</ref> With this Temple money the pilgrim would purchase a sacrificial animal, usually a pigeon or a lamb, in preparation for the following day's events.

During the [[Middle Ages]] in [[Europe]], many cities and towns issued their own coins, often carrying the face of a ruler, such as the regional baron or bishop. When outsiders, especially traveling [[merchants]], visited towns for a market fair, it became necessary to exchange foreign coins to local ones at local money changers. Money changers would assess a foreign coin for its type, [[wear and tear]], and [[counterfeit|validity]], then accept it as deposit, recording its value in local [[currency]]. The merchant could then withdraw the money in local currency to conduct trade or, more likely, keep it deposited: the money changer would act as a [[Giro (banking)#History and concept|clearing facility]].

As the size and operations of money changers grew they began to provide a lending facility, by adding the lending-fee to the foreign exchange rates. Later the [[Knights Templar]] provided this service to pilgrims traveling to and from the [[Holy Land]].<ref>Martin, Sean (2005). The Knights Templar: The History & Myths of the Legendary Military Order. p. 47, New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. {{ISBN|1-56025-645-1}}.</ref><ref>Nicholson, Helen (2001). The Knights Templar: A New History. p. 4, Stroud: Sutton. {{ISBN|0-7509-2517-5}}.</ref>

==See also==
[[File:Malawi_Kwacha_xchg_rates.JPG|thumb|The exchange rates list for [[Malawian kwacha]]. Note how [[Traveler's cheque]]s are given a lower value than regular banknotes.]]
* [[Bank of Amsterdam]]
* [[Central bank]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Banking occupations]]
[[Category:Banking technology]]
[[Category:Financial services occupations]]

Money changer - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article