Ever since the Iberia-Apennine Common Market had been established, Joseph had wanted to create an international trade settlement system based on the Franc.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the means of international payment used by European countries were still extremely primitive. There was only one option: the Bill of Exchange.
For example, if merchant A in France wanted to pay Merchant B in Naples for goods, he first had to apply for a Bill of Exchange from a French bank and pay in cash.
The bank would then send that Bill of Exchange to a bank in Naples with which it had business ties. Usually, the bill would state, "Redeemable thirty days after sight." Some small banks even wrote, "Redeemable fifty days after sight."
After B received the Bill of Exchange, if he did not want to wait idly for thirty days, his only option was to find a local bank and use the bill as collateral in exchange for cash. Naturally, a "discount" would be deducted in the process, much like a handling fee.
Not only was this process extremely cumbersome, it involved at least three banks—if the French bank issuing the Bill of Exchange had no partner in Naples, it might have to pass through another pair of hands. For example, it could first be sent to a bank in Spain to provide a credit guarantee, then handed over to a bank in Naples for redemption.
If any one of those banks made a mistake—if a clerk copied down the wrong amount or address, for instance—the Bill of Exchange had to be sent back to the issuing bank, reviewed, and reissued...
The payee might have to wait four months before truly receiving payment for the goods.
As for why it had to be "redeemable thirty days