This is a study of the law governing the bank-customer relationship pertaining to the disposition of funds by cheques and credit transfers, covering both paper-based and electronic payments. The work addresses, with various degrees of detail, common law, civilian, and `mixed' jurisdictions, particularly, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States. In addition to the description of the law in these jurisdictions, the book contains an in-depth analysis of the common issues and the responses to them, in light of desired policies. Accordingly, an evaluation of the various rules and proposals for reform are integral parts of the study.

Examining the legal history of the order to pay money initiating a funds transfer, the author tracks basic principles of modern law to those that governed the payment order of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Exploring the legal nature of the payment order and its underpinning in light of contemporary institutions and payment mechanisms, the book traces the evolution of money, payment mechanisms and the law that governs them, from developments in Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, Rome, and Greco-Roman Egypt, through medieval Europe and post-medieval England. Doctrine is examined in Jewish, Islamic, Roman, common and civil laws. Investigating such diverse legal systems and doctrines at the intersection of laws governing bank deposits, obligations, the assignment of debts, and negotiable instruments, the author identifies the common denominator for the evolving legal principles and speculates on possible reciprocity. At the same time he challenges the idea of 'law merchant' as a mercantile creation. The book provides an account of the evolution of payment law as a distinct cohesive body of legal doctrine applicable to funds transfers. It shows how principles of law developed in tandem with the evolution of banking and in response to changing circumstances and proposes a redefinition of 'law merchant'. The author points to deposit banking and emerging technologies as embodying a great potential for future non-cash payment system growth. However, he recommends caution in predicting both the future of deposit banking and the overall impact of technology. At the same time he expresses confidence in the durability of legal doctrine to continue to evolve and accommodate future payment system developments.

For centuries, bills of exchange, cheques, and promissory notes ('negotiable instruments') have played a vital role in the smooth operation of domestic and international commerce. The payment mechanisms have been subject to rapid technological progress and law has needed to adapt and respond to ensure that the legal framework remains relevant and effective. This book provides a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the question of applicable law to negotiable instruments. Given significant differences in the treatment of important issues under the laws governing negotiable instruments of the various jurisdictions, the question of applicable law plays a key role in contemporary commerce. Resolution of such issues frequently has cross-border dimensions, affecting residents from different countries, and meeting the needs of commerce as it rapidly moves towards an online mode of communication and documentation. To such ends, the book elaborates on the conceptual underpinnings of negotiable instruments law, provides an overview of the key differences between the systems in this area of law and contemplates the question of applicable law. The book provides a systematic inquiry into the relevant principles of law, statutes, and international conventions, and analyses the underlying rationale for both applicable and negotiable instruments laws' rules. In this way, it aims to identify and resolve some of the existing uncertainties in the case law and literature with respect to one of the central aspects of commerce. Specifically, the authors challenge the conventional view according to which the fundamentals of negotiable instruments law are excluded from the scope and insights of general contract and property law doctrines and as such not subject to the general conflict of laws rules governing them. The authors make concrete suggestions for reform and contemplate on the nature of the legal rules that can also be applied in the digital age of communication.