Payment methods in international trade

The emergence of international trade dates back to the invention of money. It's not possible for people to meet all their needs either by themselves or within the society they live in. For this reason, they have sought to meet their needs by interacting with different people and communities. By this way, the international trade has emerged. However, as a natural consequence of this activity, the problem of how payment will be made has emerged. Even though the most primitive method, barter, was used at first, this method has some chronic problems. Later, with the invention of money, payment instruments were shaped and have shown various developments over the years. Thanks to sudden technological developments in the 20th century, payment instruments have diversified and this has also permeated international trade. Today, paying without using these technological opportunities considered weird. In fact, it can be said that, these instruments have emerged due to practical needs. Advance payment and cash against goods, can be considered the simplest and oldest payment methods. On the other hand, documentary collection emerged to address certain technical issues, such as the secure transfer of money. Subsequently, the emergence of the banking sector led to the emergence of letters of credit, which helped balancing the interests of the parties. Today, these payment methods are still evolving and changing. As of 2013, bank payment obligations were implemented by following the relevant publication of the ICC. While these methods have gained a systematic structure due to years of use, there is also a method like cryptocurrency that still requires regulation. In its technical structure, cryptocurrency differs from others. Namely, it means digitalization of money, which is the fundamental structure of existing payment systems. However, states approach it cautiously because of the fact that cryptocurrency is out of state intervention. Each country is trying to implement their own regulations for cryptocurrencies in line with their national interests. This causes different regulations and obscurites regarding the characteristics of cryptocurrency.