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Carrying Trade
In Smith’s time, a cash account was a financial tool similar to a modern credit card. Scottish banks would issue cash accounts to wealthy customers, who would use those accounts to buy goods and services on credit, then pay off the balance (plus interest) at their convenience.
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Cash Account Term Timeline in The Wealth of Nations
The timeline below shows where the term Cash Account appears in The Wealth of Nations. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2, Chapter 2
...for a later repayment with interest. But Scottish banks created a different system: they offer cash accounts for anyone who can get “two persons of undoubted credit and good landed estate” to...
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...cannot cross this threshold as long as the notes are tied to real-world debts, but cash accounts can, as some merchants will withdraw more than they repay. But Scotland’s banks remedied this...
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