As much as most Americans are concerned about their FICO points today people of the Middle Ages did their best to protect their financial reputation. With the development of trade and emersion of banking financial relationships were becoming more and more complicated.

There was no independent financial institution that gathered information on creditworthiness of European merchants. However, lenders had to have this kind of knowledge when giving large sums of money.
There were several mechanisms that were used by lenders to lessen their risks. First of all, each of them had his own list of trustworthy clients.

It didn’t have to be a written chart – moneylenders knew all their customers in person. If the borrower was young or came to the leaving-shop for the first time his family’s reputation was seriously considered. If the borrower was a newcomer to the area and his family was not known the lender tried to contact his colleges to find more information. Word of mouth also played a very important role.

Just like today the terms and conditions of the agreement depended heavily on the borrower’s financial reputation. And just like today the key to being on high standing was to make payments on time.