So Now You Want to Get Paid!
Graham PomeroyA large number of businesses in New Zealand purchase and sell goods and services on credit. This is the supply and release for use by another party of goods and services before payment is received, on the promise that payment will be made some time in the future.
When payment terms are met, this method is an effective business tool. It is when terms are not adhered to that problems arise. The earliest and most recognised documented credit system dates back to King Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylon in Mesopotamia from 1795 to 1750 BC, who outlined the first known written legal code.
Hammurabi’s code included the ability to charge excessive interest on loans. The text of this code was found on a block of stone some 2.4 metres high, excavated in 1901, and now on display in the Louvre in Paris.