Rishengchang Draft Bank

Rishengchang is known as China's first draft bank. The company was founded as a family-run dye trading business under the name Xiyucheng. To address the need for efficient cash management across its network of branches throughout China, the company introduced drafts, which were easily exchangeable at its various locations. This form of money transactions gained popularity and proved to be highly profitable, leading to the decision to discontinue the dye business in 1823 in order to focus exclusively on draft bank operations.