It was on this day, June 23, 1873, when the first depositor, Miss. Mary L. Brown of Jewett City, made her first deposit of $100, in the first Depositor’s Book issued by Jewett City Savings Bank. In today’s dollars, her $100 equates to $2,500!
It is believed that bankers first started distributing depositors’ books or passbooks to customers sometime in the 18th century as a way for individuals to keep track of their own account credits and debits. Previously, customers could only view their account activity by requesting access to leather-bound ledgers maintained by bankers. The term “passbook” refers to the way bankers and customers passed the book back and forth for updating.
While passbooks have declined in usage, the need for customers to be able to access their accounts and monitor activity has become more important than ever!
