I have shown by the example above how by aid of the empfang erlag scheine, the trader can by means of his responsible agent, the Savings Bank, receive at once the amounts of his invoices, without the money passing through his own hands. Numerous other applications of the system are before us: commercial travellers can deposit to the account of their employers, the sums they have collected in their rounds; they can even add at the back of the certificate such helpful notes as they think necessary; the commercial firm which employs them being regularly and immediately informed of payments by account extracts and the certificates of deposit being successively forwarded to the firm by the Central Office at Vienna.
Associations of every kind having accounts at the Savings Bank can by the same means gather subscriptions from the members: it is enough to send their members certificates of receipt and deposit; each one makes his payment at the neighbouring post office; the associations receiving, as the merchants, extracts of their accounts.
Assurance societies can in like manner, effect the payment of their insurers' premiums without any formality beyond that of sending to these insurers the empfang erlag scheine. And in like manner subscriptions to journals and all kinds of periodical payments can be received.
Secondly.
Post Office orders issued to the benefit of any person affiliated to the cheque-service can, at his request be placed to the credit of his account. He gives to this end, on forms required by the regulations, an authorisation at his district post office. On its side the Central Office of the Savings Bank puts itself in relation with the post office. Ingenious combinations which are indicated in the instructions reproduced in the appendix to this paper, cause the order to be transmitted to the Money Order Office of the Viennese Post Office, which in paying the amount to the Central Office of the Savings Bank will at the game time inform of this transmission, the person in whose favour the order is made out.
The Post Office Orders only take a very secondary position in the accounts of the cheque and clearing service.
| In | 1884 | their amount rose to | 851,514 | florins |
| » | 1885 | to | 6,399,576 | » |
| » | 1886 | » | 14,197,234 | » |
| » | 1887 | » | 17,702,424 | » |
| » | 1888 | » | 17,853,284 | » |
| » | 1889 | » | 18,967,659 | » |
| » | 1890 | » | 22,349,594 | » |
| » | 1891 | » | 25,614,771 | » |
| » | 1892 | » | 26,271,893 | » |
| » | 1893 | » | 27,230,128 | » |
| » | 1894 | » | 28,252,117 | » |
| » | 1895 | » | 29,241,933 | » |
It is stated that the progressive movement is at once slower and more regular since 1891, than it was previously.