"As always, the food cooked by the palace cooks is top-notch," Alexander said as he sighed dreamily and rubbed his belly while recalling the time when he was chewing the Wiener Schnitzel.
He is on his way back to his office where he'll continue the mundane activities of being a head of state. The thought alone somehow demotivated him. He missed the life where he can do whatever he wants but at the same time feared the collapse of the country just like what happened to his company.
He plans to retire sometime in the future. Maybe when his heir is old enough to take the throne and assume the duties of the emperor, the supreme leader of the state.
Alexander reached for the doorknob of his office and rotated it clockwise. The door hinges creaked as he pushed it open. With a tired sigh, Alexander entered his room and closed the door softly behind him.
As he ambled towards his desk, Alexander loosened his tie. For him, it just serves as a shackle. He grabbed the remote control of the television and pushed the power button. The colored television screen flickered to life and the voice of the news anchor began to sound around his office.
He sat down on his chair, leaning back as his right hand reached for something in the drawer. It was a file he intended to discuss with the Finance Minister about credit cards.
For the past four years, the economic growth of the Ruthenian Empire dramatically increased. This is due to his policy of modernizing the entire country, giving jobs to the people, and his tax reforms. But, this year, the growth is stagnating, probably because the population of the empire is made up mostly of peasants who rose to the middle class. Luxury goods such as appliances he introduces are still out of reach for many.
He wanted to change all of that.
The telephone on his desk rang, Alexander leaned forward and picked it up. "He's here? Good, bring him in."
Alexander returned the phone to its place. A man dressed in a black suit with a top hat adorning his head entered his office. It was the Minister of Finance of the Ruthenian Empire. Vladimir Borisov. He is one of the officials whom he first met when he assumed the duties of the emperor after his swift recovery.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty. I apologize for the sudden visit," Vladimir bowed to the sovereign sitting behind the desk. He then walked over and stood in front of the emperor's desk.
"It's fine, the sooner the better," Alexander dismissively waved his hand.
Vladimir nodded, "In that case, Your Majesty. Why don't we start discussing this new plan of yours."
"First off, take a seat," Alexander commanded and pointed at the seat beside his desk. The Minister nodded and sat down. Alexander continued, "Vladimir, let me ask you a question. Do you eat outside? Let's say in a high-end restaurant or shop in a jewelry store to buy your wife a diamond ring?"
"Yes I do, Your Majesty," Vladimir answered truthfully. "But the jewelry store, well, I haven't gone to that place yet. It's too expensive for me."
"You humble yourself, Vladimir," Alexander scoffed with a smile. Vladimir simply chuckled in return.
Alexander spoke again. "Let's focus on the high-end restaurant thing. How do you pay?"
"I pay using cash, Your Majesty," Vladimir replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"What if, for instance, you forgot your wallet or you don't have any cash on you? What will you do?"
"Your Majesty, first of all, it would be very embarrassing for a person like me to forget my wallet. But should that thing happen, I will speak to the manager and ask him if I could use his telephone and call someone from my residence to fetch cash."
"Good," Alexander's lips curved upwards in an amused smile. "It would be embarrassing indeed. But what if we, let's say, implement a new form of payment that you don't have to carry cash anymore."
Vladimir's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "What is that, Your Majesty?"
"Another form of legal tender, a card with a value. Basically, you hand the card to the clerk that promises payment at a later date."
"Is that some sort of a loan, Your Majesty?"
"You can say that," Alexander shrugged casually. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms across his chest. "Now with this card, the purchasing power of every individual in the Ruthenian Empire will increase. You see, buying fancy things like clothes, automobiles, jewelry, and home appliances that are straight from the showroom is expensive. This means many of the new goods my company, Imperial Dynamic Systems, are out of reach for ordinary people."
"So basically Your Majesty, what you are proposing is a new type of payment that goes like 'buy what you want now, but pay for it later?'"
"Yes, now you are getting it. You know, that can be a great motto for this new payment."
"Do you have a name for it, Your Majesty?" Vladimir asked.
"I think credit cards are befitting so I'll call it a credit card."
"But debt is not enticing, Your Majesty. How are you going to convince the people that they'd want one?" Vladimir said.
"Well, we can do an experiment. Citizens in St. Petersburg and Moskva who passed the requirements will be eligible to apply for a card. I will include my companies as merchants where people can use the card to buy my company products. People love the idea of getting things that they want and paying for them later. However, there's a catch, failure to pay their bill in full at the end of the month, they'll be charged interest on what's owned." Alexander explained.
"Wait, this is sounding like a business, Your Majesty," Vladimir noticed.
"Yes. There is money to be made here. Let's think of it this way, to get a card, they will have to pay an annual membership fee, then by using the card, we are getting a small commission on each transaction. They can also use the card to withdraw money from the bank but with an interest of course. Do you understand now?"
"I see, I think I'm beginning to understand what you are really proposing here, Your Majesty."
"I'm glad that you do. Debt might be a bad thing for individuals but for the whole economy, it's good. Debt fuels growth. The financial services industry is growing at an astonishing rate that can create jobs for hundreds of thousands of people. Retail sectors will boom because people can now buy what they want with the card. Staying in a hotel? You can pay with a card for that. Vacation? You can pay with a card for that. Starting a multi-million-rubles construction project? You can use a card to get it started. Want to buy a house or open a business? You can use a card for that."
"That's very interesting, Your Majesty," Vladimir said, fascinated. "Well, what can I do to help? Honestly, I love the idea, Your Majesty. It's original, I've never heard something like this before."
"Well, I'm gonna need your help to convince the finance committee of the Imperial Council to give us permits to use this card as a form of a new payment system."
"Consider it done, Your Majesty," Vladimir said confidently and continued. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask this, what would this card look like?"
"It will be in a form of plastic with magnetic stripes on it that contain the personal information of the individual. Well, I'll show you once we have the prototype."
"Very well," Vladimir said.
"Okay, I think that's it. This is the file about the new credit cards," Alexander said as he handed him the file. Vladimir grabbed it and put it in his briefcase.
Alexander stood and offered Vladimir a handshake.
Vladimir stood and shook his hand.
On this day, the Ruthenian Empire's path of becoming a full-pledge capitalist state had just begun.
