If you Bank On Someone you rely upon or completely trust them. Before the modern bank, many people kept whatever money or wealth they had either on their person or hidden away in as safe a place as possible. Medieval Venice was at some point the centre of world trade, and men would set up benches or counters in the main squares and trade the various world currencies passing around the city. These men were universally relied upon and trusted. Traders could borrow, exchange and even leave money with them while they went abroad or to their native countries. The bench men would then trade that currency with other travellers and so the returning traders could often collect even larger sums than they left behind the next time they returned to Venice. This system was an early form of world banking and the Venetians were seen as people who could be “banked upon” – the Italian word for bench or counter is “banco”.