Kobold Bank

The kobold people are the only internationally recognized keepers of banks. Many places and kingdoms use a system of guilds, kings seals, and promissory notes. However only the kobolds have found a way of communicating the accounts and balances rapidly from one branch to another. The kobold bank only employees kobolds and those who do begin to learn the banking trade beyond the books and working at the counters are given a tattoo and magical seal. They cannot be tortured into telling the secrets entrusted to them, many have tried many mundane and magical ways. However the secrets of the bank remain just that, secret. While it can take weeks or even a month or two when trying to verify credit from one continent to another, within the same kingdom is always two minutes or less and on the same continent is usually under ten minutes.
Kobold bank notes are intricately made and when one from another branch is presented it is taken into another room to examine and verify. What only the kobolds and gnolls know however is that the design and inks are only part of the notes creation. The inks themselves are also infused with various musks and perfumes. Their enhanced senses commonly only shared with gnolls, allow them to examine the designs of the note and then smell the proper bottles and compare it with the scent that should make up that branch of the banks ink for a note of that denomination.
The banks have proven to be loyal to customers and to the bank itself over any political alliance, even to kobold ruled countries. By remaining strictly neutral even to their own kind the banks have grown in both trust and power. Proven reliable again and again to the world at large they have also proven to be very hard to steal from. While kobold banks have been robbed in the past they are always increasing their security and thanks to the other supporting branches were able to replace the money that was taken fro customers accounts.
After the first robbery, a precedent was set. The bank hired the best bounty hunters and mercenaries they could find with the total amount of money recovered as the reward. Sealing from a kobold bank for only a small amount of money isn't worth the trouble and effort it usually takes to break in. Stealing a large amount results in your take being used as the price for your head along with any amount angry patrons wish to add, which has happened since.

Alternative Name(s)

Lizard bank, hoard bank, coin keepers