How money works, from banks to central banks

Videos in this playlist

1. 1Money Is Imaginary. Should You Trust It?Two CentsPlay from here Loop
2. 2Money and Finance: Crash Course Economics #11CrashCoursePlay from here Loop
3. 3Pounds and Pence: What is money and how does it work? (Episode 1)Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
4. 4Pounds and Pence: What can you do with money? (Episode 2)Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
5. 5Pounds and Pence: What is money worth? (Episode 3)Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
6. 6Pounds and Pence: Who controls the value of money? (Episode 4)Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
7. 7What gives a dollar bill its value? - Doug LevinsonTED-EdPlay from here Loop
8. 8Why do bank notes have value?Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
9. 9Money in the modern economy: an introduction - Quarterly BulletinBank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
10. 10Money creation in the modern economy - Quarterly BulletinBank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
11. 11Does the Bank of England print money?Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
12. 12Why can’t governments print an unlimited amount of money? - Jonathan SmithTED-EdPlay from here Loop
13. 13What Do Banks Do?Marginal Revolution UniversityPlay from here Loop
14. 14The role of the Bank of England: Money (Episode 1)Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
15. 15What is the Fed?Federal ReservePlay from here Loop
16. 16The Federal Reserve System | The Fed ExplainedFederal Reserve Bank of St. LouisPlay from here Loop
17. 17Fed FAQ: What does the Fed do?Federal ReservePlay from here Loop
18. 18Fed Functions: Conducting Monetary PolicyFederal ReservePlay from here Loop
19. 19Fed FAQ: Why do interest rates matter?Federal ReservePlay from here Loop
20. 20What's all the Yellen About? Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Crash Course Economics #10CrashCoursePlay from here Loop
21. 21Fed FAQ: Monetary policy and Fiscal policy?Federal ReservePlay from here Loop
22. 22Why do interest rates matter to me?Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
23. 23Who sets the exchange rate?Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
24. 24Imports, Exports, and Exchange Rates: Crash Course Economics #15CrashCoursePlay from here Loop
25. 25How do digital payments work? | Money MattersBank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
26. 26What is Quantitative Easing?The Plain BagelPlay from here Loop
27. 27How are cryptocurrencies created?Bank of EnglandPlay from here Loop
28. 28David Andolfatto: An Overview of BitcoinFederal Reserve Bank of St. LouisPlay from here Loop
29. 29How did banks get “too big to fail”? | I’ve Always Wondered...®Marketplace APMPlay from here Loop
30. 30The Great Depression - 5 Minute History LessonThe Plain BagelPlay from here Loop
31. 31The 2008 Financial Crisis - 5 Minute History LessonThe Plain BagelPlay from here Loop
32. 32How it Happened - The 2008 Financial Crisis: Crash Course Economics #12CrashCoursePlay from here Loop
33. 33What causes an economic recession? - Richard CoffinTED-EdPlay from here Loop
34. 34What causes economic bubbles? - Prateek SinghTED-EdPlay from here Loop

What is money, really?

Money is anything people widely trust and accept to pay for things, store value and measure prices. Today most of it is not cash but bank deposits, created when banks make loans. Central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England oversee the system and set key interest rates.

How do I use RepeatWatch to understand it?

Start with the short explainers, then the longer Bank of England and Crash Course episodes. A–B loop the part on how banks create money, slow it to 0.75× to sketch the steps, and save each Pounds and Pence episode on keys 1–4 so you can compare them.