Andries Pels was a wealthy Dutch banker and insurer. He began as someone who had devoted himself to the merchandise trade, along with his brother Guillelmo, but after the latter's death in 1705 he concentrated more and more on the money and exchange business. In 1707, he founded the firm Andries Pels & Sons, the largest merchant bank of the day, that lasted until 1774.

The Bank of Amsterdam or Wisselbank was an early bank, vouched for by the city of Amsterdam, and established in 1609. It was the first public bank to offer accounts not directly convertible to coin. As such, it has been described as the first true central bank, even though that view is not uniformly shared. The Amsterdam Wisselbank was also active in the production of coins. For decades the assay master of the Bank sent out stocks of gold and silver to the various Mints in the United Netherlands to receive new coins in return.