became the family crest. Since the Medicis were so successful in the financial, banking, and moneylending industries, other families also adopted the symbol. Throughout the Middle Ages, coats of arms bore three balls, orbs, plates, discs, coins and more as symbols of monetary success. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of pawnbrokers. The symbol has also been attributed to the story of Nicholas giving a poor man's three daughters each a bag of gold so they could get married. In Asia In Hong Kong the practice follows the Chinese tradition, and the counter of the shop is typically higher than the average person for security. A customer can only hold up his hand to offer belongings and there is a wooden screen between the door and the counter for customers' privacy. The symbol of a pawn shop in Hong Kong is a bat holding a coin (, Cantonese: fūk syú diu gām chín). The bat signifies fortune and the coin signifies benefits. In Japan, the usual symbol for a pawn shop is a circled number seven because "shichi", the Japanese word for seven, sounds similar to the word for "pawn" (). The majority of pawnbrokers in Malaysia, a multi-race country wherein Malaysian Chinese consists 25% of the population, are managed by Malaysian Chinese. In Malay, pawn is called "pajak gadai". A valid and licensed pawnshop in Malaysia must always declare themselves as a "pajak gadai" or a pawn shop for their company registration. They must also fulfill the requirements of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government which states the pawn counter must not be higher than 4 feet, is bullet-proof, has stainless-steel counters/doors, strong rooms with automatic locks, safes, equipped with fully computerized system, CCTV, alarm, and pawnbroker insurance. In the Philippines, pawnshops are generally privately-owned businesses and are regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Pawnshops in the country traditionally have Spanish names beginning with "Agencia de Empeños" (lit. "Pawn agency"), contrary to "Casa de Empeños" in Spain and Latin America. Most pawnshops accept jewelry, vehicles or electronic valuables as collateral. They also offer various forms of other finance-related services such as remittance, bills payment and microfinancing. Therefore, they serve as financial one stop shops primarily to communities in which alternatives such as banks are not available. Recently, they have also started conducting services online and through mobile applications although this is yet subject to regulation by