A payment is the tender of something of value , such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation or philanthropy desire . The party making the payment is commonly called the payer , while the payee is the party receiving the payment. Whilst payments are often made voluntarily, some payments are compulsory, such as payment of a fine .
135-451: Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts , such as taxes , in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: medium of exchange , a unit of account , a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment . Money was historically an emergent market phenomenon that possessed intrinsic value as
270-493: A commodity ; nearly all contemporary money systems are based on unbacked fiat money without use value . Its value is consequently derived by social convention, having been declared by a government or regulatory entity to be legal tender ; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private", in the case of the United States dollar . The money supply of
405-411: A creditor on a schedule with a maturity date specified in written contractual terms . Law 122 stipulated that a depositor of gold , silver , or other chattel/movable property for safekeeping must present all articles and a signed contract of bailment to a notary before depositing the articles with a banker , and Law 123 stipulated that a banker was discharged of any liability from
540-408: A store of value , money must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved—and be predictably usable as a medium of exchange when it is retrieved. The value of the money must also remain stable over time. Some have argued that inflation, by reducing the value of money, diminishes the ability of the money to function as a store of value. The functions of money are that it is a medium of exchange,
675-462: A "most valuable analysis" of the correct contractual construction of such payments. An initial up-front partial payment for the purchase of an expensive items or service is often referred to as a " down payment "; this is also called a deposit in British English . A payment may involve more than two parties. For example, a pre-paid card transaction usually involves four parties: the purchaser,
810-507: A Sunday or outside banking hours. A payee is usually obligated to acknowledge payment by producing a receipt to the payer. A receipt may be an endorsement on an account as "paid in full". The giving of a guarantee or other security for a debt does not constitute a payment. The root word "pay" in "payment" comes from the Latin "pacare" (to pacify), from "pax", meaning "peace". In the Middle Ages,
945-416: A categorization system that focuses on the liquidity of the financial instrument used as money. The most commonly used monetary aggregates (or types of money) are conventionally designated M1, M2, and M3. These are successively larger aggregate categories: M1 is currency (coins and bills) plus demand deposits (such as checking accounts); M2 is M1 plus savings accounts and time deposits under $ 100,000; M3
1080-458: A central bank in 1791 and 1816 , but it was only in 1862 that the federal government of the United States , began to print banknotes. Originally, the banknote was simply a promise to the bearer that they could redeem it for its value in specie, but in 1833, the second in a series of Bank Charter Acts established that banknotes would be considered as legal tender during peacetime. Until
1215-454: A central bank was in 1661 by Stockholms Banco , a predecessor of Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank . Napoleon issued paper banknotes in the early 1800s. Cash paper money originated as receipts for value held on account "value received", and should not be conflated with promissory "sight bills," which were issued with a promise to convert at a later date. The perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money
1350-411: A century when gold and paper money backed by gold were used as money in the 18th and 19th centuries. Payment Payments can be effected in a number of ways, for example: In general, payees are at liberty to determine what method of payment they will accept; though normally laws require the payer to accept the country's legal tender up to a prescribed limit. Payment is most commonly affected in
1485-437: A compelling issue. In the 18th century, banknotes were produced mainly by copper-plate engraving and printing , and they were single-sided. Note-making technologies remained largely unchanged during the 18th century. The first banknotes were produced by intaglio printing : this involved engraving a copper plate by hand and then covering it in ink to print the bank notes. Only with this technique, at that time, could one force
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#17328376242511620-439: A contract of bailment if the notary denied the existence of the contract. Law 124 stipulated that a depositor with a notarized contract of bailment was entitled to redeem the entire value of their deposit, and Law 125 stipulated that a banker was liable for replacement of deposits stolen while in their possession . Carthage was purported to have issued bank notes on parchment or leather before 146 BC. Hence Carthage may be
1755-430: A country comprises all currency in circulation ( banknotes and coins currently issued) and, depending on the particular definition used, one or more types of bank money (the balances held in checking accounts , savings accounts , and other types of bank accounts ). Bank money, whose value exists on the books of financial institutions and can be converted into physical notes or used for cashless payment, forms by far
1890-443: A fixed quantity of a commodity such as gold or silver. The value of representative money stands in direct and fixed relation to the commodity that backs it, while not itself being composed of that commodity. Fiat money or fiat currency is money whose value is not derived from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be converted into a valuable commodity (such as gold). Instead, it has value only by government order (fiat). Usually,
2025-414: A fraction of their deposits , while the banks maintain an obligation to redeem all these deposits upon demand - a practise known as fractional-reserve banking . Commercial bank money differs from commodity and fiat money in two ways: firstly it is non-physical, as its existence is only reflected in the account ledgers of banks and other financial institutions, and secondly, there is some element of risk that
2160-438: A gold- or silver-backed national paper currency standard, which changed the geographic restriction. The range of varying values for these banknotes was perhaps from one string of cash to one hundred at the most. Ever after 1107, the government printed money in no less than six ink colors and printed notes with intricate designs and sometimes even with mixture of a unique fiber in the paper to combat counterfeiting. The founder of
2295-410: A late payment fee, or for use of a certain credit card, etc. Payments are frequently preceded by an invoice or bill, which follows the supply of goods or services, but in some industries (such as travel and hotels) it is not uncommon for pre-payments to be required before the service is performed or provided. In some industries, a deposit may be required before services are performed, which acts as
2430-469: A means for merchants to exchange heavy coinage for receipts of deposit issued as promissory notes from shops of wholesalers, notes that were valid for temporary use in a small regional territory. In the 10th century, the Song dynasty government began circulating these notes amongst the traders in their monopolized salt industry. The Song government granted several shops the sole right to issue banknotes, and in
2565-481: A metric of perceived value in conjunction with one another, in various commodity valuation or price system economies. The use of commodity money is similar to barter, but a commodity money provides a simple and automatic unit of account for the commodity which is being used as money. Although some gold coins such as the Krugerrand are considered legal tender , there is no record of their face value on either side of
2700-455: A new unit of account , which helped lead to banking. Archimedes' principle provided the next link: coins could now be easily tested for their fine weight of the metal, and thus the value of a coin could be determined, even if it had been shaved, debased or otherwise tampered with (see Numismatics ). In most major economies using coinage, copper, silver, and gold formed three tiers of coins. Gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of
2835-418: A note has no intrinsic value, there was nothing to stop issuing authorities from printing more of it than they had specie to back it with. Second, because it increased the money supply, it increased inflationary pressures, a fact observed by David Hume in the 18th century. The result is that paper money would often lead to an inflationary bubble, which could collapse if people began demanding hard money, causing
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#17328376242512970-426: A part pre-payment or as security to the service provider. In some cases, progress payments are made in advance, and in some cases part payments are accepted, which do not extinguish the payer's legal obligations. The acceptance of a payment by the payee extinguishes a debt or other obligation. A creditor cannot unreasonably refuse to accept a payment, but payment can be refused in some circumstances, for example, on
3105-470: A person may go throughout the Great Kaan's dominions he shall find these pieces of paper current, and shall be able to transact all sales and purchases of goods by means of them just as well as if they were coins of pure gold In medieval Italy and Flanders , because of the insecurity and impracticality of transporting large sums of cash over long distances, money traders started using promissory notes . In
3240-431: A precise amount and issued on deposit or as a loan. There was a gradual move toward the issuance of fixed denomination notes, and by 1745, standardized printed notes ranging from £20 to £1,000 were being printed. Fully printed notes that did not require the name of the payee and the cashier's signature first appeared in 1855. The Bank of Scotland was established in 1695 to support Scottish businesses, and in 1696 became
3375-464: A rope. Merchants found that the strings were too heavy to carry around easily, especially for large transactions. To solve this problem, coins could be left with a trusted person, with the merchant being given a slip of paper (the receipt) recording how much money they had deposited with that person. Their coins would be restored when they went back and gave that person the paper. True paper money, called " jiaozi ", developed from these promissory notes by
3510-429: A standard of deferred payment as a distinguished function, but rather subsuming it in the others. There have been many historical disputes regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. One of these arguments is that the role of money as a medium of exchange conflicts with its role as a store of value : its role as
3645-426: A store of value requires holding it without spending, whereas its role as a medium of exchange requires it to circulate. Others argue that storing of value is just deferral of the exchange, but does not diminish the fact that money is a medium of exchange that can be transported both across space and time. The term "financial capital" is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are
3780-503: A system of representative money . This occurred because gold and silver merchants or banks would issue receipts to their depositors, redeemable for the commodity money deposited. Eventually, these receipts became generally accepted as a means of payment and were used as money. Paper money or banknotes were first used in China during the Song dynasty . These banknotes, known as " jiaozi ", evolved from promissory notes that had been used since
3915-567: A travelogue of a visit to Prague in 960 by Ibrahim ibn Yaqub , small pieces of cloth were used as a means of trade, with these cloths having a set exchange rate versus silver. Around 1150, the Knights Templar would issue notes to pilgrims. Pilgrims would deposit valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking for the Holy Land and receive a document indicating the value of their deposit. They would then use that document upon arrival in
4050-411: A uniformly recognized tender. When money is used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, it is performing a function as a medium of exchange . It thereby avoids the inefficiencies of a barter system, such as the inability to permanently ensure " coincidence of wants ". For example, between two parties in a barter system, one party may not have or make the item that the other wants, indicating
4185-452: A unit of account, and a store of value. To fulfill these various functions, money must be: In economics, money is any financial instrument that can fulfill the functions of money (detailed above). These financial instruments together are collectively referred to as the money supply of an economy. In other words, the money supply is the number of financial instruments within a specific economy available for purchasing goods or services. Since
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4320-433: A very small proportion of the "money" that people think that they have, as demand deposit bank accounts and electronic payments have negated much of the need to carry notes and coins. Banknotes have a natural advantage over coins in that they are lighter to carry; but they are also less durable than coins. Banknotes issued by commercial banks had counterparty risk , meaning that the bank may not be able to make payment when
4455-478: A virtual currency account (usually a coin no longer physically existing), was used more often. All physical currencies were physically related to this virtual currency; this instrument also served as credit. The shift toward the use of these receipts as a means of payment took place in the mid-17th century, as the price revolution , when relatively rapid gold inflation was causing a re-assessment of how money worked. The goldsmith bankers of London began to give out
4590-454: A weight of 80 to 90 grams per square meter. The cotton is sometimes mixed with linen , abaca , or other textile fibres. Generally, the paper used is different from ordinary paper: it is much more resilient, resists wear and tear (the average life of a paper banknote is two years), and also does not contain the usual agents that make ordinary paper glow slightly under ultraviolet light. Unlike most printing and writing paper, banknote paper
4725-404: A written order to pay the amount to whoever had possession of the note. These notes are credited as the first modern banknotes. The first short-lived attempt at issuing banknotes by a central bank was in 1661 by Stockholms Banco , a predecessor of Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank . These replaced the copper-plates being used instead as a means of payment. The peculiar circumstances of
4860-460: Is M2 plus larger time deposits and similar institutional accounts. M1 includes only the most liquid financial instruments, and M3 relatively illiquid instruments. The precise definition of M1, M2, etc. may be different in different countries. Another measure of money, M0, is also used. M0 is base money , or the amount of money actually issued by the central bank of a country. It is measured as currency plus deposits of banks and other institutions at
4995-415: Is a simple-looking security component found in most banknotes. It is, however, often rather complex in construction, comprising fluorescent, magnetic, metallic, and microprint elements. By combining it with watermarking technology, the thread can be made to surface periodically on one side only. This is known as windowed thread and further increases the counterfeit resistance of the banknote paper. This process
5130-434: Is also a chance for banknotes to have printing errors. For U.S. banknotes, these errors can include board break errors, butterfly fold errors, cutting errors, dual denomination errors, fold over errors, and misalignment errors. Prior to the introduction of banknotes, precious or semiprecious metals minted into coins to certify their substance were widely used as a medium of exchange. The value that people attributed to coins
5265-579: Is applied as a portrait window for the higher denominations of the Europa series (ES2) of the euro banknotes. Windows are also used with the Hybrid substrate from Giesecke+Devrient which is composed of an inner layer of paper substrate with thin outer layers of plastic film for high durability. When paper bank notes were first introduced in England, they resulted in a dramatic rise in counterfeiting. The attempts by
5400-557: Is distinguished by some texts, particularly older ones, other texts subsume this under other functions. A "standard of deferred payment" is an accepted way to settle a debt —a unit in which debts are denominated, and the status of money as legal tender , in those jurisdictions which have this concept, states that it may function for the discharge of debts. When debts are denominated in money, the real value of debts may change due to inflation and deflation , and for sovereign and international debts via debasement and devaluation . To act as
5535-447: Is expected to double to 18.82 per cent in 2011. There is a fast growth of mobile payments around the world. Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are the three main choices for mobile payments, while some banks also allow NFC Payments. In some countries, mobile wallets have become a dominant way of mobile payments. Historically, cheques have been one of the primary means of payment for purchasing goods and services, though its share in
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5670-478: Is infused with polyvinyl alcohol or gelatin, instead of water, to give it extra strength. Early Chinese banknotes were printed on paper made of mulberry bark. Mitsumata ( Edgeworthia chrysantha ) and other fibers are used in Japanese banknote paper (a kind of Washi ). Most banknotes are made using the mould-made process, in which a watermark and thread are incorporated during the paper forming process. The thread
5805-480: Is mostly because historians tend to be more interested in a theoretical understanding of how money worked rather than how it was produced. The first great deterrent against counterfeiting was the death penalty for forgers, but this was not enough to stop the rise of counterfeiting. Over the 18th century, far fewer banknotes were circulating in England compared to the boom of bank notes in the 19th century; because of this, improved note-making techniques were not considered
5940-419: Is no evidence of a society or economy that relied primarily on barter. Instead, non-monetary societies operated largely along the principles of gift economy and debt . When barter did in fact occur, it was usually between either complete strangers or potential enemies. Many cultures around the world eventually developed the use of commodity money . The Mesopotamian shekel was a unit of weight, and relied on
6075-409: Is not always the case, and historically, private banks frequently handled all of a country's paper currency. Thus, many different banks or institutions may have issued banknotes in a given country. Commercial banks in the United States had legally issued banknotes before there was a national currency; however, these became subject to government authorization from 1863 to 1932. In the last of these series,
6210-433: Is simply a reflection of the supply and demand mechanism of a society exchanging goods in a free market, as opposed to stemming from any intrinsic property of the metal. By the late 17th century, this new conceptual outlook helped to stimulate the issue of banknotes. The economist Nicholas Barbon wrote that money "was an imaginary value made by a law for the convenience of exchange". A temporary experiment of banknote issue
6345-405: Is the basis for the history of central banks backing their currencies in gold or silver. Today, most national currencies have no backing in precious metals or commodities and have value only by fiat . With the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal issues, coins are used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values. Counterfeiting , including
6480-510: The New World and brought back gold and silver to Spain, or when gold was discovered in California in 1848 . This caused inflation, as the value of gold went down. However, if the rate of gold mining could not keep up with the growth of the economy, gold became relatively more valuable, and prices (denominated in gold) would drop, causing deflation. Deflation was the more typical situation for over
6615-414: The United States greenback , to pay for military expenditures. They could also set the terms at which they would redeem notes for specie, by limiting the amount of purchase, or the minimum amount that could be redeemed. By 1900, most of the industrializing nations were on some form of a gold standard, with paper notes and silver coins constituting the circulating medium. Private banks and governments across
6750-556: The Yuan dynasty , Kublai Khan , issued paper money known as Jiaochao . The original notes were restricted by area and duration, as in the Song dynasty, but in the later years, facing massive shortages of specie to fund their rule, the paper money began to be issued without restrictions on duration. The fact that the state was guaranteeing the Chinese paper money impressed Venetian merchants. According to
6885-692: The cash ratio . Currently, bank money is created as electronic money. Bank money, whose value exists on the books of financial institutions and can be converted into physical notes or used for cashless payment, forms by far the largest part of broad money in developed countries. In most countries, the majority of money is mostly created as M1/M2 by commercial banks making loans. Contrary to some popular misconceptions, banks do not act simply as intermediaries, lending out deposits that savers place with them, and do not depend on central bank money (M0) to create new loans and deposits. "Market liquidity" describes how easily an item can be traded for another item, or into
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#17328376242517020-404: The construction of buildings or other assets. Instalment payments were planned for in the case of Cadogan Petroleum Holdings Ltd v Global Process Systems LLC , where the latter would pay in instalments for the acquisition of two gas plants. Their contract stated that ownership would not pass until the payments were complete and that any failure to pay an instalment would allow Cadogan to rescind
7155-465: The first European bank to issue banknotes in fixed values. It continues to issue banknotes and is the longest continuous banknote issue in the world. The Scottish economist John Law helped establish banknotes as a formal currency in France, after the wars waged by Louis XIV left the country with a shortage of precious metals for coinage. In the United States , there were early attempts at establishing
7290-407: The forgery of banknotes, is an inherent challenge in issuing currency . It is countered by anticounterfeiting measures in the printing of banknotes. Fighting the counterfeiting of banknotes and cheques has been a principal driver of security printing methods development in recent centuries. Code of Hammurabi Law 100 ( c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated repayment of a loan by a debtor to
7425-451: The instability in the ratio between the two grew over the 19th century, with the increase both in the supply of these metals, particularly silver, and of trade. This is called bimetallism and the attempt to create a bimetallic standard where both gold and silver backed currency remained in circulation occupied the efforts of inflationists. Governments at this point could use currency as an instrument of policy, printing paper currency such as
7560-402: The market price of the metal content as a commodity , rather than their legal tender face value (which is usually only a small fraction of their bullion value). Fiat money, if physically represented in the form of currency (paper or coins), can be accidentally damaged or destroyed. However, fiat money has an advantage over representative or commodity money, in that the same laws that created
7695-470: The money supply in 1921. At the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt. The Act gave the Bank of England an effective monopoly over the note issue from 1928. Today, a central bank or treasury is generally solely responsible within a state or currency union for the issue of banknotes. However, this
7830-501: The state's four constituent countries ( Scotland and Northern Ireland ) continue to print their own banknotes for domestic circulation, even though they are not fiat money or declared in law as legal tender anywhere. The UK's central bank, the Bank of England , prints notes which are legal tender in England and Wales ; these notes are also usable as money (but not legal tender) in the rest of
7965-461: The 11th century was the impetus for the massive production of paper money in premodern China. At around the same time in the medieval Islamic world , a vigorous monetary economy was created during the 7th–12th centuries on the basis of the expanding levels of circulation of a stable high-value currency (the dinar ). Innovations introduced by economists, traders and merchants of the Muslim world include
8100-425: The 11th century, during the Song dynasty . By 960, the Song government was short of copper for striking coins, and issued the first generally circulating notes. These notes were a promise by the ruler to redeem them later for some other object of value, usually specie . The issue of credit notes was often for a limited duration, and at some discount to the promised amount later. The jiaozi did not replace coins but
8235-472: The 1760s, these bills of credit were used in the majority of transactions in the Thirteen Colonies. The first bank to initiate the permanent issue of banknotes was the Bank of England . Established in 1694 to raise money for the funding of the war against France , the bank began issuing notes in 1695 with the promise to pay the bearer the value of the note on demand. They were initially handwritten to
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#17328376242518370-513: The 7th century. However, they did not displace commodity money and were used alongside coins. In the 13th century, paper money became known in Europe through the accounts of travellers, such as Marco Polo and William of Rubruck . Marco Polo's account of paper money during the Yuan dynasty is the subject of a chapter of his book, The Travels of Marco Polo , titled " How the Great Kaan Causeth
8505-485: The Bank of England and the Royal Mint to stamp out currency crime led to new policing strategies, including the increased use of entrapment. The characteristics of banknotes, their materials and production techniques (as well as their development over history) are topics that are not usually thoroughly examined by historians, even though there are now a number of works detailing how bank notes were actually constructed. This
8640-560: The Bark of Trees, Made Into Something Like Paper, to Pass for Money All Over his Country ." Banknotes were first issued in Europe by Stockholms Banco in 1661 and were again also used alongside coins. The gold standard , a monetary system where the medium of exchange are paper notes that are convertible into pre-set, fixed quantities of gold, replaced the use of gold coins as currency in the 17th–19th centuries in Europe. These gold standard notes were made legal tender , and redemption into gold coins
8775-542: The Bark of Trees, Made into Something Like Paper, to Pass for Money All Over his Country ". All these pieces of paper are, issued with as much solemnity and authority as if they were of pure gold or silver... with these pieces of paper, made as I have described, Kublai Khan causes all payments on his own account to be made; and he makes them to pass current universally over all his kingdoms and provinces and territories, and whithersoever his power and sovereignty extends... and indeed everybody takes them readily, for wheresoever
8910-557: The European Union under the Late Payment directives of 2000 and 2011. Banknotes A banknote – also called a bill ( North American English ), paper money , or simply a note – is a type of negotiable promissory note , made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commercial banks , which were legally required to redeem
9045-451: The Holy Land to receive funds from the treasury of equal value. In the 13th century, Chinese paper money of Mongol Yuan became known in Europe through the accounts of travelers, such as Marco Polo and William of Rubruck . Marco Polo's account of paper money during the Yuan dynasty is the subject of a chapter of his book, The Travels of Marco Polo , titled " How the Great Kaan Causeth
9180-620: The Mechanism of Exchange (1875) , William Stanley Jevons famously analyzed money in terms of four functions: a medium of exchange , a common measure of value (or unit of account ), a standard of value (or standard of deferred payment ), and a store of value . By 1919, Jevons's four functions of money were summarized in the couplet : This couplet would later become widely popular in macroeconomics textbooks. Most modern textbooks now list only three functions, that of medium of exchange , unit of account , and store of value , not considering
9315-499: The Song government was amassing large amounts of paper tribute . It was recorded that each year before 1101, the prefecture of Xin'an (modern Shexian , Anhui ) alone would send 1,500,000 sheets of paper in seven different varieties to the capital at Kaifeng. In 1101, the Emperor Huizong of Song decided to lessen the amount of paper taken in the tribute quota because it was causing detrimental effects and creating heavy burdens on
9450-497: The Swedish coin supply were what led to this banknote issue. Cheap foreign imports of copper had forced the Crown to steadily increase the size of the copper coinage to maintain its value relative to silver . The heavy weight of the new coins encouraged merchants to deposit it in exchange for receipts. These became banknotes when the manager of the bank decoupled the rate of note issue from
9585-664: The Tang dynasty (618–907), as merchants and wholesalers desired to avoid the heavy bulk of copper coinage in large commercial transactions. Although government issued centralized paper money did not appear until the 11th century, during the Song dynasty . In Europe, cloth banknotes were in use in Praga in 960 and as part of the banking scheme of the Knights Templars around 1150. The first short-lived attempt at issuing banknotes in Europen by
9720-720: The UK (see Banknotes of the pound sterling ). In the two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , arrangements are similar to those in the UK; in Hong Kong , three commercial banks are licensed to issue Hong Kong dollar notes , and in Macau , banknotes of the Macanese pataca are issued by two different commercial banks. In Luxembourg , the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg
9855-490: The bank currency reserves. Three years later, the bank went bankrupt after rapidly increasing the artificial money supply through the large-scale printing of paper money. A new bank, the Riksens Ständers Bank , was established in 1668, but did not issue banknotes until the 19th century. The idea that social and legal consensus determines what constitutes money is the foundation of modern banknotes. A gold coin's value
9990-460: The bank or financial institution any prior notice. Banks have the legal obligation to return funds held in demand deposits immediately upon demand (or 'at call'). Demand deposit withdrawals can be performed in person, via checks or bank drafts, using automatic teller machines (ATMs), or through online banking . Commercial bank money is created by commercial banks whose reserves (held as cash and other highly liquid assets) typically constitute only
10125-457: The banks to refine the technologies employed. In 1801, watermarks, which previously were straight lines, became wavy—an idea of William Brewer, a watermark mould maker. This made counterfeiting bank notes harder still, at least in the short term, and in 1803 the number of forged bank notes fell to just 3000, compared to 5000 the previous year. Banks asked skilled engravers and artists to help them make their notes more difficult to counterfeit during
10260-406: The beginning, these were personally registered, but they soon became a written order to pay the amount to whoever had it in their possession. These notes are seen as a predecessor to regular banknotes by some but are mainly thought of as proto bills of exchange and cheques. The term "bank note" comes from the notes of the bank ("nota di banco") and dates from the 14th century; it originally recognized
10395-427: The business policies of commercial banks and the preferences of households - factors which the central bank can influence, but not control completely. Contemporary central banks generally do not control the creation of money, nor do they try to, though their interest rate-setting monetary policies naturally affect the amount of loans and deposits that commercial banks create. The development of computer technology in
10530-475: The central bank. M0 is also the only money that can satisfy the reserve requirements of commercial banks . In current economic systems, money is created by two procedures: Legal tender , or narrow money (M0) is the cash created by a Central Bank by minting coins and printing banknotes. Bank money , or broad money (M1/M2) is the money created by private banks through the recording of loans as deposits of borrowing clients, with partial support indicated by
10665-472: The cheque is not presented to the bank until the next taxable year, even though the payer could stop payment on the cheque, in the meantime. Postdated cheques , however, are not considered payment when delivered. Generally, payments by credit card take effect at the point of the sale and not when a payer is billed by the credit card company or when the payer pays the credit card company's bill. A business that reports on an accrual basis, would report income in
10800-420: The claim will not be fulfilled if the financial institution becomes insolvent. The money multiplier theory presents the process of creating commercial bank money as a multiple (greater than 1) of the amount of base money created by the country's central bank , the multiple itself being a function of the legal regulation of banks imposed by financial regulators (e.g., potential reserve requirements ) beside
10935-551: The coin. The rationale for this is that emphasis is laid on their direct link to the prevailing value of their fine gold content. American Eagles are imprinted with their gold content and legal tender face value . In 1875, the British economist William Stanley Jevons described the money used at the time as " representative money ". Representative money is money that consists of token coins , paper money or other physical tokens such as certificates, that can be reliably exchanged for
11070-414: The common currency within an economy. Money is the most liquid asset because it is universally recognized and accepted as a common currency. In this way, money gives consumers the freedom to trade goods and services easily without having to barter. Liquid financial instruments are easily tradable and have low transaction costs . There should be no (or minimal) spread between the prices to buy and sell
11205-442: The contract , "without prejudice to any accrued rights". The High Court ruled that the wording allowed Cadogan to retain the instalments which had been paid even though they did not acquire the assets in exchange. The court referred to a text written by Jack Beatson , later a Lord Justice of Appeal , on Discharge For Breach: The Position of Instalments, Deposits and other Payments due before Completion , which Eder J described as
11340-644: The demand for paper notes to fall to zero. The printing of paper money was also associated with wars, and financing of wars, and therefore regarded as part of maintaining a standing army . For these reasons, paper currency was held in suspicion and hostility in Europe and America. It was also addictive since the speculative profits of trade and capital creation were quite large. Major nations established mints to print money and mint coins, and branches of their treasury to collect taxes and hold gold and silver stock. At this time both silver and gold were considered legal tender , and accepted by governments for taxes. However,
11475-448: The dollar to gold. After this many countries de-pegged their currencies from the U.S. dollar, and most of the world's currencies became unbacked by anything except the governments' fiat of legal tender and the ability to convert the money into goods via payment. According to proponents of modern money theory , fiat money is also backed by taxes. By imposing taxes, states create demand for the currency they issue. Heterodox In Money and
11610-574: The earliest uses of credit , cheques , savings accounts , transactional accounts , loaning, trusts , exchange rates , the transfer of credit and debt , and banking institutions for loans and deposits . In Europe, paper money was first introduced in Sweden in 1661. Sweden was rich in copper, thus, because of copper's low value, extraordinarily big coins (often weighing several kilograms) had to be made. The advantages of paper currency were numerous: it reduced transport of gold and silver, and thus lowered
11745-420: The early 12th century the government finally took over these shops to produce state-issued currency. Yet the banknotes issued were still regionally valid and temporary; it was not until the mid 13th century that a standard and uniform government issue of paper money was made into an acceptable nationwide currency. The already widespread methods of woodblock printing and then Pi Sheng 's movable type printing by
11880-505: The early 2000s. Early examples include Ecash , bit gold , RPOW , and b-money . Not much innovation occurred until the conception of Bitcoin in 2008, which introduced the concept of a decentralised currency that requires no trusted third party . When gold and silver were used as money, the money supply could grow only if the supply of these metals was increased by mining. This rate of increase would accelerate during periods of gold rushes and discoveries, such as when Columbus traveled to
12015-505: The financing of World War I by the Central Powers (by 1922 1 gold Austro-Hungarian krone of 1914 was worth 14,400 paper Kronen), the devaluation of the Yugoslav dinar in the 1990s, etc. Banknotes may also be overprinted to reflect political or economic changes that occur faster than new currency can be printed. In 1988, Austria produced the 5000 Schilling banknote ( Mozart ), which
12150-527: The government declares the fiat currency (typically notes and coins from a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.) to be legal tender , making it unlawful not to accept the fiat currency as a means of repayment for all debts, public and private. Some bullion coins such as the Australian Gold Nugget and American Eagle are legal tender, however, they trade based on
12285-632: The instrument being used as money. Many items have been used as commodity money such as naturally scarce precious metals , conch shells , barley , beads, etc., as well as many other things that are thought of as having value . Commodity money value comes from the commodity out of which it is made. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity. Examples of commodities that have been used as mediums of exchange include gold, silver, copper, rice, Wampum , salt, peppercorns, large stones, decorated belts, shells, alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, candy, etc. These items were sometimes used in
12420-499: The issuing bank would stamp its name and promise to pay, along with the signatures of its president and cashier on a preprinted note. By this time, the notes were standardized in appearance and not too different from Federal Reserve Notes . In a small number of countries, private banknote issuing continues to this day. For example, by virtue of the complex constitutional setup in the United Kingdom, certain commercial banks in two of
12555-413: The largest part of broad money in developed countries. The word money derives from the Latin word moneta with the meaning "coin" via French monnaie . The Latin word is believed to originate from a temple of Juno , on Capitoline , one of Rome's seven hills. In the ancient world, Juno was often associated with money. The temple of Juno Moneta at Rome was the place where the mint of Ancient Rome
12690-474: The last countries to break away from the gold standard was the United States in 1971. No country anywhere in the world today has an enforceable gold standard or silver standard currency system. Commercial bank money or demand deposits are claims against financial institutions that can be used for the purchase of goods and services. A demand deposit account is an account from which funds can be withdrawn at any time by check or cash withdrawal without giving
12825-409: The local currency of the payee unless the parties agree otherwise. Payment in another currency involves an additional transaction for the conversion. The payee may compromise on a debt, i.e., accept part payment in full settlement of a debtor's obligation, or may offer a discount, E.G: For payment in cash, or for prompt payment, etc. On the other hand, the payee may impose a surcharge , for example, as
12960-509: The market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of relative worth and deferred payment, a unit of account is a necessary prerequisite for the formulation of commercial agreements that involve debt. Money acts as a standard measure and a common denomination of trade. It is thus a basis for quoting and bargaining of prices. It is necessary for developing efficient accounting systems like double-entry bookkeeping . While standard of deferred payment
13095-638: The mass of something like 160 grains of barley . The first usage of the term came from Mesopotamia circa 3000 BC. Societies in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia used shell money —often, the shells of the cowry ( Cypraea moneta L. or C. annulus L. ). According to Herodotus , the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins . It is thought by modern scholars that these first stamped coins were minted around 650 to 600 BC. The system of commodity money eventually evolved into
13230-399: The mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were the common form of currency throughout England, outside London. The Bank Charter Act of 1844 , which established the modern central bank, restricted authorisation to issue new banknotes to the Bank of England , which would henceforth have sole control of
13365-529: The military, and backing of state activities. Silver coins were used for midsized transactions, and as a unit of account for taxes, dues, contracts, and fealty, while copper coins represented the coinage of common transaction. This system had been used in ancient India since the time of the Mahajanapadas . In Europe, this system worked through the medieval period because there was virtually no new gold, silver, or copper introduced through mining or conquest. Thus
13500-405: The money can also define rules for its replacement in case of damage or destruction. For example, the U.S. government will replace mutilated Federal Reserve Notes (U.S. fiat money) if at least half of the physical note can be reconstructed, or if it can be otherwise proven to have been destroyed. By contrast, commodity money that has been lost or destroyed cannot be recovered. These factors led to
13635-399: The money supply consists of various financial instruments (usually currency, demand deposits, and various other types of deposits), the amount of money in an economy is measured by adding together these financial instruments creating a monetary aggregate . Economists employ different ways to measure the stock of money or money supply, reflected in different types of monetary aggregates, using
13770-414: The next. For U.S. tax purposes, cash payments generally are taken to occur at the time of payment. Payment may also occur when a person transfers property or performs a service to the payee in satisfaction of an obligation. A payment by cheque is normally deemed to occur when the cheque is delivered, as long as the cheque is honoured on the presentation by the payee. This rule also generally applies where
13905-447: The non-existence of the coincidence of wants. Having a medium of exchange can alleviate this issue because the former can have the freedom to spend time on other items, instead of being burdened to only serve the needs of the latter. Meanwhile, the latter can use the medium of exchange to seek for a party that can provide them with the item they want. A unit of account (in economics) is a standard numerical monetary unit of measurement of
14040-784: The note was presented. Notes issued by central banks had a theoretical risk when they were backed by gold and silver. Both banknotes and coins are subject to inflation . The durability of coins means that even if metal coins melt in a fire or are submerged under the sea for hundreds of years, they still have some value when they are recovered. Gold coins salvaged from shipwrecks retain almost all of their original appearance, but silver coins slowly corrode. Other costs of using bearer money include: The different advantages and disadvantages of coins and banknotes imply that there may be an ongoing role for both forms of bearer money, each being used where its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. Until recently, most banknotes were made from cotton paper with
14175-694: The notes for legal tender (usually gold or silver coin) when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the market served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks or monetary authorities . National banknotes are often, but not always, legal tender , meaning that courts of law are required to recognize them as satisfactory payment of money debts . Historically, banks sought to ensure that they could always pay customers in coins when they presented banknotes for payment. This practice of "backing" notes with something of substance
14310-641: The oldest user of lightweight promissory notes. In China during the Han dynasty , promissory notes appeared in 118 BC and were made of leather. Rome may have used a durable lightweight substance as promissory notes in 57 AD, which have been found in London . However, the first known banknotes were first developed in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, starting in the 7th century and were called " flying money ". Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during
14445-413: The overall ratios of the three coinages remained roughly equivalent. In premodern China , the need for credit and for circulating a medium that was less of a burden than exchanging thousands of copper coins led to the introduction of paper money . This economic phenomenon was a slow and gradual process that took place from the late Tang dynasty (618–907) into the Song dynasty (960–1279). It began as
14580-492: The paper into the lines of the engraving to make suitable banknotes. Another difficulty in counterfeiting banknotes was the paper, as the type of paper used for banknotes was rather different from the paper commercially available at that time. Despite this, some forgers successfully forged notes by dealing with and consulting paper makers, in order to make a similar kind of paper themselves. Furthermore, watermarked paper has also been used since banknotes first appeared; it involved
14715-409: The payment mix is falling worldwide. In 2001, in the United States, cheques accounted for 25% of the U.S.-based payment mix; and in 2006, this was projected to fall to 17%. The timing of payment has legal implications in some situations. For tax purposes, for example, the timing of payment may determine whether it qualifies as a deduction in a taxpayer's calculation of taxable income in one year or
14850-405: The people of the region. However, the government still needed masses of paper products for the exchange certificates and the state's new issuing of paper money. For the printing of paper money alone, the Song government established several government-run factories in the cities of Huizhou , Chengdu , Hangzhou , and Anqi. The workforce employed in these paper money factories was quite large; it
14985-445: The receipts as payable to the bearer of the document rather than the original depositor. This meant that the note could be used as currency based on the security of the goldsmith, not the account holder of the goldsmith-banker. The bankers also began issuing a greater value of notes than the total value of their physical reserves in the form of loans, on the assumption that they would not have to redeem all of their issued banknotes at
15120-456: The right of the holder of the note to collect the precious metal (usually gold or silver) deposited with a banker (via a currency account). In the 14th century, it was used in every part of Europe and in Italian city-state merchants colonies outside of Europe . For international payments, the more efficient and sophisticated bill of exchange ("lettera di cambio"), that is, a promissory note based on
15255-439: The risks; it made loaning gold or silver at interest easier since the specie (gold or silver) never left the possession of the lender until someone else redeemed the note; and it allowed for a division of currency into credit and specie backed forms. It enabled the sale of stock in joint stock companies , and the redemption of those shares in the paper. However, these advantages are held within their disadvantages. First, since
15390-422: The same time period, which historians refer to as "the search for the inimitable banknote." During this time, bank notes also began to be double-sided and have more intricate patterns. The ease with which paper money can be created, by both legitimate authorities and counterfeiters, has led to a temptation in times of crisis such as war or revolution, or merely a spendthrift government, to produce paper money which
15525-461: The same time. This was a natural extension of debt-based issuance of split tally sticks used for centuries in places like St. Giles Fair, however, done in this way, it was able to directly expand the expansion of the supply of circulating money. As these receipts were increasingly used in the money circulation system, depositors began to ask for multiple receipts to be made out in smaller, fixed denominations for use as money. The receipts soon became
15660-435: The second part of the twentieth century allowed money to be represented digitally. By 1990, in the United States all money transferred between its central bank and commercial banks was in electronic form. By the 2000s most money existed as digital currency in bank databases. In 2012, by number of transaction, 20 to 58 percent of transactions were electronic (dependent on country). Anonymous digital currencies were developed in
15795-798: The seller, the issuing bank and the acquiring bank . A cash payment requires at least three parties: the seller, the purchaser and the issuer of the currency. A barter payment requires a minimum of two parties: the purchaser and the seller. The infrastructure and electronic clearing methods are formed by the payment provider . Global credit card payment providers are Diners Club , Visa , American Express and MasterCard . Maestro and Cirrus are international debit card payment providers. Blockchain also provides an infrastructure for payments using digital currency and potentially better security, fewer intermediaries, and lower transaction costs. In 2005, an estimated $ 40 trillion globally passed through some type of payment system. Roughly $ 12 trillion of that
15930-436: The sewing of a thin wire frame into paper mould. Watermarks for notes were first used in 1697, by Rice Watkins, a Berkshire paper maker. Watermarks and special paper made it harder and more expensive to forge banknotes, since more complex and expensive paper-making machines were needed. In the early 19th century (the so-called Bank Restriction Period , 1797–1821), the dramatically increased demand for bank notes slowly forced
16065-423: The shift of the store of value being the metal itself: at first silver, then both silver and gold, and at one point there was bronze as well. Now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins. This was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they also created
16200-459: The term began to be used more broadly, to mean "to pacify one's creditors". As the Latin word was made part of Old French "paier", it retained the meaning "appease" but gained the meaning "to pay" (as in paying a debt). The Middle English word "payen", which came from the French, was also used in both ways. There are two types of payment methods; exchanging and provisioning . Exchanging involves
16335-530: The use of money , comprising banknotes and coins . Provisioning involves the transfer of money from one account to another, and involves a third party. Credit card , debit card , cheque , money transfers , and recurring cash or ACH ( Automated Clearing House ) disbursements are all electronic payments methods. Electronic payment technologies include magnetic stripe cards , smartcards , contactless cards , and mobile payment . Progress payments or instalment payments are often used to allow payment in stages for
16470-399: The world followed Gresham's law : keeping gold and silver paid but paying out in notes. This did not happen all around the world at the same time, but occurred sporadically, generally in times of war or financial crisis, beginning in the early part of the 20th century and continuing across the world until the late 20th century, when the regime of floating fiat currencies came into force. One of
16605-573: The year of sale though payment may be received in a subsequent year. Payment of most fees to government agencies by cheque, if permitted, usually takes effect after a set number of days for clearance or until the cheque is actually cleared. Payments by credit card, if permitted, and cash payments take immediate effect. Normally, no other forms of payment are permitted or accepted. Commercial late payments and consequent interest entitlements are regulated in some countries, for example in Member States of
16740-441: Was based on precious metals . Banknotes were seen by some as an I.O.U. or promissory note : a promise to pay someone in precious metal on presentation (see representative money ). But they were readily accepted—for convenience and security—in London , for example, from the late 1600s onwards. With the removal of precious metals from the monetary system, banknotes evolved into pure fiat money . The first banknote-type instrument
16875-514: Was carried out by Sir William Phips as the governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay starting on December 20, 1690, to help fund the war effort against France . The other Thirteen Colonies followed in Massachusetts' wake and began issuing bills of credit , an early form of paper currency distinct from banknotes, to fund military expenditures and for use as a common medium of exchange . By
17010-472: Was discouraged. By the beginning of the 20th century, almost all countries had adopted the gold standard, backing their legal tender notes with fixed amounts of gold. After World War II and the Bretton Woods Conference , most countries adopted fiat currencies that were fixed to the U.S. dollar . The U.S. dollar was in turn fixed to gold. In 1971 the U.S. government suspended the convertibility of
17145-625: Was entitled to issue its own Luxembourgish franc notes until the introduction of the Euro in 1999. As well as commercial issuers, other organizations may have note-issuing powers; for example, until 2002, the Singapore dollar was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore , a government agency that was later taken over by the Monetary Authority of Singapore . As with any printing, there
17280-490: Was invented by Portals, part of the De La Rue group in the UK. Other related methods include watermarking to reduce the number of corner folds by strengthening this part of the note. Varnishing and coatings reduce the accumulation of dirt on the note for longer durability in circulation. Another security feature is based on windows in the paper, which are covered by holographic foils to make it very hard to copy. Such technology
17415-572: Was located. The name "Juno" may have derived from the Etruscan goddess Uni and "Moneta" either from the Latin word "monere" (remind, warn, or instruct) or the Greek word "moneres" (alone, unique). In the Western world a prevalent term for coin-money has been specie , stemming from Latin in specie , meaning "in kind". The use of barter -like methods may date back to at least 100,000 years ago, though there
17550-846: Was not supported by precious metal or other goods; this often led to hyperinflation and a loss of faith in the value of paper money, e.g. the Continental Currency produced by the Continental Congress during the American Revolution , the Assignats produced during the French Revolution , the paper currency produced by the Confederate States of America and the individual states of the Confederate States of America ,
17685-404: Was originally based upon the value of the metal unless they were token issues or had been debased. Banknotes were originally a claim for the coins held by the bank, but due to the ease with which they could be transferred and the confidence that people had in the capacity of the bank to settle the notes in coin if presented, they became a popular means of exchange in their own right. They now make up
17820-425: Was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou alone employed more than a thousand workers a day. However, the government issues of paper money were not yet nationwide standards of currency at that point; issues of banknotes were limited to regional areas of the empire, and were valid for use only in a designated and temporary limit of three years. Between 1265 and 1274, the late southern Song government introduced
17955-510: Was transacted through various credit cards, mostly the 21,000 member banks of Visa and MasterCard . Processing payments, including the extending of credit, produced close to $ 500 billion in revenue. In 2012, roughly $ 377 trillion passed through noncash payment systems. This led to total account and transaction revenues of nearly $ 524 billion. In the U.S., debit cards are the fastest growing payment technology. In 2001, debit cards accounted for 9 percent of all purchase transactions, and this
18090-496: Was used alongside them. The central government soon observed the economic advantages of printing paper money, issuing a monopoly for the issue of these certificates of deposit to several deposit shops. By the early 12th century, the amount of banknotes issued in a single year amounted to an annual rate of 26 million strings of cash coins. By the 1120s, the central government started to produce its own state-issued paper money (using woodblock printing ). Even before this point,
18225-454: Was used in China in the 7th century, during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Merchants would issue what are today called promissory notes in the form of receipts of deposit to wholesalers to avoid using the heavy bulk of copper coinage in large commercial transactions. Before these notes, circular coins with a rectangular hole in the middle were used. Multiple coins could be strung together on
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