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The functions of money are that it is a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value. [26] To fulfill these various functions, money must be: [27] Fungible: its individual units must be capable of mutual substitution (i.e., interchangeability). Durable: able to withstand repeated use. Divisible: divisible to small units.
The alternative to a commodity money system is fiat money which is defined by a central bank and government law as legal tender even if it has no intrinsic value. Originally fiat money was paper currency or base metal coinage, but in modern economies it mainly exists as data such as bank balances and records of credit or debit card purchases, [3] and the fraction that exists as notes and coins ...
Monetary economics is the branch of economics that studies the different theories of money: it provides a framework for analyzing money and considers its functions ( as medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account), and it considers how money can gain acceptance purely because of its convenience as a public good. [1]
Money is well-suited to storing value because of its purchasing power. [4] It is also useful because of its durability. [5] Because of its function as a store of value, large quantities of money are hoarded. [6] Money's usefulness as a store of value declines if there are significant changes in the general level of prices. [7]
Of all functions of money, the medium of exchange function has historically been the most problematic due to counterfeiting, the systematic and deliberate creation of bad money with no authorization to do so, leading to the driving out of the good money entirely. Other functions rely not on recognition of some token or weight of metal in a ...
In other words, financial systems can be known wherever there exists the exchange of a financial medium (money) while there is a reallocation of funds into needy areas (financial markets, business firms, banks) to utilize the potential of ideal money and place it in use to get benefits out of it. This whole mechanism is known as a financial system.
The history of money is the development over time of systems for the exchange of goods and services. Money is a means of fulfilling these functions indirectly and in general rather than directly, as with barter. Money may take a physical form as in coins and notes, or may exist as a written or electronic account.
The money market is a component of the economy that provides short-term funds. The money market deals in short-term loans, generally for a period of a year or less. As short-term securities became a commodity, the money market became a component of the financial market for assets involved in short-term borrowing, lending, buying and selling with original maturities of one year or less.