What is currency?

• A. Digital balances only
• B. Loans and credit
• C. Coin and paper money circulated and accepted as money
• D. Checks and drafts

Answer: (C)

Currency is the physical cash—coins and banknotes—that circulates in an economy and is accepted as payment for goods and services. It is the money people can use directly in everyday transactions and is typically legal tender issued by the central monetary authority. This sets it apart from digital balances, which are electronic representations of value in bank accounts or digital wallets; from loans and credit, which create purchasing power but are not the cash itself; and from checks and drafts, which are instruments used to transfer money rather than the money in use. Currency serves as a ready medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value in daily commerce.