Medium of exchange

Cash means all money sign and same money and securitized debt securities which are in the payments.

General

Cash used in modern payment the cash pledged debtor to his creditor to pay off the resulting debt money from contract or by law to be valid. In Germany, the law recognizes only the fulfillment of the money debt in cash. It is in the traditional sense, the "actually" owed ​​service of the debtor's money and therefore leads through the transfer of cash to settle the amount owed. The debtor is the repayment of a monetary obligation with other means of payment as the legal means of payment ( eg payment in foreign currency or by credit card) only permitted if this has been agreed between the parties within the framework of freedom of contract in advance. Due to the spread of current accounts with the possibility of cashless payments for a cash payment can be as satisfying performance even excluded in exceptional cases. This is done by contract in labor and lease agreements ( salary / wages and rents are predominantly non-cash paid ) and by law, as in § 224 paragraph 3 sentence 1 AO, § 51 Section 1 of federal financial aid, § 117 paragraph 1 sentence 2 BMA.

History

Main article: History of money

Money as means of payment originally consisted of coins. Already in the Roman Empire gold, silver and copper coins were used as currency. In the year 794 the Roman pounds by the Karl pounds (408 g) was replaced. For this pounds to 240 denarii coined to 1.7 g, of which 12 to a shilling ( solidus ) and 20 shillings to the pound were calculated. This computing manner remained even get up to 15 February 1971 in the UK.

30th November 1656 the first European central bank was founded as " Stockholm Banco " in Sweden, the radiation emitted from July 1661 for the first time in Europe banknotes. It was - like other privately organized and provided with touch privilege - Banks called bank note. Since its nationalization in 1668, it is the forerunner of today's Swedish Sveriges Riksbank. The first German List Bank was established on 17 June 1765 by Count of Reuss in Berlin as Royal Bank and equipped on 29 October 1766 Rating privilege. Banknotes had compared to gold or silver coins, no special material value, which is why you despised such banks as " note banks ". List were considered as " Papierpest " Goethe mocked as " diabolical thinking birth."

In Germany, the first " Bancozettel " published in Cologne, issued by the resident " Banco di gyro d` Affrancatione ", which was founded on March 2, 1705 proposal of the Elector Johann Wilhelm II. Already in 1713 the Imperial Court of Justice ruled that state " banco instigate " that had been issued in this case by the Palatine Bank of Cologne would have to be accepted as payment.

The Bank of England introduced due to the Bank of England Act of July 6, 1833 for the first time a legal tender one. Banknotes had to be accepted for amounts over £ 5 and redeemed by the Bank of England. Since 1825 there has been a scientific debate in England between the Currency School and the Banking School on the question of whether bank notes constitute money or whether they should be regarded as credit instruments such as checks or bills of exchange. The followers of the Currency Theory relied on the work of David Ricardo's from 1809, for which the abundance of circulating cash was this devalued and a full gold coverage required. For the Banking School were banknotes credit payment instruments, which is why a gold cover 1/3 was sufficient. The Einlösepflicht the Bank of England came during the banking crisis in 1839 in danger because she was able to fulfill this duty only by foreign loans. In France, the bill was only in 1870 the legal tender before the Goldeinlösepflicht was restored in 1873. In Austria, the Privileged, founded on June 1, 1816 Austrian National Bank was given the sole right to introduce banknotes as legal tender.

Types of cash

Generally a distinction is made between legal and other means of payment.

Legal tender

Legal tender is the operation of law, legally effective fulfillment of obligations prescribed circulating in large quantities banknotes and coins of a state. The state " had its legislation ... in hand to fix what needs to be taken as cash in exchange for traffic ... " With a legal tender " is must each be satisfied if he had been paid for it." When legal tender means the state uses its sovereign task to determine the currency of the country within the monetary constitution, to organize and to require as payment. The derived therefrom compulsory acceptance for creditors may be unlimited (for banknotes) or be limited administratively ( in most countries consists in coins a limited compulsory acceptance ).

Euro zone

Thus, in Article 128 paragraph 1 TFEU is determined that the ECB has the exclusive right to authorize the issue of euro banknotes within the EU and is entitled, together with the national central banks may issue such notes. The delegation of the issue right on the German Bundesbank is found in § 14 section 1 sentence 2 of the Bundesbank Act again. The issue of euro coins is for the Member States (Article 128, paragraph 2, TFEU). The euro banknotes issued are the only unlimited legal tender and are shown on the liability side of the central bank 's balance sheet. This illustrates that banknotes represent a claim on the central banking system.

For the creditor an obligation to contract is in all states with the legal tender connected ( one also speaks of the obligation to accept or schuldbefreiendem compulsory acceptance ). He must accept EU Euro banknotes as fulfilling its monetary claim because " issued by the European Central Bank and the national central banks shall be the only such notes in force in the Union as a legal tender ."

Germany

In Germany, " denominated in euro banknotes the only unlimited legal tender ". At Euro and Cent coins duty of acceptance is to a maximum of 50 coins and amount based on 100 Euros limited. According to Article 11 Clause 3 of this EC Regulation "no one except the issuing authority (...) obliged to accept more than fifty coins in any single payment " is.

Euro commemorative coins must be accepted only to a limited extent in accordance with § 3 paragraph 1 Coinage Act also. For payments which consist only of commemorative coins, amounts must be accepted to 200 euros; , a payment in euro coins as well as in German euro commemorative coins, no one is obliged also to accept more than 50 coins. Coins denominated in euros, with the exception of 2- Euro - coins only in the countries issue legal tender.

Other States

Similar rules on legal tender is also available in all other states. The U.S. dollar is 5112 of the United States Code as legal tender ( legal tender ), determined public fees and taxes in Title 31 Section for all debts. In many other countries, including Germany, however, shall not be required for cash payments in everyday life, to accept dollar cash ( 31 USC § 5103 ). As legal tender in the U.S. are even some silver and gold coins ( such as the American Gold Eagle), in Switzerland the Vreneli 20 Fr and in South Africa, the Krugerrand; However, since the price of these bullion coins is well above the embossed nominal value, they are not actually used as a means of payment but for investment. The high price depends on its high gold content (and thus the price of gold ) and the other hand on the relative scarcity of gold coins from.

Under Article 2 of the Federal Act on Currency and Payment Instruments ( CI ), the Swiss franc is the legal tender in Switzerland, as denominated in Swiss francs and sight deposits at the SNB. While franc banknotes are to be accepted indefinitely, the acceptance obligation is limited to 100 pieces with coins (Art. 3 CI ). The banknotes issued by the Bank of England banknotes are under Chapter 12 Section 1 (2 ) of the Currency and Bank Notes Act of February 10, 1954 only legal tender in England and Wales.

In Hong Kong Banknotes (Hong Kong dollars) are since 1872, not by the central bank (there is no formal ), but issued by three commercial banks ( the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation - HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank ), and (since 1994 ) of the Bank of China, which is unusual and unique in the world. Since the Currency Ordinance of November 9, 1935, these banks were declared to be legal tender banks (banks for legal tender ) by the Government Authority Hong Kong Monetary Authority ( HKMA ). The bills can vary by denomination in design and color, as each of the three banks can choose their own design. The HKMA is now in Hong Kong, the actual (but not legal ) central bank, which has delegated the privilege to score three commercial banks.

Other means of payment

Only cash is legal tender in the respective countries worldwide. The remaining cash do not qualify as legal tender, in particular no obligation to contract for creditors is associated with their use. As to the other means of payment include the disposal of book money for cashless payments by bank transfer, check, draft or direct debit. In Germany they are classified as conditional law as a power instead of fulfillment (bank transfer) or power of performance (the other means of payment). Varieties and foreign exchange, foreign currency, for neither is a compulsory acceptance at home and for other cash-equivalent value characters (about stamps).

The creditor can this - accept cash in return, an assumption but there is no obligation - not legal.

Payment behavior in Germany

In Germany, citizens prefer to pay with cash. Individuals employed in 2011 at 53.1 % (2008: 57.9 %) of their spending on goods and services when shopping cash. In order for this payment instrument remains the most popular and widely used form of payment. In the non-cash instruments, the Girocard (the former ec card), the role of favorite well before the credit card. It is ( 25.5%) used in 28.4 % of the total expenditure, the share of remittances was 8.2 % ( 8.9% ), followed by credit cards, whose share has doubled to 7.4 % ( 3.6%). Other payment instruments play virtually no role. The threshold amount at which the consumers of the cash converts to non-cash payment, is the study, between 20 and 50 €, 100 € outweighs the girocard.

Others

Not available in all countries, the local currency is the sole currency. For example, it is in Central America, the parallel currency, the U.S. dollar and the Balkans 20./Anfang end of the 21st century, at times the D- Mark and the Euro as the sole regular means of payment ( eg Montenegro). Before the introduction of the Euro the Deutschmark was accepted as payment in commercial transactions in some European countries. In this weak -currency countries, there was and there is, however, official legal tender, but were or are U.S. dollar, euro or DM in fact recognized as a second means of payment.