Deposits with Banks

The other form in which people hold money is as deposits with banks. At a point of time, people need only some currency for their day-to-day needs. For instance, workers who receive their salaries at the end of each month have extra cash at the beginning of the month. Banks accept the deposits and also pay an interest rate on the deposits. In this way people’s money is safe with the banks and it earns an interest. People also have the provision to withdraw the money as and when they require. Since the deposits in the bank accounts can be withdrawn on demand, these deposits are called demand deposits. Demand deposits offer another interesting facility. It is this facility which lends it the essential characteristics of money (that of a medium of exchange). For payment through cheque, the payer who has an account with the bank, makes out a cheque for a specific amount. A cheque is a paper instructing the bank to pay a specific amount from the person’s account to the person in whose name the cheque has been made.