Money as a store of value. Functions of money, features of their implementation in modern conditions

Accumulation of money— a process dual in its socio-economic consequences.

Gold and silver bars, having become universal money, contributed to the rapid development of commodity-money relations and created new phenomenon this relationship is the accumulation of money. This phenomenon of commodity-money economy had not only economic consequences (fast growth economy), but also social: the stratification of society into rich and poor and further strengthening of this gap.

Socio-economic consequences of the accumulation of money as a process of commodity-money relations

The function of money as a store of value

In the function of a store of value (savings), money is used to formation of a reserve of purchasing and means of payment. The performance of money as a means of accumulation is due to the need for expanded social reproduction, expensive consumption. Thus, a commodity producer, wishing to acquire expensive equipment, must resort to accumulation, i.e. after the sale of the goods, do not turn the cash proceeds into a new product. With the expansion of the commodity economy, its transformation into a continuously reproducing system of relations, it becomes necessary to create insurance reserves not in kind, but in a more compact and universal monetary form.

The function of a store of value is performed by both real money and their representatives - paper and other types of money.

Real money as a store of value

Real money, i.e. money in the form of precious metals, having an intrinsic value, in the process of accumulation becomes a treasure. Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and platinum group metals - palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium) act as treasures, gems(natural diamonds, emeralds, rubies) and products from them. As long as money is inseparable or closely related to its commodity nature, it is quantitatively restrained only by the physical scale of the extraction of the money metal. With the advent of substitutes - other forms of money - the boundaries of accumulation are expanding. Completely all quantitative boundaries in the pursuit of the accumulation of money are erased with the advent of money in the form of entries on accounts - electronic money.

Cash and non-cash money as a means of accumulation

The accumulation function can be performed both in cash and non-cash money. Moreover, in the conditions of the development of the banking system, accumulation in a non-cash form prevails in the form of an increase in the balances of funds in the bank accounts of enterprises, the population, and the state. Money accumulated in a non-cash form operates on, money saved in cash is withdrawn from circulation. In conditions of high inflation rates, they depreciate.

Thanks to the fulfillment of the function of money as a means of accumulation, sources are formed, the prerequisites for the development of credit are preserved. Money in the function of accumulation mediates the process of formation, distribution and redistribution, is used in the accumulation of working capital, depreciation charges enterprises, budget funds, Money personal sector until the moment of their use.

AT modern world money is also used as a store of value. This function means that money is used as an asset that arises after the sale of goods or services, stored in order to secure future purchases. In a developed market economy, people keep their free cash in banks. This provides a high purchasing power of money in the future, protects them from depreciation and contributes to the accumulation of wealth. Therefore, modern indicators of the money supply (monetary aggregates) include not only cash, but also deposits in various credit institutions.

The means of accumulation as a function of money under conditions of a high level of development of market relations and the category of exchange value follow from the functions and means of circulation. What brings treasure closer to the measure of value is that it must also be a material embodiment of universal social necessary labor. But money as a means of storing treasure, unlike a measure of value, does not act ideally, but materially. They have an independent existence outside the sphere of circulation, acting as the materialization of the general wealth.

The form of money, as a special commodity, tends to be transformed into the form of luxuries, gold and silver articles. In many countries, the presence of a treasure fund was considered as one of the factors for the stability of money circulation. The ability of the treasure fund to provide a systematic ebb or flow of money metal from the sphere of circulation to the sphere of accumulation and vice versa was taken into account, which corresponds to the expansion and contraction of the volume of functioning of the money supply. As a result of these manipulations, money never overflows the channels of money circulation and the necessary conditions for a mobile equilibrium as a whole are created.

Over time, the role of the accumulation of treasures as a national wealth has declined. The functional significance of treasures is transformed; they serve as a reserve fund of purchasing means or a means of payment. The accumulation of treasures takes place in the form of the society's gold reserves, which are concentrated in banks, most often in the central bank of issue.

Credit money as a store of value

The peculiarity as a means of accumulation is that they are accumulated in the process of constant circulation. If they settle on the hands, they turn from real money into paper symbols. In this function, credit money also reflects the process of concentration of temporarily free cash and savings and their transformation into capital. Credit money performs this function primarily for the implementation of expanded reproduction, when it is necessary to accumulate a certain amount of money necessary for capitalization. The accumulation of capital in the form of credit money is also required in the movement of working capital, when a gap arises in the sale of products and the purchase of raw materials. Credit money contributes to the elimination of disturbances in the circulation of capital.

The composition of monetary savings includes cash balances held by the population, as well as balances of money in bank accounts. The formation of savings among the population occurs due to the excess of income over expenses due to the need to create a reserve for future purchases. This is the most mobile and liquid type of cash savings, since cash serves as legal tender and is required to be accepted in all types of payments. Bank account balances of legal entities and individuals are less mobile and liquid, as certain restrictions may arise regarding their use. There is a sequence of satisfaction of claims on bank accounts, there are restrictions on the use of cash belonging to legal entities.

Money as a means of accumulation (store of value). The content of this function is that money can be used to reserve a stock of future purchasing power. This stock of future purchasing power can be used by enterprises in subsequent cycles of the operating or investment process. By accumulating (preserving) future purchasing power, the stock of money in this function provides their owners with the possibility of consumption in the future period.

Money performs the function of "store of purchasing power" when different situations economic activity enterprises. Such situations may be the lack of effective real investment projects; the need for preliminary formation of investment resources for the implementation of the envisaged investment program; temporary unfavorable market conditions certain types raw materials and materials; the need to create insurance reserves of funds and other similar cases.

The function of money as a means of accumulation (storage of value) temporarily interrupts their function as a means of circulation, since in this case money is temporarily withdrawn from circulation.

At enterprises, the function of money as a means of accumulation (storage of value) is performed by stocks (remains) of monetary assets and their equivalents (short-term financial investments). In this capacity, cash reserves are part of the capital of the enterprise in its monetary (financial) form.

It should be noted that the function of "means of accumulation" can be performed not only by money, but also by other types of assets. Such alternative types of assets can be various forms real estate, antiques, long-term financial investment instruments and others. The choice of monetary assets for the implementation of the function of accumulation (storage of value) is associated primarily with the liquidity factor.

Unlike other types of assets, money is characterized by absolute liquidity, i.e. may be presented as a means of payment at any time. All other types of assets that can be used as an alternative to money in the implementation of the function of accumulation (storage of value), as a direct means of payment in most cases, they cannot be involved and require their preliminary conversion into cash. From these positions, money as a means of accumulation (store of value) has whole line comparative advantage - they are portable in storage; give a gain in time when presented as a means of payment (equal to the period of conversion of other assets into cash); do not generate transaction costs when converted into means of payment.

At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that, as an instrument that implements the function of accumulation (storage of value), money also has a number of significant drawbacks in comparison with other assets used for these purposes. Under certain conditions, the storage of savings in cash brings the company losses. First of all, these losses are measured by the size of "opportunity costs" (the amount of estimated income that could be obtained from the alternative use of the stock of cash assets in investment operations during the expected period of their storage). Financial losses associated with opportunity costs arise when cash is stored directly at the enterprise (“cash on hand”), cash is stored on the settlement or other accounts of the enterprise in commercial banks(if they do not provide for the payment of deposit interest) and in other similar cases, when the stored cash holdings do not bring income to the enterprise. In addition, the losses of the enterprise when storing savings in cash arise as a result of a decrease in the purchasing power of money during periods of inflation. To a certain extent, these shortcomings can be overcome if the enterprise predominantly uses not direct funds, but their substitutes (primarily financial investment instruments) for the implementation of the accumulation (value preservation) function.

In the implementation of the economic activities of enterprises, the function of money as a means of accumulation (value preservation) plays an important role. First of all, the effective implementation of this function ensures the constant solvency of the enterprise and reduces the risk of its bankruptcy. In addition, without the preliminary accumulation of capital in cash, it is impossible to carry out investment activities, to ensure simple and expanded reproduction of non-current assets. Finally, the implementation of this function allows the enterprise to carry out self-insurance of commercial and financial risks by forming the necessary targeted reserves to cover losses under adverse circumstances.

Acting as a means of accumulation, money independently exists outside the sphere of circulation. Their purpose in this function is that they keep the cost of goods and services sold in the most liquid form for future purchases. The possibility of the functioning of money as a means of accumulation is due to the fact that in the process of reproduction the social product takes not only a productive and commodity form, but also a monetary form, in which real accumulation is expressed. material assets. The need to save money is due to various factors objective and subjective nature: the needs of expanding reproduction, insurance of market risks, the acquisition of expensive goods, etc.

Money acts as a store of value as specific shape public wealth, i.e. are recognized by society as an economic good, which makes it possible to turn it into any commodity at any time in the future. Thus, in contrast to the accumulation of material values, in the process of monetary accumulation, value is preserved in its general form and is constantly ready to enter circulation again without any preliminary preparation, servicing exchange transactions.

The function of a store of value, like the function of a means of payment, arose from the process of commodity circulation. In the course of performing the function of a medium of circulation, money can stop its movement: if the commodity producer, after selling his product, did not exchange the proceeds for another product, then they leave the sphere of circulation and begin to function as a means of accumulation. The fulfillment of this function by money, in turn, is a necessary condition for the accumulation of funds for the purpose of subsequent redistribution on the basis of credit, in the process of which money functions as a means of payment.

All types of money can act as a means of accumulation, however, there are features in the performance of this function by full-fledged and inferior money. The process of accumulation of valuable money (precious metals in the form of coins, ingots, nuggets, etc.) is carried out in the form of the formation of treasures, since they, having their own intrinsic value, were valuable both in the sphere of circulation as money, and outside this sphere - as a commodity.

The important role of the function of the store of value in metallic monetary systems was that it was a spontaneous regulator of monetary circulation. During periods of decline in production and reduction in trade, the need for money as a means of circulation and payment decreased.

With the development of national monetary systems and the emergence of central banks, the latter were obliged to accumulate gold reserves in the form of reserves, which were used to ensure the issue of money, the exchange of banknotes issued by them for gold and payments on international obligations. AT modern conditions When gold ceased to act as a universal equivalent, central banks continue to accumulate it as part of their reserves as a financial asset with its own

value and used to ensure the stability of the national currency, regulate the balance of payments and other purposes.

Inferior money cannot act as a treasure because it has no intrinsic value. They function as a store of value, storing value in its most liquid form. By means of fiat credit money, the process of accumulation of value temporarily released in the process of reproduction is carried out, and its transformation into capital. At the same time, they act as a representative of social wealth only to the extent that the value that has received its ideal expression in them can be embodied in real use values. Therefore, defective money can most fully fulfill the function of a store of value only if its purchasing power is constant. The depreciation of defective money in the process of inflation reduces their attractiveness as a means of accumulation the more, the higher the inflation rate.

Initially, people began to save money, turning the excess of created economic goods into them, so money at that stage acted only as an expression of social wealth. With the development of the commodity economy, money accumulation has become a necessary condition for the continuous functioning of reproduction, the circulation of capital. The accumulation of money is needed primarily for the implementation of expanded reproduction, since additional investment in fixed capital is required.

The population also accumulates money for purchases in the future, saving them in the form of bank deposits, investments in securities, hoarding of precious metals, etc. The savings of the population are one of the main sources of the investment process that ensures economic growth, therefore great importance has an increase in the efficiency of the state credit system for the accumulation of individual savings and their subsequent redistribution in loans to the real sector of the economy.

Money accumulation has objective limits. During the circulation of valuable money, these limits were quantitatively set by the reserves of money metal available in nature and the scale of its production. In the conditions of the functioning of inferior money, their accumulation should reflect the accumulation of real material goods, i.e. it is necessary to maintain a balance between the monetary and natural-material structure of reproduction. Otherwise, the possibility of inflationary depreciation of money is created.

Money that is temporarily not involved in circulation forms monetary accumulations and performs this function. Cash savings include cash balances held by individuals, as well as cash balances in customer bank accounts. The formation of monetary savings of individual citizens and business entities is due to the excess of their income over expenses, the need to create a reserve for future expenses. The presence of cash savings allows you to use them in the coming periods to pay for purchased goods and pay off various obligations.

Money, acting as a means of accumulation, contributes to the development credit relations, with the help of which it becomes possible to use temporarily free funds generated in various parts of the economy and from the population to lend them to enterprises and organizations of other parts of the economy and individual citizens. Emerging and systematically renewed credit relations contribute to the appropriate use of the resources of the economy, the development of production and a more complete satisfaction of the needs of the population.

Such are the economic results of the use of money when it performs the function of a store of value.

There are no restrictions on the use of savings by the population. This is the most mobile and liquid type of cash savings, especially since cash is legal tender and must be accepted in all types of payments.

Mobility and liquidity various reasons are also inherent in the balances of funds of legal entities and individuals in bank accounts, but certain restrictions may arise regarding the use of such funds under certain conditions. So, if the funds on the current account of the enterprise are insufficient to meet all needs, the available funds can be used in accordance with the established order of fulfillment of obligations, and not only by order of the enterprise - the owner of the account. At the same time, bank balances to a certain extent represent not only the accumulation of money, but also investments that generate income.

At the same time, it should be noted that money invested in stocks, bonds and other securities is no longer the accumulation of money, but their investment to generate income.

Money as a means of accumulation in the form of its most mobile and liquid part, which is cash, on the one hand, does not generate income; on the other hand (especially in conditions of inflation) they are subject to the risk of depreciation. Various conditions the use of money as a means of accumulation presuppose the need for certain efforts for the expedient placement of accumulated money.

The accumulation of cash from the population has such an important advantage as the almost unhindered possibility of using it to finance various expenses. This serves as a considerable incentive to increase such savings.

The function of money store of value follows directly from the functions of the measure of value and the medium of circulation. This function presupposes a certain level of development of market relations and categories of exchange value, as well as the use of gold and silver as a universal equivalent. In particular, money as a measure of value must be full-fledged, although ideal (for money, as a measure of value, their materiality is indifferent), and real, albeit incomplete, money serves as a medium of circulation. Money, in its function as a means of accumulation, is both full-fledged and real.

The accumulation of money does not happen by itself and is not carried out spontaneously. There are reasons or motives for this. In fact, the motivation to accumulate money is connected, firstly, with the desire of people to accumulate wealth, and secondly, the need to ensure the continuity and regularity of the process of production and circulation of goods. In this case, money acts as a powerful regulatory means of the process of social reproduction.

In the classical form, the function of a means of accumulation or the formation of treasures is performed by gold and silver, acting as full-fledged and real money. The appearance of this function of money is quite natural: since money represents the universal embodiment of wealth, there is a desire to accumulate it. But for this it is necessary to interrupt two metamorphoses in the exchange of goods C - M - C. In this case, the sale of a commodity is not followed by the purchase of another commodity, and the money falls out of circulation and turns into a treasure.

The function of money as a means of accumulation involves the formation of a certain asset or stock left after the sale of goods and the consumption of income. In this case, money appears in the form of effective demand deferred for the future or their purchasing power that is currently unrealized. Money can perform this function due to the fact that it is endowed with "perfect liquidity", that is, at any time it can play the role of a means of payment and, accumulating, they do not change their nominal value. However, in conditions of high inflation, it makes no sense to accumulate money, as they quickly depreciate. To a certain extent, this problem can be solved by placing money in a deposit account at an interest rate that is equal to or higher than the inflation rate. But this raises a number of other problems.

The possibility of isolating the function of money as a means of accumulation lies in the spatial and temporal separation of the acts of sale and purchase. Because of this, the money form, as a special commodity, can be transformed into the form of luxury goods, gold and silver jewelry. In this case we are talking about the constant process of increasing national wealth. At the same time, the increase in national wealth has its own reasons and motives. At the same time, the existence of a money accumulation fund is used to achieve the stability of money circulation.

This requires not accumulation as such, but its ability to provide a systematic inflow or outflow of the monetary commodity from the sphere of circulation to the sphere of accumulation and vice versa. The constant fluctuation of commodity production and the prices of commodities requires a continuous change in the money supply. It is the ebb and flow of money that is the only possible path expansion and contraction of the volume of the functioning money supply, due to which money will never overflow the channels of monetary circulation. Therefore, the possibility of transforming a treasure or accumulation into a medium of exchange and the reverse transformation of a medium of circulation into accumulation is a necessary condition for the mobile equilibrium of the monetary system as a whole.

The fulfillment of the function of accumulation (treasure) by money is carried out by the formation of a monetary reserve that regulates the number of monetary units necessary for the needs of turnover. In this case, the economic content of the accumulation function is based on a change in the needs of money circulation in a particular amount of means of payment, which causes the inflow or outflow of money into the channels of active money circulation. Under the gold standard, the exchange of banknotes, and in some cases state paper money on gold also provided the possibility of regulating the number of banknotes in circulation.

In pre-capitalist formations, there was a so-called "naive form of wealth accumulation", in which gold and silver withdrawn from money circulation were stored in chests, stockings, capsules, buried in the ground (this form has not disappeared at the present time, despite the fact that noble metals were replaced by value signs). In the conditions of metallic money circulation, the function of accumulation performed an important role. economic role, acting as a spontaneous regulator of monetary circulation. With the growth of commodity production, the transformation of money into a means of accumulation becomes a necessary condition for the regular renewal of the production process. Thus, the desire to obtain the greatest profit forces entrepreneurs not to keep money in the form of "hoarding", but to constantly put it into circulation.

The function of money as a means of accumulation is the ability to be a special kind of asset that is stored after the sale of goods and services and provides its owner with purchasing power in the future. People can store their wealth in the form of jewelry, works of art, houses, stocks and bonds, and other forms. However, money is more suitable for this function, since it has inherent liquidity. Liquid is an asset that can be used as a means of payment (or easily converted into a means of payment) and has a fixed nominal value. Money has perfect liquidity, since it can be used as a means of payment and perform the function of a measure of value without changing its own nominal value (ceteris paribus). All other assets have liquidity only to a greater or lesser extent.

Although the perfect liquidity of money makes it an ideal store of value over short periods time, however, money has the disadvantage that the owner of monetary assets often has to sacrifice the income that could be obtained by using a less liquid asset. Thus, during periods of rapid inflation, money as a means of accumulation loses its attractiveness, despite its high liquidity. In cases where hyperinflation occurs, the national currency may not be partially used as a store of value, and also as a measure of value. People immediately exchange their country's money for a stable currency. After that, they exchange stable foreign currency for national money as they need to make purchases.

3.5. World money and the relationship of money functions

money in function world money"function as a universal means of payment, a universal means of purchase and an absolute social materialization of wealth in general...". This means that money in the function of world money serves international money circulation. In fact, on the world stage, the role of money as a means of payment, and not as a means of circulation (purchasing means), is put forward in the first place. This situation is primarily related to rapid development international loan.

This function of money arose in pre-capitalist formations, but was fully developed with the creation of the world market. In this market, money is thrown off "national uniforms" and acts as noble metal. Paris Agreement(1867) gold was recognized as the only form of world money. World money acts as an international means of payment mainly in the settlements on the balance of payments. As an international means of purchase, world money is used when buying goods abroad and paying for them (for example, when buying grain, sugar and other food products). As a materialization of social wealth, world money is a means of transferring national wealth from one country to another in the collection of indemnities, reparations or loans. The development of international political and economic relations (foreign trade, international credit relations, etc.) determines the functioning of money in the world market. Under the gold standard, world money acted in the form of ingots of precious metals (gold), since inferior money that circulates within a particular country loses its force on the world market.

With metallic money circulation, central (issuing) banks were required to have gold reserves in the form of reserves of internal money circulation for exchanging banknotes for gold, as well as international payments. At present, these functions of the gold reserve of the central bank have been abolished in connection with the withdrawal of gold from money circulation, the cessation of the exchange of banknotes for gold and the abolition of gold parities, i.e., the exclusion of the precious metal from international circulation. At the same time, gold continues to be held by central banks as a strategic reserve. However, the growth dynamics of gold reserves is insignificant. So, in 1994, all the states of the world spent only 1.2 billion dollars to replenish their gold reserves, having bought less than 100 tons of gold bars on the gold markets.

Nevertheless, by the end of 1990 in industrialized and developing countries official gold reserves amounted to 938.4 million ounces or 29.2 thousand tons, including 24.8 thousand tons in developed countries and 4.4 thousand tons in developing countries. At the end of 1994, gold in state reserves amounted to 8141 thousand tons in the USA, 3701 thousand tons in Germany, 3182 thousand tons in France, 2592 thousand tons in Italy, 2590 thousand tons in Switzerland, Monetary Fund− 3217 thousand tons. The storage of gold reserves is connected to a large extent with the so-called "gold fetish", when, back in the Middle Ages, mercantilists argued that the wealth of the country and its foundation economic policy constitutes the accumulation of precious metals.

Characteristically, until the middle of the twentieth century. it was also believed that the prestige of a nation is determined by the amount of gold reserves. Thus, in September 1949, the United States concentrated 75% of all the gold reserves of the capitalist world (about 21.9 thousand tons). At present, the gold fetish continues to exist in the minds of individuals who view gold as a reliable guarantee of savings. In modern conditions, gold continues to perform the function of accumulation (treasure) and, along with credit money, is used by the state to create centralized gold and foreign exchange reserves. At the same time, gold is increasingly being purchased as a raw material for subsequent industrial processing in finished products− jewelry, industrial and household items, coins, medals, etc. at the same time, the purchase of bullion gold for the manufacture of jewelry continued in the mid-90s of the twentieth century. very high level(2.5-2.5 thousand tons per year). In 1994, the total cost of purchasing gold-bearing raw materials for jewelry needs amounted to 32 billion dollars.

As commodity production develops, full-fledged money turns into tokens of value. In this case, paper and credit money, functioning within the country, cease to be exchanged for gold. Therefore, in international economic relations, the currencies of the leading countries of the world, primarily the US dollar, began to function as an international payment, purchasing and reserve means. At the same time, gold reserves act as liquid assets for obtaining reserve currencies.

Gold continues to play the role of an insurance fund through the function of accumulating money. During the period of the gold standard, the practice of final balancing of the balance of payments with the help of gold prevailed, although in international turnover mainly credit instruments of circulation were used. In the twentieth century intensification international relations expanded the introduction of credit instruments of circulation in international circulation (bill, check, etc.). So, in 1930 it was signed international convention on bills of exchange and promissory notes, and in 1931, the International Convention Governing the Issuance, Circulation and Payment of Checks. At the same time, the peculiarity of the use of bills and checks in international circulation lies in the fact that they do not play the role of the final means of payment, like gold.

In modern conditions, gold as a means of payment has been replaced by credit money. The process of this displacement began in the first half of the 20th century, when various reduced forms of the gold standard existed, and was expressed in the use of the so-called reserve currencies for international settlements - pounds sterling, French francs, american dollars. It is US dollars that are now the most used means of payment in the world market (about 75% of all payments). And countries - Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) receive more than 90% of all payments for oil in dollars.

However, the use of the dollar, as well as other national currencies as means of payment, greatly destabilizes the system of international settlements due to differences in the interests of the world economy and the issuing countries (the so-called "Triffin's dilemma"). Therefore, on modern stage development of international economic relations there is a gradual, although not pronounced, strengthening of the role of various supranational regulatory bodies in the field of currency relations. This finds, in particular, a manifestation in the use of units of account issued by supranational monetary and financial institutions. The most well-known of these is “special drawing rights”, referred to by the English abbreviation SDR. Other international means calculations was the ECU, which was quite widely used in Western European countries, which at the end of the 90s of the twentieth century was transformed into the "euro".

The functions of money interact with each other. The relationship between the functions of money can be depicted in Fig. 3.1.

Rice. 3.1. real movement money supply

From fig. 3.1 shows that the basis of the relationship of the functions of money is the function of money as a measure of value. This is quite natural, since, as noted earlier, this function of money is constitutive, defining. If money does not have this function, all the rest will practically not be able to fully fulfill their role.

Currently, many specialists in the field of money are increasingly inclined to believe that in modern industrialized countries, money is a form of capital. In this case, proceed from the fact that money is similar. For example, in the United States, over 90% of the money supply is represented by payment obligations and documents issued by credit institutions: checks, certificates of deposit, "orders to withdraw deposits", etc. This gives grounds to assert that modern money is not only evidence of solvency, but also carriers the right to receive income, since practically all accounts whose owners issue payment documents pay interest, i.e., modern money does not differ from money capital in its essential features. From this we can conclude that the elucidation of the role and value nature of modern money is impossible without studying the value and price of money capital, interest, as well as the problems of savings and investment.

Money performs the functions that determine their social purpose: measures of value, means of circulation, means of payment, means of formation of treasures and world money.
The function of money as a measure of value.
This function is performed by money in measuring the value of commodities. The form of manifestation of value is price, but the value of commodities serves to transform exchange relations into the possibility of quantitative evaluations with the help of money.
The function of money as a medium of exchange.
The monetary expression of the value of the goods by means of the function of the measure of value does not yet mean the sale of the goods. Its price is realized only in the real exchange of goods for money in the process of commodity circulation: goods - money - goods. To fulfill the function of a medium of exchange, money must always be available. This function is performed by money when the population realizes its income.
The function of money as a means of payment.
Money performs the function of a means of payment in all cases when there is no direct exchange of goods for money and they act in the form of an independent exchange value. This function is performed by money: in settlements between enterprises for goods, services, works; when calculating physical and legal entities with the state; when repaying loans and interest on them; upon payment wages; when paying insurance premiums; when paying for utilities etc.
The Function of Money as a Means of Treasure and Accumulation.
Performing this function, money exists outside the sphere of circulation. The purpose of money is to keep the value of goods and services sold in the most liquid form for future purchases. In this function, credit money also mediates the process of accumulation of temporarily free funds and their accumulation and transformation into capital. The need for money accumulation is due to the need to expand production, purchase expensive goods, real estate, etc.
Function of world money(international payment method)
Money is used for cash transactions between countries. The performance of such a function in the presence of gold money or freely convertible currency was not in doubt. In modern conditions, the monetary unit of the Republic of Belarus - the Belarusian ruble - is not used for settlements with other countries, i.e. does not fulfill the function of world money.
The function of world money is manifested in the relationship between countries or between legal and individuals located in various countries. In such relationships, money is used to pay for purchased goods, when making credit and some other transactions. In conditions when settlements began to be made with defective money, Settlements between countries began to be made using a freely convertible currency (US dollars, Japanese yens, etc.) or in international units(SDRs are Special Drawing Rights used by the IMF). 5.