Characteristics of money

1. It is a medium of exchange
   Main article: medium of exchange
   The essential function of money is that of acting as a medium of exchange.
   
   Newlyn, W. T. [1962] (1970). “I Definitions and Classifications”, Ed. Clarendon Press Oxford: Theory of Money. London: Oxford University Press, p. 1. “The essential function, the performance of which enables us to identify money, is very simple: it is that of acting as a medium of exchange.”
   A medium of exchange is an intermediary used in trade to avoid the inconveniences of a pure barter system.
2. It is a unit of account
   
   Main article: unit of account
   A unit of account is a standard numerical unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions.
3. It is a store of value
   Main article: store of value
   To act as a store of value, a commodity, a form of money, or financial capital must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved - and be predictably useful when it is so retrieved.