# A Standard of Deferred Payment Deferred payments refer to those payments which are to be made at some time in the future. In a modern economy, a large number of transactions involve future payments which can easily be stated in terms of money. This is possible because the value of money remains more or less constant and it possesses the quality of general acceptability. It is **the accepted way (in a given market) to settle a debt**. For example, while the gold standard reigned, gold or any currency convertible to gold at a fixed rate constituted such a standard. In the barter system, it was difficult to make such future payments in terms of goods and services. There was always the risk of increase or decrease in the value of the repayment commodity. There could also be disagreements regarding the quality of goods or services to be repaid. This function of money has facilitated borrowing and lending activities and promoted credit. Financial institutions have been established primarily owing to this function of money. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://aero-wong.gitbook.io/cashless-product-management-to-crossborder-payment/what-makes-money-money/a-standard-of-deferred-payment.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.