what is legal tender

Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered in payment of a debt. Legal tender is established by a statute that specifies the thing to be used as legal tender and the institution that is authorized to produce and issue it to the public. In the United States, United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. However, federal statutes do not require a seller to accept cash as a form of legal tender for payment of goods or services that were rendered. Thus, businesses may establish their own policies regarding whether they will accept cash as legal tender. Legal tender is solely for the guaranteed settlement of debts, and does not imply a right to pay with cash in other contexts.