法偿是指具有法定支付能力的货币。

有限法偿主要针对辅币而言，是指货币具有有限的法定支付能力。即在一次支付中，如果使用有限法偿货币支付的数额超过法定限额，受款人则有权拒绝接受。本位币一般都具有无限法偿能力。

Legal tender is a medium of payment recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency and coins are common forms of legal tender in many countries. Legal tender is variously defined in different jurisdictions. Formally, it is anything which when offered in payment extinguishes the debt. Thus, personal cheques, credit cards, debit cards, and similar non-cash methods of payment are not usually legal tender. The law does not relieve the debt obligation until payment is tendered. Coins and banknotes are usually defined as legal tender. Some jurisdictions may forbid or restrict payment made other than by legal tender. For example, such a law might outlaw the use of foreign coins and bank notes or require a license to perform financial transactions in a foreign currency.