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。

A payment is the transfer of an item of value from one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for the provision of goods, services or both, or to fulfill a legal obligation.

The simplest and oldest form of payment is barter, the exchange of one good or service for another. In the modern world, common means of payment by an individual include money, check, debit, credit, or bank transfer, and in trade such payments are frequently preceded by an invoice or result in a receipt. However, there are no arbitrary limits on the form a payment can take and thus in complex transactions between businesses, payments may take the form of stock or other more complicated arrangements.