The following assets can be considered as near-money.
1. Bill of Exchange:
Bill of exchange is a promise to pay a specified sum of money on a specified date, generally after 3 months or 90 days. Bills of exchange may be treasury bills or commercial bills or financial bills : (a) Commercial bills are drawn in connection with the commercial transactions, (b) Finance bills are drawn when a person lends money to other person, (c) Treasury bills are the finance bills through which the government raises short-period funds.
2. Bond
Bond is an instrument of borrowing for relatively long periods. It is a promise to pay a fixed sum of money by way of interest annually for a specified number of years and to repay the capital sum borrowed at the end of the period. This method of borrowing is adopted by the government and the industrial units. Bonds issued by the firms arc known as debentures. Bonds issued by the government without a maturity date but with interest payable for the indefinite period are called irredeemable bonds or consols or perpetuities.
Equity shares offer their owners a claim to a share in the profits of the firm declared as dividend. They are marketable in the stock exchange. Bonds and debentures also are transacted in the stock exchange, but the bills of exchange operate in the money market.
4. Other Near-Money Assets:
Besides bills of exchange, bonds, equity shares, there are a large number of financial assets which can be considered as near-money. They are time deposits and saving deposits with commercial banks and other banks ; bankers’ acceptances; cash surrender values of life insurance policies ; repurchasable shares in savings and loan associations ; deposits of building societies ; travelers’ cheques; postal saving deposits; savings in Units of Unit Trust; etc.