A check refers to a bill issued by the drawer, and a bank or other financial institution entrusted with the check deposit business unconditionally pays a determined amount to the payee or holder when the check is presented. To open a checking deposit account and receive a check, you must have reliable credit and deposit a certain amount of funds. Checks can be divided into cash checks and transfer checks. Once endorsed, a check can be circulated and transferred. It has the function of currency and has become a credit circulation tool that can replace currency to function as a means of circulation and payment. Using checks for currency settlement can reduce the circulation of cash and save currency circulation costs.

A bill of exchange refers to a bill issued by the drawer, entrusting the payee to unconditionally pay a determined amount to the payee or holder at sight or on a specified date. A bill of exchange does not have legal effect when it is drawn by the drawer. It can become a valid negotiable security only after it is signed or stamped by the debtor or its authorized bank. In countries and regions with open financial markets, bills of exchange can be transferred or discounted to banks after being endorsed by the drawee. Banks and postal and telecommunications offices in some countries accept the entrustment of the remitter to issue money orders, and the bank, postal and telecommunications office or remitter sends the money to the payee to collect the money from the designated payment bank, postal and telecommunications office. Depending on the drawer, bills of exchange are divided into bank bills and commercial bills.

A credit card is a credit certificate issued by a bank for consumers to purchase goods and pay for services. It is a payment instrument for non-cash settlement. It first appeared in the United States and became popular in Western developed countries in the 1970s. China began issuing credit cards in 1986. Credit cards are made of plastic, so they are also called plastic money or plastic banknotes. The cardholder's name, signature style, number and limit for each credit purchase are printed on the card. The characteristic of credit cards is that you consume first and pay later. Cardholders do not need to carry cash or checks when going out. They can use their credit cards to purchase goods, tickets or meals at designated stores, hotels, and restaurants. They can also make overdrafts of small amounts of cash to branches or agency banks of the card-issuing bank. Stores, hotels, restaurants and other commercial departments that have signed contracts with banks collect payment from the bank based on the bill signed by the cardholder. The bank then sends the cardholder for verification and pays it off within the specified period. If the payment is overdue, the card-issuing bank will calculate the interest on the balance periodically until the cardholder pays off the interest. Credit cards are widely used because they are convenient for consumption, can increase the turnover of companies, shops, hotels and other service institutions, and help develop banking business. The adoption of electronic computers has also made the use of credit cards safer, more convenient and more common.