FOREIGN EXCHANGE: Any financial instrument that gives one country a claim on the currency of another country and which is used to make payments between countries. The most important type of foreign exchange is currency itself, that is, the currency of other countries. However foreign exchange also includes things like bank checks and "bills of exchange" (a sort of contract that's paid for with the currency of one nation that can be then traded for the currency of another country). See also | currency | exchange rate | foreign exchange market | floating exchange rate | fixed exchange rate | foreign investment |
