Difference between Promissory note and Cheque

Negotiable Instruments Act' 1881 Notes
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Meaning of Promissory Note

Promissory Note, in the law of negotiable instruments, is a written instrument containing an unconditional promise by a party, called the maker, who signs the instrument, to pay to another, called the payee, a definite sum of money either on demand or at a specified or ascertainable future date. The note may be made payable to the bearer, to a party named in the note, or to the order of the party named in the note.

According to the Section 4 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 “A Promissory Note is an instrument in writing not being a bank note or a current note containing an unconditional undertaking, signed by the maker, to pay a certain sum of money only to, or do the order of, a certain person, or to the bearer of the instrument.”

In other words, we can say that a promissory note is an unconditional promise in writing made by one person to another, signed by the maker, engaging to pay on demand to the payee, or at fixed or determinable future time, certain in money, to order or to bearer.

Meaning of Cheque

Cheque is a very common form of negotiable instrument. If you have a savings bank account or current account in a bank, you can issue a cheque in your own name or in favor of others, thereby directing the bank to pay the specified amount to the person named in the cheque. A cheque is an instrument drawn on a specified banker and not expressed to be payable otherwise than on demand Therefore, a cheque may be regarded as a bill of exchange; the only difference is that the bank is always the drawee in case of a cheque.

The maker of a cheque is called the ‘drawer’, and the person directed to pay is the ‘drawee’. The person named in the instrument, to whom or to whose order the money is, by the instrument directed, to be paid, is called the ‘payee’

The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 defines a cheque as a bill of exchange drawn on a specified banker and not expressed to be payable otherwise than on demand.

From the above definition it appears that a cheque is an instrument in writing, containing an unconditional order, signed by the maker, directing a specified banker to pay, on demand, a certain sum of money only to, to the order of, a certain person or to the bearer of the instrument. Actually, a cheque is an order by the account holder of the bank directing his banker to pay on demand, the specified amount, to or to the order of the person named therein or to the bearer.

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Difference between Promissory Note and Cheque: