Clearing - the system of non-cash payments, based on the set-off claims and obligations of the parties. Within countries, functions as interbank clearing, when more or less large payments are made by check-writing to the bank and then writing off or credit of funds to the appropriate accounts are calculated. Need for Set-off led to the creation of special inter-bank institutions - clearing houses and clearing houses. All accepted checks come to the clearing house, which continuously sorted by banks, credit payments and claims made several times a day. The final daily settlement between banks is done by moving funds on their accounts at the central bank. Sometimes central banks will completely take over the functions of clearing centers.

The system helps to speed up the clearing of currency, its technical simplification, a significant reduction in price. Cleared by the "electronic transfer of money" is extremely faster calculations, allows debit from a bank account and credited to the account of another bank almost simultaneously, with no time lag. Clearing is also used for transactions between members of the commodity and stock exchanges, that is, to trade commodity instruments and securities. Availability of special clearing center on the stock exchange allows payments for securities and registration of the assignment of property rights without the physical movement of securities between the owners, keeping all the papers in the special depository. In this case, the movement of cash in payment for securities is also reduced to a minimum. The international currency clearing settlements there, the occurrence of which in 30 years of this century has been associated with the destruction of the gold standard, is the basis of mutual convertibility of currencies.

After World War II currency clearing used until the late 50's, when most countries was an acute shortage of hard currency (dollar) and gold for international payments. Organizational currency clearing existed during the years 1950-1958. in the form of the European Payments Union, which, through the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) produced reckoned mutual obligations and requirements for 17 Western European countries. After the mass transfer rates of developed countries to the convertibility regime in the late 60's the need for such extensive use of clearing anymore. The need for clearing occurs most often in countries whose national currency is non-convertible and convertible currency reserves and gold limited. This applies in particular to developing countries.