The money market is a component of the financial markets for assets involved in short-term borrowing and lending with

original maturities of one year or shorter time frames. Trading in the money markets involves Treasury bills, commercial paper, bankers' acceptances, certificates of deposit, federal funds, and short-lived mortgage- and asset-backed securities.[1] It provides liquidity funding for the global financial system. Money markets and capital markets are parts of financial markets.

Common money market instruments

1. Certificate of deposit
A certificate of deposit (CD) is a time deposit, a financial product commonly offered to consumers in the United States by banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions.CDs are similar to savings accounts in that they are insured and thus virtually riskfree; they are "money in the bank".

How CDs work

CDs typically require a minimum deposit, and may offer higher rates for larger deposits. In the US, the best rates are generally offered on "Jumbo CDs" with minimum deposits of $100,000. The consumer who opens a CD may receive a paper certificate, but it is now common for a CD to consist simply of a book entry and an item shown in the consumer's periodic bank statements; that is, there is often no "certificate" as such.
Closing a CD

Withdrawals before maturity are usually subject to a substantial penalty. For a five-year CD, this is often the loss of six months' interest. These penalties ensure that it is generally not in a holder's best interest to withdraw the money before maturityunless the holder has another investment with significantly higher return or has a serious need for the money. Banks will charge a penalty fee if the money is withdrawn from the CD before it matures.

2. Repurchase agreements
A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is the sale of securities together with an agreement for the seller to buy back the securities at a later date. The repurchase price should be greater than the original sale price, the difference effectively representing interest, sometimes called the repo rate. The party that originally buys the securities effectively acts as a lender. The original seller is effectively acting as a borrower, using their security as collateral for a secured cash loan at a fixed rate of interest. In India, RBI uses repo and reverse repo techniques to increase or decrease the liquidity in the market. To increase liquidity, RBI buys government securities from banks under REPO; to decrease liquidity, RBI sells the government securities to banks

3. Commercial paper
Commercial paper is an unsecured promissory note with a fixed maturity of 1 to 270 days. Commercial paper is a money-market security issued (sold) by large banks and corporations to get money to meet short term debt obligations (for example, payroll), and is only backed by an issuing bank or corporation's promise to pay the face amount on the maturity date specified on the note. Since it is not backed by collateral, only firms with excellent credit ratings from a recognized rating agency will be able to sell their commercial paper at a reasonable price. Commercial paper is usually sold at a discount from face value, and carries higher interest repayment rates than bonds. Typically, the longer the maturity on a note, the higher the interest rate the issuing institution must pay. Interest rates fluctuate with market conditions, but are typically lower than banks' rates.

Advantage of commercial paper:

High credit ratings fetch a lower cost of capital. Wide range of maturity provide more flexibility. It does not create any lien on asset of the company. Tradability of Commercial Paper provides investors with exit options.

Disadvantages of commercial paper:

Its usage is limited to only blue chip companies. Issuances of Commercial Paper bring down the bank credit limits. A high degree of control is exercised on issue of Commercial Paper. Stand-by credit may become necessary

4. Treasury bills
Treasury bills (or T-Bills) mature in one year or less. Like zero-coupon bonds, they do not pay interest prior to maturity; instead they are sold at a discount of the par value to create a positive yield to maturity.[6] Many regard Treasury bills as the least risky investment available to U.S. investors Regular weekly T-Bills are commonly issued with maturity dates of 28 days (or 4 weeks, about a month), 91 days (or 13 weeks, about 3 months), 182 days (or 26 weeks, about 6 months), and 364 days (or 52 weeks, about 1 year). Treasury bills are sold by single-price auctions held weekly.

5. Municipal bond
A municipal bond is a bond issued by an American city or other local government, or their agencies. Potential issuers of municipal bonds includes cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, special-purpose districts, school districts, public utility districts, publicly owned airports and seaports, and any other governmental entity (or group of governments) below the state level. Municipal bonds may be general obligations of the issuer or secured by specified revenues.