A privately issued certificate, receipt, or note such as an IOU note or credit voucher that allows its holder to redeem it from the issuer within a specific period or according to specific conditions. In this sense, scrips serve as private currency that is only circulated between the issuer and holder, and as such it has no intrinsic value, and is not negotiable.

For example, scrips may take the form of frequent flyer miles issued by airlines or the voucher a local store offers for a free item.