Credit may be broadly defined as the power to get goods in exchange for a promise or contract to deliver an equivalent at some future time. In other words, it is a promise to pay money in the future in exchange for some consideration received in the present. Thus, a man is said to have good credit if he has the reputation among his business friends of paying his debts promptly when due. A firm is said to obtain a line of credit with another business house or from a bank, if its financial and moral standing is such as would support the "credit," with assurances that it will be met at the proper time.