Promissory Note

What Does Promissory Note Mean?
A written, dated and signed two-party instrument containing an unconditional promise by the maker to pay a definite sum of money to a payee on demand or at a specified future date.

Investopedia explains Promissory Note
The only difference between a promissory note and a bill of exchange is that the maker of a note pays the payee personally, rather than ordering a third party to do so.

When a bank is the maker promising to repay money it has received plus interest, the promissory note is called a certificate of deposit (CD).