Table:
|  |  | December 31, |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $195,760 | $303,390 | $224,614 |
| Restricted cash | 250,081 | 155,109 | 129,224 |
| Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash in Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | $445,841 | $458,499 | $353,838 |
Paragraphs:
GreenSky, Inc. NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued) (United States Dollars in thousands, except per share data, unless otherwise stated)
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash includes non-interest and interest-bearing demand deposit accounts with various financial institutions. Cash equivalents include money market mutual fund accounts, which are invested in government securities. We consider all highly liquid investments that mature three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. The carrying amounts of our cash equivalents approximate their fair values due to their short maturities and highly liquid nature. Refer to Note 3 for additional information.
At times, our cash balances may exceed federally insured amounts and potentially subject the Company to a concentration of credit risk. The Company believes that no significant concentration of credit risk exists with respect to these balances based on its assessment of the creditworthiness and financial viability of these financial institutions. Further, our cash equivalents may expose us to credit risk; however, we believe this risk is limited, as the investments are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
Restricted Cash
Restricted cash primarily consists of interest-bearing escrow accounts that are required under the terms of the contracts with our Bank Partners. Restricted cash is typically comprised of three components: (i) amounts we have escrowed with Bank Partners as limited protection to the Bank Partners in the event of excess Bank Partner portfolio credit losses; (ii) additional amounts we maintain for certain Bank Partners based on a contractual percentage of the total interest billed on outstanding deferred interest loans that are within the promotional period less previous finance charge reversal ("FCR") settlements on such outstanding loans; and (iii) certain custodial intransit loan funding and consumer borrower payments that we are restricted from using for our operations. These custodial balances are not considered in our evaluation of restricted cash usage. As it relates to our restricted cash escrowed with Bank Partners, we record a liability for the amount of restricted cash we expect to be payable to our Bank Partners, which is accounted for as a financial guarantee. Refer to Note 14 for additional information.
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the Consolidated Balance Sheets to the total included within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as of the dates indicated.
Question:
What does Cash include?
Answer: non-interest and interest-bearing demand deposit accounts with various financial institutions.