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A complementary currency is a
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...
or
medium of exchange In economics, a medium of exchange is any item that is widely acceptable in exchange for goods and services. In modern economies, the most commonly used medium of exchange is currency. The origin of "mediums of exchange" in human societies is ass ...
that is not necessarily a national currency, but that is thought of as supplementing or complementing national currencies. Complementary currencies are usually not
legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...
and their use is based on agreement between the parties exchanging the currency. According to Jérôme Blanc of Laboratoire d'Économie de la Firme et des Institutions, complementary currencies aim to protect, stimulate or orientate the economy. They may also be used to advance particular social, environmental, or political goals. When speaking about complementary currencies, a number of overlapping and often interchangeable terms are in use:
local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
or
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
currencies are complementary currencies used within a locality or other form of community (such as business-based or online communities); regional currencies are similar to local currencies, but are used within a larger geographical region; and sectoral currencies are complementary currencies used within a single economic sector, such as education or health care. Many private currencies are complementary currencies issued by private businesses or organizations. Other terms include alternative currency, auxiliary currency, and microcurrency. Mutual credit is a form of alternative currency, and thus any form of lending that does not go through the banking system can be considered a form of alternative currency.
Barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...
s are another type of alternative currency. These are actually exchange systems, which trade only items, without the use of any currency whatsoever. Finally,
LETS A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated LETS) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community infor ...
is a special form of barter that trades points for items. One point stands for one worker-hour of work, and is thus a
time-based currency In economics, a time-based currency is an alternative currency or exchange system where the unit of account is the person-hour or some other time unit. Some time-based currencies value everyone's contributions equally: one hour equals one service ...
.


Purposes

Current complementary currencies have often been designed intentionally to address specific issues, for example to increase financial stability. Most complementary currencies have multiple purposes and/or are intended to address multiple issues. They can be useful for communities that do not have access to financial capital, and for adjusting peoples' spending behavior. The 2006 Annual Report of the Worldwide Database of Complementary Currency Systems presented a survey of 150 complementary currency systems in which 94 respondents said that "all reasons" were selected, among cooperation, micro/small/medium enterprise development, activating the local market, reducing the need for national currency, and community development. Aims may include: * resocialisation and emancipation * lifeboat currencies * to increase financial stability * to reduce carbon emissions, by encouraging localisation of trade and relationships * to encouraging use of under-used resources * to recognise the informal economy * promote local businesses


Advantages

Some complementary currencies intentionally devalue rapidly (they are called Schwundgeld); this increases monetary circulation. The
Miracle of Wörgl A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
is an event that showed the potential of this increased spending through the introduction of a local currency known as
Freigeld As part of the theory of Freiwirtschaft, Freigeld ('free money', ) is a monetary (or exchange) unit proposed by Silvio Gesell. Properties Freigeld has several special properties: * It is maintained by a monetary authority to be ''spending- ...
. Local currencies also have the benefit that they cannot be spent abroad, and thus the
money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
always keeps circulating locally, benefiting the local economy. Alternative currencies are reported to work as a counterbalance for the local economy. They increase in activity if the local economy slows down, and decrease in activity if the local economy goes up. As a commercial tool within a business, as opposed to a geographical social tool, a complementary currency can open a business up to a preferred source marketplace whereby they can sell their otherwise devalued or worthless spare capacity in exchange for the complementary currency. By selling their spare capacity (empty hotel rooms / under utilised staff hours / blank diary slots / excess stock) the business is able to harness the otherwise lost value gaining some key benefits such as improved profits, a stronger balance sheet, enhanced cash flow, more customers, and a growth in market share.


Disadvantages

Complementary currencies promoted as
local currencies In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
which cannot be spent outside the community have limited use. According to professor Nikolaus Läufer's theory, the use of local currencies such as Freigeld can only increase economic activity temporarily. Lengthy use of a local currency will ultimately result in a decline in economic activity and lead to a destabilization of the economy. This is due to the increased circulation velocity of the money as the amount in circulation decreases (as currencies as Freigeld reduce in value rapidly).


Tax

Often there are issues related to paying
tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
. Some complementary currencies are considered tax-exempt, but most of them are fully taxed as if they were national currency, with the caveat that the tax must be paid in the national currency. The legality and tax-status of complementary currencies varies widely from country to country; some systems in use in some countries would be illegal in others.


Types

Complementary currencies describe a wide group of exchange systems, currencies or
scrip A scrip (or ''chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitive payment of employees under truck systems; or for use in local co ...
s designed to be used in combination with standard currencies or other complementary currencies. They can be valued and exchanged in relationship to national currencies but also function as media of exchange on their own. Complementary currencies lie outside the nationally defined legal realm of
legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...
and are not used as such. Rate of exchange, scope of circulation and use in combination with other currencies differs greatly between complementary currency systems, as is the case with national currency systems. Some complementary currencies incorporate value scales based on time or the backing of real resources (gold, oil, services, etc.). A
time-based currency In economics, a time-based currency is an alternative currency or exchange system where the unit of account is the person-hour or some other time unit. Some time-based currencies value everyone's contributions equally: one hour equals one service ...
is valued by the time required to perform a service in hours, notwithstanding the potential market value of the service. Another type of complementary monetary systems is the barter, an exchange of specific goods or services is performed without the use of any currency. In 1982, the most widespread auxiliary currency system, the
Local Exchange Trading Systems A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated LETS) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community infor ...
, was created. It regulates the exchange of goods and services between the members of the cooperative. Examples for an investment system of complementary currency are the Automatic Social Financial Network (ASFN) and the international crowdsourcing and
crowd-funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
community Evolution RA whose members use their own complementary virtual currency "Сyber-gold". The introductory fee paid by the new association members is subsequently directed toward investments in a variety of commercial projects. Some complementary currencies take advantage of
demurrage The term "demurrage" from Old French ''demeurage'', from ''demeurer'' – to linger, tarry – originated in vessel chartering and referred to the period when the charterer remained in possession of the vessel after the period normally allowed ...
fees, an intentional devaluation of the currency over time, like negative
interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...
. This stimulates market exchanges in the devaluating currency, propagates new participation in the currency system and forces the storage of wealth (hoarding) ability usually reserved for currency into more permanent and better value-holding tools like property, improvement, education, technology, health, equity securities, etc., all of which are sheltered from the currency-based demurrage fees. Other experimental complementary currencies use high interest fees to promote heavy competition between participants, and the removal of wealth from long term wealth holding structures (natural/material wealth, property, etc.) to aid in the process of rapid industrialization, mass production, automation and competitive innovation. Monetary speculation and gambling are usually outside the design parameters of complementary currencies. Complementary currencies are often intentionally restricted in their regional spread, time of validity or sector of use and may require a membership of participating individuals or points of acceptance. There are some complementary currencies that are regional or global, such as the
Community Exchange System The Community Exchange System (CES) is an internet-based global trading network which allows participants to buy and sell goods and services without using a national currency. It may be described as a type of local exchange trading system (LET ...
, WIR and Friendly Favors, Tibex in the
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
region in Italy or the proposed global currency
terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...
. A
community currency A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
is a type of complementary currency that has the explicit aim to support and build more equal, connected and sustainable societies. A community currency is designed to be used by a specific group. Since the advent of Bitcoin on January 3, 2009, Cryptocurrency has increased substantially as an alternative currency. Cryptocurrency allows for a trustless means of exchange through the use of decentralized mining, in which computers solve mathematical puzzles first in order to verify the transaction. This solves the problem of the sender and the receiver requiring a third party such as a bank in order to successfully complete the transaction. It also poses a challenge for governments when it comes to the confiscation of cryptocurrency since the private keys are retained by the owner of the cryptocurrency. Unless those keys are divulged, the owner retains complete control of their crypto. Other successful cryptocurrencies frequently used as alternative currencies include
Monero Monero (; Abbreviation: XMR) is a decentralized cryptocurrency. It uses a public distributed ledger with privacy-enhancing technologies that obfuscate transactions to achieve anonymity and fungibility. Observers cannot decipher addresses t ...
, Bitcoin Cash, Zcash, Dash, and many others.


Activists

Some complementary currency activists are Belgian ex-banker
Bernard Lietaer Bernard Lietaer (7 February 1942 – 4 February 2019) was a Belgian civil engineer, economist, author, and educator. He studied monetary systems and promoted the idea that communities can benefit from creating their own local or complementary cu ...
, British economist Hazel Henderson, Dutch STRO-director Henk van Arkel that developed Cyclos, Qoin initiators Edgar Kampers and Rob van Hilten, Paul Glover of Ithaca HOURS,
Margrit Kennedy Margrit Kennedy (November 21, 1939, Chemnitz – December 28, 2013, Steyerberg) was a German architect, professor, environmentalist, author and advocate of complementary currencies and an interest- and inflation-free economy. In 2011, she initia ...
from Monneta, LETSystem inventor Michael Linton, Time Banking inventor Edgar S. Cahn, Japanese Volunteer Labour Network founder Teruko Mizushima, Complementary Currency Resource Center coordinator Stephen DeMeulenaere and many others. Lietaer has argued that the world's national currencies are inadequate for the world's business needs, citing how 87 countries have experienced major currency crashes over a 20-year period, and arguing for complementary currencies as a way to protect against these problems. Lietaer has also spoken at an International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) conference about
barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...
.


List of complementary currencies

Other non-regional complementary currencies include: * American Open Currency Standard (AOCS) * Commercial credit circuit *
Community Exchange System The Community Exchange System (CES) is an internet-based global trading network which allows participants to buy and sell goods and services without using a national currency. It may be described as a type of local exchange trading system (LET ...
(CES) – global exchange network *
Digital gold currency Digital gold currency (or DGC) is a form of electronic money (or digital currency) based on mass units of gold. It is a kind of representative money, like a US paper gold certificate at the time (from 1873 to 1933) that these were exchangeable ...
* Fourth Corner Exchange *
Local Exchange Trading Systems A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated LETS) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community infor ...
(LETS) – an example of mutual credit, is a type of local currency used in a number of small communities worldwide. * Rábaközi Tallér * Sardex, alternative currency used in
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
The Sardex Factor, Financial Times
/ref> *
Ven Ven may refer to: Places * Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands * Ven (Sweden), an island * Ven, Tajikistan, a town * VEN or Venezuela Other uses * von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons'' * '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...
– a digital currency used in
Hub Culture Hub Culture is an invitation-led social network service that operates its own digital currency Ven. Hub Culture is located in Bermuda,. Founded in 2002, it claims it had 32,000 members by 2021 - based on registered accounts. History In November ...
, a private social network *
WIR Bank The WIR Bank, formerly the Swiss Economic Circle (German: ''Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft''), or WIR, is an independent complementary currency system in Switzerland that serves businesses in hospitality, construction, manufacturing, retail an ...
– founded in 1934, oriented towards small and mid-sized corporations


See also

*
ANCAP ANCAP may refer to: * ANCAP (commodity standard), based on ammonium nitrate, copper, aluminum and plywood * Australasian New Car Assessment Program * ANCAP (Uruguay) ANCAP (Administración Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland, Engl ...
*
Barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...
*
Bancor The bancor was a supranational currency that John Maynard Keynes and E. F. Schumacher conceptualised in the years 1940–1942 and which the United Kingdom proposed to introduce after World War II. The name was inspired by the French ''banque ...
*
Bearer instrument A bearer instrument is a document that entitles the holder of the document to rights of ownership or title to the underlying property, such as shares or bonds. Unlike normal registered instruments, no record is kept of who owns bearer instruments ...
*
Bernard Lietaer Bernard Lietaer (7 February 1942 – 4 February 2019) was a Belgian civil engineer, economist, author, and educator. He studied monetary systems and promoted the idea that communities can benefit from creating their own local or complementary cu ...
*
Cardano (blockchain platform) Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA. Cardano's development began in 20 ...
* Collaborative finance *
Commodity money Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods. This is in contrast to representat ...
*
Community currency A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
* Community wealth building *
Conder token Conder tokens, also known as 18th-century provincial tokens, were a form of privately minted token coinage struck and used during the latter part of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century in England, Anglesey and Wales, Scotland ...
* Credit money * Cryptocurrency * Cyclos *
Digital currencies Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...
*
Digital gold currency Digital gold currency (or DGC) is a form of electronic money (or digital currency) based on mass units of gold. It is a kind of representative money, like a US paper gold certificate at the time (from 1873 to 1933) that these were exchangeable ...
*
E.C. Riegel Edwin Clarence Riegel (June 18, 1879 – 1953), generally known as E.C. Riegel, was an American author, consumer advocate and independent scholar who campaigned against restrictions on free markets that harmed consumers and promoted an alterna ...
– proposed the Valun Private Enterprise Money System * Flex dollar *
Freigeld As part of the theory of Freiwirtschaft, Freigeld ('free money', ) is a monetary (or exchange) unit proposed by Silvio Gesell. Properties Freigeld has several special properties: * It is maintained by a monetary authority to be ''spending- ...
*
LETS A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated LETS) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community infor ...
*
List of Canadian community currencies These are community currencies (also known as " local currencies") in Canada. * Billet Local d'Échange (BLÉ; 2018–present; Québec City) * Bow Chinook Hour (1996–2002; replaced by CalgaryDollars.ca – present) * Brampton dollars (1973) * ...
*
List of community currencies in the United States Community currencies that have been used in the United States: Models * Local currency * Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS) * Time-based currency Currencies Intra-company * The Barter Network Interstate * Blue Money Brattleboro, Vermo ...
*
List of cryptocurrencies , - , , , , , , , After the creation of bitcoin, the number of new cryptocurrencies expanded quite rapidly.
*
Local currency In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
*
Local exchange trading system A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated LETS) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community infor ...
*
Margrit Kennedy Margrit Kennedy (November 21, 1939, Chemnitz – December 28, 2013, Steyerberg) was a German architect, professor, environmentalist, author and advocate of complementary currencies and an interest- and inflation-free economy. In 2011, she initia ...
*
Paul Glover (activist) Paul Glover (born July 18, 1947) is a community organizer, author, and former university professor currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Community work Glover published local histories of Ithaca starting in the 1970s with Glad Day Press ...
* Patacon *
Private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general Partner (business rank), partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporation (business), incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "enti ...
*
Sectoral currency A sectoral currency is a form of complementary currency that is restricted to a specific sector. Examples of sectoral currency are the Saber, which is restricted to the educational sector and thus can only be used to buy education, and the Fureai k ...
* Silvio Gesell *
Tim Jenkin Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Steph ...
* Time Banking *
Tumin Toumin ( ar, تومين, also spelled Toumine) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Deir al-Fardis to the northwest, Kafr Buhum to the north, al-Rastan to ...
* Urstromtaler *
Ven (currency) Ven (sign: VEN) is a representative digital currency. Its origin was as a community currency created by the Hub Culture social network. It claims the value of Ven is determined by backing currencies, commodities and assets. Because the currency ...
*
WIR Bank The WIR Bank, formerly the Swiss Economic Circle (German: ''Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft''), or WIR, is an independent complementary currency system in Switzerland that serves businesses in hospitality, construction, manufacturing, retail an ...
* Wörgl experiment


References


Further reading

* Glover, Paul. ''Hometown Money: how to enrich your community with local currency.'' Greenplanners, 2013. * Lietaer, Bernard. ''The Future of Money''. Random House, 2001. * Raddon, M. ''Community and money: men and women making change''. Montreal: Black Rose Books, 2003. * Suhr, Dieter (1990)
The Neutral Money Network (NeuMoNe): A Critical Analysis of Traditional Money and the Financial Innovation "Neutral Money"


External links

*
Community Currency Magazine
' *
International Journal of Community Currency Research
'


Social Trade Organisation

Secure eXchange Protocols

Trade Point: Internal currency of Barter platform
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Complementary Currency Local currencies Monetary reform Cryptocurrencies it:Valuta complementare