Alternative currency

An alternative currency (or private currency) is any currency used as an alternative to the dominant national or multinational currency systems (usually referred to as national or fiat money). They are created by an individual, corporation, or organization, they can be created by national, state, or local governments, or they can arise naturally as people begin to use a certain commodity as a currency. 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. When used in combination with or when designed to work in combination with national or multinational fiat currencies they can be referred to as complementary currency. Barters are another type of alternative currency. Often there are issues related to paying tax. List of alternative currencies[edit] Advantages[edit] Alternative currencies are reported to work as a counterbalance for the local economy. Disadvantages[edit]

Local currency See Emissions Reduction Currency System for community based initiatives aimed at emission reduction In economics, a local currency, in its common usage, is a currency not backed by a national government (and not necessarily legal tender), and intended to trade only in a small area. As a tool of fiscal localism, local moneys can raise awareness of the state of the local economy, especially among those who may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with traditional bartering.[citation needed] They encompass a wide range of forms, both physically and financially, and often are associated with a particular economic discourse. Terminology[edit] Local currencies are sometimes referred to as a community currency. Alternative currency - often used, but in essence this term is deceptive in many cases, as many currencies are designed to be complementary, and not to substitute conventional currencies.Auxiliary currency - far less common, as synonym of community or local currency. Characteristics[edit] 1. 2.

WIR Bank WIR Bank logo The WIR Bank, formerly the Swiss Economic Circle (GER: Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft), or WIR, is an independent complementary currency system in Switzerland that serves businesses in hospitality, construction, manufacturing, retail and professional services. WIR issues and manages a private currency, called the WIR Franc, which is used, in combination with Swiss Franc to generate dual-currency transactions. The WIR Franc is an electronic currency reflected in clients' trade accounts and there is no paper money. The use of this currency results in increased sales, cash flow and profits for a qualified participant. WIR was founded in 1934 by businessmen Werner Zimmermann and Paul Enz as a result of currency shortages and global financial instability. Although WIR started with only 16 members, today it has grown to include 62,000. as of 2005.[4] The currency code is CHW as designated by ISO 4217. References[edit] Jump up ^ Niederer, Mike. External links[edit]

Download Software | Complementary Currency Resource Center Please Note: To be added to this list, the software must be in use by an existing Complementary Currency System that is registered in the ccDatabase. Otherwise, it will be added to the bottom of the list. Community Accounting for Drupal An accounting module for popular content management framework, Drupal. Integrate your accounting with all your community’s other online activities! Community Exchange System (CES) CES is an internet-based, global CC network currently (June 2006) serving over 40 independent exchanges in 8 different countries. Project Website: www.ces.org.za Contact: Tim Jenkin info (at) ces.org.za Cyclos Cyclos is enterprise-class open source secure transaction, accounting and marketplace software. For a working example of the software, see: (demo) Project Website: Download: Contact:info@cyclos.org Community Forge Local Exchange CCLite Swap ‘n Roll

Geschenkenconomie katalyseert gemeenschapszin “De economie van de toekomst is gebaseerd op relaties in plaats van op bezit.” —John Perry Barlow Antropologen ontdekten dat gemeenschapszin niet noodzakelijk voortkomt uit nabijheid—een wolkenkrabber met 200 appartementen in een grote stad leidt bijna nooit tot een gemeenschap. Evenmin leiden een gemeenschappelijke taal, godsdienst, cultuur, zelfs bloed, automatisch tot een gemeenschap. Antropologen hebben gemerkt dat gemeenschapszin is gebaseerd op wederkerigheid in het uitwisselen van geschenken. Het schenken van een doos spijkers van de ene buurman aan de andere omdat de andere net om verlegen zit is een daad die gemeenschapszin bouwt. Het proces van schenken schept iets dat geldruil niet doet. De etymologie van het woord gemeenschapszin of communiteit komt van twee Latijnse bronnen: cum, wat ‘samen’ onder elkaar’ betekent; en munus, ‘de gift’, of het bijbehorende werkwoord ‘munere, ‘geven’. Vandaar: communiteit = geven onder elkaar. Aanbevelingen

Mark Boyle (Moneyless Man) Mark Boyle aka The Moneyless Man (born 8 May 1979) is an Irish activist and writer best known for founding the online Freeconomy Community, and for living without money since November 2008.[1] Boyle writes regularly for the Freeconomy Blog and British newspaper The Guardian. His first book, The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living was published in 2010.[2] Boyle currently lives near Loughrea, in the west of Ireland. Mark Boyle grew up in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, in north-west Ireland. He took a degree in Business at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, before moving to the UK in 2002.[3][4] During his first six years in the UK, Boyle lived in Bristol and managed two organic food companies. In 2007, after a conversation with a friend during which they decided "money... creates a kind of disconnection between us and our actions", Boyle set up the Freeconomy Community.[6] Later in the same year, Boyle developed an alternative plan: to live without money entirely.

Welkom bij Torekes! | Torekes In de wijk Rabot-Blaisantvest in Gent belonen we inzet voor mooie straten, propere pleinen of een beter milieu met een eigen munt: het Toreke. Op deze site ontdek je wat er te doen is voor het milieu en de buurt en Torekes oplevert. De biljetten van 1 en 10 Torekes zijn echt iets waard. Je kan ermee in de wijk brood, groenten en fruit, maar ook spaarlampen kopen aan het Torekes loket. Alle handelaars die Torekes aannemen, vind je op deze site. Wil je weten hoe Torkes eruitzien, wat je er mee kan doen of hoe je ze kan verdienen? The Resource Based Economy Freiwirtschaft Freiwirtschaft (German for free economy) is an economic idea founded by Silvio Gesell in 1916. He called it Natürliche Wirtschaftsordnung (natural economic order). In 1932, a group of Swiss businessmen used his ideas to found WIR Bank (WIR). Structure[edit] Freiwirtschaft consists of three central aspects, usually summed up as The Three Fs: The (proposed) results include: History[edit] The basic economic ideas of Freiwirtschaft were published in 1890 by the Hungarian-Austrian economist Theodor Hertzka in his novel Freiland - ein soziales Zukunftsbild[1] (Freeland - A Social Anticipation).[2] Flaws of the monetary system[edit] Freiwirtschaft claims that current monetary systems are flawed. This is not the case in the financial markets. References[edit] Jump up ^ Theodor Hertzka: Freiland - ein soziales Zukunftsbild, Leipzig 1890 Summary on the website of the Otto-Lilienthal-MuseumJump up ^ Theodor Hertzka: Freeland - A Social Anticipation, St. External links[edit]

Promoting Skillsharing | Learn Skills, share tools, save money and make great new friends Streetbank is very like Justfortheloveofit. It lets you share things and skills with your neighbours and join in with community discussions. If you'd like to move your Justfortheloveofit account over to Streetbank, just enter your email address below and we'll pull your details across. Enter your email here Why is this happening? Justfortheloveofit.org has grown very large very quickly, in fact there are over 50,000 of you! Is Mark still involved? Yes, Mark is now part of the Streetbank leadership team. Tell me more about Streetbank Streetbank and Justfortheloveofit are very similar, with similar aims, and ideals. Can I still use the old site? You can still reach the old site for a limited time from here if you need to read it or find some information.

Local exchange trading system A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated to LETS or LETSystem) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community information service and record transactions of members exchanging goods and services by using the currency of locally created LETS Credits.[1] History[edit] Michael Linton originated the term "local exchange trading system" in 1983 and for a time ran the Comox Valley LETSystems in Courtenay, British Columbia.[2] The system he designed was intended as an adjunct to the national currency, rather than a replacement for it,[3] although there are examples of individuals who have managed to replace their use of national currency through inventive usage of LETS.[citation needed] A number of people have problems adjusting to the different ways of operating using a LETSystem. Criteria[edit] Of these criteria, "equivalence" is the most controversial.