6 July 2010
Money makes the world go around – Do you know Complementary Currencies!?
This week we would like to know if you have had any experiences with other forms of money or currencies. And here we don’t mean foreign currencies, that you exchange at the border, but every form of units that can facilitate exchanges between people (and organizations). Never heard of this? I bet you have, just think about AirMiles, service-exchanges, time-banking, payback-points, barter-networks, lunch-vouchers, regional money, LETS, ebay ratings, and last but not least Owls and Ants… all of this counts. Tell us what you know!
And this it how it works: you just reply here and share your experiences and impressions about any form of complementary currency in operation around you, local or virtual!
You have forgotten token money!
Sure, now I’ve learned something more of complementary currencies. At my university, at the end of the semester, we would have to fill in questionnaire of our satisfaction of canteens.
There we can rate our satisfaction, then school board decide what suggestions they need canteen to change.
For ebay, I love it that customer rating is given so that it help buyers to decide whether they should choose to trust that seller or not.
to seylen: Customer rating at ebay – Is this a complementary currencie? Perhaps it s good to have them, but u can t really buy something else with this rating points.
Interessting workshop at Findhorn (Scottland): On The Money: Design Tools for Creating Community Currencies.
http://www.findhorncollege.com/proftraining/moneysoul.php
Does anyone have recommendations for good books about this topic? Thanx in advance.
@polop
There was some discussion on our Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/generationeurope — scroll down to the post from 25 May) a few weeks ago about complementary currencies, and somebody recommended “The Future Of Money” by Bernard Lietaer. I’m sure though that Leander will have more recommendations for you.
I can think of the currencies in games of Zynga on Facebook like Mafia Wars and Farmville. These games have more than 10 million users and a lot of facilitation is going on among them. You can buy them for real cash as well by making credit card payments. Buy virtual products and merchandise and gifts for your friends. These games facilitate exchanges between people from around the world.
isn’t this already done by SME paying with regular exchange bills???
m*
sorry for lacking examples, but this is quite enlightening: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negotiable_instrument
in terms of “bill of exchange” and “draft”
I assumed that we shoudln’t clarify such terms…
and remember, totally “new” instruments (like complementary currencies) possibly are subject to fraud and abuse (abuse might also be legal) such as regular currencies…
m*
In Belgium, there exists what we call the “Eco-Chèques” and the “Chèques Sport & Culture”. These complementary currency systems are very similar to the lunch-vouchers. The difference is that as an employee, you don’t have to pay any contribution. With the Eco-Chèques you can buy anything related to green energy, sustainable mobility, thrifty usage of water and even ecodesign! On the other hand, the “Chèques Sport & Culture” can be used to buy yourself a bike, a train membership, or a ticket to a nice museum!
everyone know that money evolved over time (you can check here – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_money)
From shells to ebay and Zynda money is along way !
but I want to know what is your opinion about “what is future of money?”
are they going to evolved (like e-currency) again or they will stay like that ?
I am curious about how complementary currencies can be implemented using technology. When we met with Bernard Lietaer a few months ago, he mentioned Flowplace (http://flowplace.webnode.com/) as an example of alpha-quality software. I just read about another project called Bitcoin (http://www.bitcoin.org/) which aims to established a “peer-to-peer network based digital currency”. Have you heard of these projects? Will they be discussed?
I agree with Pol about customer rating at ebay, this is not a currency, only an incentive for others when taking a decision.
I think “time baking” is more develop in big cities than in villages. From my part, I havent ever hearded it in my village or villages around (I live in Spain), however, I know in Madrid they practise it.
However, I think it is only a way of “favours exchange”, I explain: in my village it is not necessary because people practise “time baking” from always but without that name and not knowing that concept. In Madrid -big capital, for example, it is necessary that someone take my children back home after school and, as exchange, I give that person cook lessons. At villages there is more contact with friends and family and it is more problable to live like a big family than big cities. Therefore, there is no need to stablish a time baking per se.
I wonder if I were in an entreprise in Belgium and they would give me chèques of sports and culture… I would like chèques to be valid for the sport and culture I love, otherwise I prefer to get usual currency. Don’t you think? How really that works there?
here is a new question of the week:
why is there a new week but no question?
Complementary currencies in form of rewards and point as means of shown appreciation for value and patronage of services and goods really make customers believe in the deals and more commitment. Also help market penetration with good value added freewill advertisement. This is another means of transaction without visible cash but paying back for the worth of the goods and services equivalent.
@syszlack
Right Malte, thanx for the poke! Good opportunity to explain: This first question went online a bit ahead of time to built up to our skype-call on Wedensday and our first Webinar this Friday. Check the “What´s up?” tab on the top of the page!
We will to post a new Question of the Week after the Webinar for the weekend and continue on a weekly basis from there!
@polop @fatima @arowokay (Kayode)
Concerning ebay-ratings as a currency:
When talking about currencies you´ll encounter many different terms and definitions. “Complementary Currencies” is often used as the broadest term and a currency in this sense is
“Any unit-system that facilitates exchanges”.
Some currencies in this sense are not tradable but they mean something to potential exchange partners and will help make exchanges, transactions, collaborations possible. This applies to ebay-ratings, university degrees, trademarks, reputation…
That´s what Kayode covers in his comment, thumb up!
Now, Fatima, you rise a very interesting point about formal currencies not being necessary in communities where exchanges still happen on a trust basis like your home-village.
As John Rogers, who will give the Webinar on Friday, always asks first: “Why keep score?” (of your transactions in a community.)
The answer of course being that in many of our ever growing and ever more anonymous local, global or even virtual networks new forms of acknowledgment, incentivising do help!
True for big cities, but also true for rural areas, in which many of the German and Austrian regional currencies are successful.
@fatima
First of all, as an employee, you have to ask for these chèque Sport & Culture, so they are not imposed to you. Plus, they do not replace a part of your salary, it’s only extra! It is in the advantage of both your employer and yourself as it doesn’t count on your tax. Finally, there are thousands of places where you can use them in Belgium! Here is the list of Museum, Venues, Sport Centers, Cultural Centers, and so on:
http://www.sportculturepass.be/fr/ou-depenser.asp
Some great questions and links here. Looking forward to meeting you all for the Webinar tomorrow.
We will cover the bases: Why, What, When, Where, Who and How of Complementary Currencies.
Before we meet, my personal question of the week, already mentioned by Leander, is: Why keep score of exchanges? Why not just help each other?
Maybe you will have your own answer to that question when we share with each other during the webinar.
Good One