Complementary Currency - Related Concepts

Related Concepts

A community currency is also called a complementary currency, local currency, regional currency, alternative currency, auxiliary currency, or private currency. These words have different meanings to different people. All are currencies that have different designs and serve different purposes from those of conventional money. They depart from the notion that money is essentially a human invention and instrument to influence the relations between citizens and organizations. A solid theoretical framework legitimizes this idea and in the past hundred years a lot of experimentation and experience was picked up with realizing social goals by the implementation of community currencies.

• A community currency is a currency used by groups with a common bond, like members of a locality, or association.

• Alternative currency is often used, but in essence this term is deceitful in many cases, as many currencies are designed to be complementary, and not to concur with- or to substitute conventional currencies.

• Local currency is a Community Currency used in a locality. If this locality is larger, the word regional currency is often used.

• Private currencies emphasizes that the currency is issued by individuals, businesses or NGO’s as opposed to ordinary currency issued under the authority of the government.

• Auxiliary currencies is far less applied, (see for example Douthwaite & Wagman 1999) as synonym of community currencies.