In June 2014 the European Central Bank dropped its base interest rate below 0% for the first time. It charges “negative interest” on overnight deposits of commercial banks and is not the first or only bank to do this. With this policy central banks hope to stimulate commercial banks to make loans into the real […]

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Model of a sustainable money system beyond the growth imperative? The Swedish JAK Bank has been offering interest-free savings, loans and banking services since 1965, with the aim of enabling an interest-free economy. More than 38,000 members of the cooperative bank save with interest-free savings accounts and can thus borrow money from the general fund […]

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The idea of constructing a monetary system without (positive) interest rates can be traced to the German-Argentine businessman Silvio Gesell and the French economist Maurice Allais. Gesell observed the booms and busts of the economy in which he was doing business and developed the idea that fluctuating currency circulation leads to oscillating economic activity. When […]

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Islamic Banking describes banking business according to Islamic, Sharia principles. Peculiarities of banking based on the Koran include not only a ban on charging interest but also the avoidance of speculative business and unethical investments of clients’ money such as in alcohol, tobacco and pornography. Islamic Banking thus includes on the one hand the issuance […]

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