The idea that each country should have one currency is so deeply rooted in people’s minds that the possibility of multiple and concurrent currencies seems unthinkable. Monetary systems contribute to problems of high unemployment and social distress during financial and economic crisis, so reforms to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of the monetary system can […]

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  A team of international experts on complementary currency and legal questions compiled a toolkit for currency implementors and regulators in the following areas of legal compliance:   Taxation Insurance Labor Law Data Protection and Safety Financial Services Regulation Acceptance of Community Currencies   The research focused in particular on the 6 pilot currencies show-cased […]

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John Rogers ran a local exchange system in Wales from 1993-2003, co-directed the Wales Institute for Community Currencies at the University of Newport from 2003-2007 and is the author of three books on local currencies. In July 2013, he was invited by Professor Bendell at IFLAS (The Institute for Leadership and Sustainability) in the University […]

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The following edited text is taken from the website of the New Economy Coalition: http://neweconomy.net/ Another World Is Possible. There Are Many Alternatives—It’s Time For A New Economy. The New Economy Coalition grew out of the work of the E. F. Schumacher Society – founded by Robert Swann and Susan Witt in 1980, pioneers of […]

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Spice was founded in 2009 to spread the concept of ‘community time credits’, an adaptation of the time banking model developed by Dr. Edgar Cahn in the USA. Spice grew out of the work of the Wales Institute for Community Currencies in the former mining districts of South Wales, UK. This is how they describe […]

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The following slightly edited text is taken from the website of TimeBanks USA: http://timebanks.org/about/ TimeBanks USA, a registered 501c3 headquartered in Washington D.C., was formed in 1995 by Dr. Edgar S. Cahn, a law professor and longterm civil rights activist, to expand the knowledge and field of timebanking and its impact on individuals, youth, families, […]

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The following text is a slightly edited version of the text on the Timebanking UK website: https://timebanking.org/overview/ Timebanking UK is a national charity (Charity No: 1101204) and limited company serving time banks across the UK since 2000. It is guided by a board of trustees who appoint a Chief Executive to run the organization. Together […]

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This text is based on an interview with the Executive Director of IRTA Ron Whitney and was originally published in “People Money- the Promise of Regional Currencies” by Margrit Kennedy, Bernard Lietaer and John Rogers in 2012 IRTA is a non-profit organisation that promotes high standards of practice amongst business exchange systems through education, self […]

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For most of us, ‘currency’ automatically means ‘legal tender’ currency, for example the Dollar or Pound, which we use every day. Running in parallel with this ‘normal’ money there are also many forms of so-called complementary currencies, which complement the national currency without trying to replace it: Regional currencies, Customer Loyalty Programs, Business to Business […]

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