Examples and initiatives

Nothing is more convincing than a practical example. We have selected particularly impressive examples of research, advocacy and practice to illustrate the various reform proposals. Our collection does not claim to be complete. For profiles of 16 of the world’s leading community currency systems, read the text of “People Money – the Promise of Regional Currencies”, Chapter 7. If you think an initiative or project should be listed here, please contact us.

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‘Full Money’ (Vollgeld in German) is similar to the 100% Money proposal, in that the direct link between money and credit is broken and the power to create new money is invested solely in the central bank. Assuming “the monetary system is unmistakably part of the common legal order” and not just “the operation […]

Negative interest, circulation incentive, demurrage, money holding costs – all these terms describe the same idea: holding onto money will (and should) have costs. The term ‘negative interest’ is popular but imprecise: for interest is actually due when one lends money. So long as deposits at the European or Swiss Central Bank cost money, the […]

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 […]

The stability of the money system depends on belief in future profits and economic growth. The system of credit is a belief system (from the Latin credere = to believe). Credit is the belief in the ability of the borrower to pay back the borrowed money plus interest. Loans include interest repayments. This kind of […]

We have no choice. Whether we want economic growth or not, our capitalistic system needs growth to at least match interest repayments in order to remain stable. The associated regular interest income of the ‘net interest winners’ is not only responsible for the fact that the wealthy become ever wealthier but also for the […]

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 […]

In 1935 during the worldwide Great Depression, economist Irving Fisher published a proposal for 100% Money, meaning one hundred per cent backing of bank deposits with central bank money (Fisher, 1935: for the history of Fisher’s proposal and his political strategy see Allen, 1993). This is also known as the Chicago Plan, because it was […]

Further economic reforms are being discussed around the world, new concepts are being conceived and new approaches tried. We can distinguish two main approaches here: Top-down reforms, initiated by government bodies Bottom- up reforms through altered economic behaviour between people. On this website you will find further explanations of the following themes: Common Good Economy […]

Movements to reform money at the national level generally have a hard time. Their proponents must lobby for years or decades to gain influence over politicians and their advisors and they must present factually based and politically convincing concepts. If political reforms are realized, they often have far-reaching consequences because laws remain in force for […]

Most people think that money is created by the state or the central bank. But central banks only issue the cash we use, which is about 10% of the total money supply. Only a fraction of money has its origin in the state, namely notes and coins. By contrast, around 90% of the money supply […]