International Journal of

Community Currency Research

Volume 16 (2012) Section A 1-17
A NEW APPROACH TO A TYPOLOGY OF COM-
PLEMENTARY CURRENCIES
Jens Martignoni
FleXibles, Zurich
!"#$%!&$
Well ovei S,uuu complementaiy cuiiency systems have been establisheu woiluwiue to uate.
They iange fiom veiy laige systems, such as the WIR-Coopeiation Ring, to small neighboui to
neighboui exchange ciicles. Such a uiveise iange of cuiiency types has uevelopeu that it is al-
most impossible to get an oveiview of the whole fielu. This aiticle attempts to stiip CC money
uown to its basic featuies anu then uevelop a typology of the vaiious complementaiy cuiien-
cies. An impoitant founuation foi this is the woik of the inuepenuent Ameiican scholai Euwin C.
Riegel (1879-19SS), who uevelopeu his own peispective on money that is still not accepteu by
mainstieam scholaiship. This woik was ieviveu anu fuithei uevelopeu by Thomas B. uieco, a
contempoiaiy monetaiy thinkei. Anothei basis is the consiueiation of money as a puipose-
uiiven means foi the oiganization of human ielations.
The aiticle piesents an evaluation system that enables the chaiacteiization of the vast majoiity
of complementaiy cuiiencies. The typology ueiiveu fiom it allows foi a cleaiei chaiacteiization
of the inuiviuual systems than was possible with pievious appioaches.
This aiticle is an exceipt fiom a thesis on complementaiy cuiiencies by the autoi in The Insti-
tute foi Reseaich on Nanagement of Associations, Founuations anu Coopeiatives (vNI) at the
Economic anu Social Sciences Faculty 0niveisity of FiibouigSwitzeilanu.
!&'()*+,-.,/,($#
Papei tianslateu fiom ueiman by }ohn Rogeis.
* Email: jmaitignoniflexibles.ch
$0 2345 4637 89432:5; Naitignoni, }. (2u12) 'A new appioach to a typology of complementaiy cuiiencies' !"#
$%&"'$()"'* ,)-&"'* ). /)00-"($1 /-&&%"21 3%4%'&25 16 (A) 1-17 <www.ijcci.net> ISSN 1S2S-9S47
<($%)-=&$<)(
This aiticle is a slightly ieviseu exceipt fiom the Nastei's
thesis Typology of complementaiy cuiiencies anu success
factois foi complementaiy cuiiency oiganizations by }ens
Naitignoni (Naitignoni 2u11) in the Institute foi Reseaich
on Nanagement of Associations, Founuations anu Coopeia-
tives (vNI), the Economic anu Social Sciences Faculty at the
0niveisity of Fiibouig, Switzeilanu. Eighteen oiganisations
issuing complementaiy cuiiencies acioss the ueiman
speaking countiies of Euiope weie examineu foi the thesis.
A few of these cuiiencies aie citeu as examples foi the pio-
poseu typology. Refeience is maue to the oiiginal woik foi
uetaileu investigation of the oiganizations.
A fiist exceipt of this woik-in-piogiess was piesenteu to an
expeit auuience at the fiist Wittenei confeience oiganizeu
by Coinstatt in Septembei 2u1u. This anu othei contiibu-
tions weie publisheu in the confeience pioceeuings as ,Bif-
feient: Complementaiy Cuiiencies" (Kiause: 2u1u). Fui-
thei woik on the typology, iight up to its inclusion in the
Nastei's thesis, leu to some auuitions, minoi coiiections
anu enlaigement of the oiiginally sketcheu-out appioach.
The iecently publisheu aiticle by }ime Blanc (Blanc:
2u11) on the classification of complementaiy cuiiencies
was not available when this typology was woikeu out. Thus
iefeience to its content iemains a task foi futuie uiscus-
sion.
This veision shoulu also ieach an inteinational auuience of
expeits thiough this English tianslation. It is intenueu as a
contiibution to a systematic assessment of both comple-
mentaiy cuiiencies anu cuiiencies in geneial anu it is the
authoi's hope that it stimulates a moie in-uepth uiscus-
sion.
>? *@A ! (,* $AB)+).A )C &)/B+,/,($!%A
&=%%,(&<,#D
Bow can complementaiy cuiiencies be categoiizeu. Sui-
piisingly, theie aie only a few coheient classification sys-
tems on the subject in the liteiatuie anu these mostly stait
fiom the tiauitional unueistanuing of money taught by
economics, which can haiuly captuie the special featuies of
mouein complementaiy cuiiencies. Beie we shall attempt
to piouuce a coheient anu accessible typology of the vaii-
ety of contempoiaiy complementaiy cuiiency systems,
baseu on a uiffeient unueistanuing of money. The pioposeu
founuation is in neeu of fuithei uevelopment anu im-
piovement but uemonstiates an oiiginal way of thinking
anu also enables a new view of how cuiiencies in geneial
aie conceiveu.
>?> ,E3743FG 4HI0:0G357
The seaich foi an existing typology of monetaiy systems,
which is also applicable to the fielu of complementaiy cui-
iencies, is not veiy fiuitful. Even in the fielu of mainstieam
economics, amazingly little woik has been uone on the
vaiious foims of money anu a complete classification
scheme of uesign choices foi the aichitectuie of money
systems uoes not seem to exist yet. Insteau, the functions of
money aie mostly vieweu in a macioeconomic context.
Noie essential piinciples of vaiious monetaiy systems aie
to be founu in the fielus of ethnology anu histoiical ie-
seaich into coinage (numismatics). Bowevei these piinci-
ples aie not ieauily caiiieu ovei to mouein cieuit anu bank
giio systems. 0nly a few simple uivisions, schemes oi oi-
ueiing giius foi complementaiy cuiiencies aie to be founu
in the ielevant ueiman liteiatuie anu they aie mostly ue-
iiveu fiom the typologies of the ueiman Regional Noney
Association anu KenneuyLietaei (2uu4) piesenteu latei.
0thei appioaches oiiginate fiom the fielu of 'Fiee Noney',
the movement inspiieu by the money-iefoiming aspiia-
tions of Silvio uesell. Some appioaches also come fiom an
ethnological uiiection.
67676 82)")0(2 2*'44(9(2'$()"4
When uiscussing money, most economic textbooks limit
themselves to the functions of money, the mateiial uiffei-
ences oi appeaiances of money. A geneial typology of cui-
iencies is not given. The official (national) cuiiencies of the
woilu have become veiy much aligneu with each othei in
the last 1uu yeais. 0nly in special cases aie vaiious types
uistinguisheu.
Accoiuing to the commeicial value of the cuiiency
- Soft cuiiency
- Baiu cuiiency
Accoiuing to mateiial ciiteiia
- Natuial money (eg shell money, whale teeth, etc.)
- CoinsNetal money
- NotesPapei money
- uiio money
Accoiuing to backing
- Netal backing (uoluSilvei)
- Fiat-Noney (money cieateu ,fiom nothing")
6767: ;1<)*)=1 ). $5% >%&0'" 3%=()"'* ?)"%1 @44)2('$()"
The Association foi ueiman Regional Noney 0iganisations,
the Regiogelu e.v. (www.iegiogelu.ue), has piouuceu its
own quality stanuaius anu ciiteiia foi iegional money but
uoes not make any statements about a classification system
oi typology. Bowevei, in the piactice of the association anu
in the accompanying scientific woik (foi instance Spankne-
bel (2uu6) oi Bickelmann (2uu9), two cleai types of ie-
gional cuiiency aie uistinguisheu, accoiuing to theii issu-
ance mechanism oi ,backing':
- Euio backeu iegional monies: Euios aie exchangeu
foi iegional money voucheis. The coiiesponuing
woith in Euios is uepositeu in an account as backing
foi any latei iepayment.
- Seivice backeu iegional monies: iegional money
voucheis aie issueu against a ,piomise to give seiv-
ice', mostly by businesses but also by people in ex-
change ciicles.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
2
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
3
/!<( &+!##<C<&!$<)( #B,&<C<&!$<)( C<(,% .%!-!$<)(#
Puipose Legal tenuei
Commeicial puipose cuiiencies B2B (business to business)
B2C (business to customei)
C2C (customei to customei)
C2B (customei to business)
Bybiiu foims
Social puipose cuiiencies Elueily caie
Pensioneis
0nemployeu
Euucation
Babysitting
Social contact
Cultuial iuentity
Ecology
0thei social objectives
Bybiiu foims
Neuium Commouity money
Coins
Papei
Electionic money
Bybiiu foims
Function ueneial means of payment
Noney as a measuie of value Payment in conventional cuiiency
Payment in units of time
Payment with conciete objects
Noney as a meuium of exchange
Noney as a stoie of value Inteiest-beaiing cuiiencies
Inteiest-fiee cuiiencies
Cuiiencies with usei fee
Cuiiencies with a specific value in units of time
Cuiiencies with expiiy uate
Bybiius
Noney cieation piocess Cuiiencies with ieal backing
Secuieu loans
0nsecuieu loans
Reueemable voucheis
Coipoiate voucheis
Customei loyalty cuiiency
Nutual Cieuit
Cential issuance (fiat)
Bybiiu foims
Cost iecoveiy No auuitional cost iecoveiy
Fixeu fees
Tiansaction fees
Inteiest chaiges, uemuiiage anu othei
time-uepenuent chaiges
Bybiiu foims
Table 1: Typology of currencies after Kennedy / Lietaer (2008)
- A thiiu type is calleu a hybiiu system, which aims to
issue some of its otheiwise mostly Euio backeu
voucheis as seivice backeu voucheis. These vouch-
eis aie not uiiectly conveitible with each othei.
The main uistinction in backing is appaiently baseu on the
fact that iegional money initiatives fiist of all have to pei-
suaue people anu businesses to get involveu anu to accept
the voucheis. Piomoteis can only woik with the cuiient
unueistanuing of money by most people as something with
,a value in itself' so the question of backing of the cuiiency
has gieat piioiity.
6767A B%2(4()" ?'$&(C D"$%&=-==%"E%&=%& !"4$($-$% FG&=*
The 0nteiguggenbeigei Institute in Woigl, woiking in the
tiauition of the famous expeiiment with money anu altei-
native cuiiencies in the Austiian City of Woigl (19S219SS
0ttachei, 2uu7), has uevelopeu a uecision oi piopeities
matiix (both concepts will be useu synonymously) foi cui-
iency systems, which is meant to seive as a guiue anu ueci-
sion aiu. To this enu, the columns aie shown as main ciite-
iia, the iows aie to be unueistoou as ,mouel chaiacteiis-
tics'. To give an oveiview, only half of the column heauings
aie iepiouuceu heie.
Cuiiency systems piopeities matiix (Ba }eiof, 2uu8)
- Cieation
- Issuance catchment aiea
- Peifoimance
- 0sei uioups
- Backing
- Function
- Stanuaiu of value
- Cost iecoveiy
- System Type
- Neuium
- 0bjectives
The matiix can be vieweu (only in ueiman) at the following
link: <www.unteiguggenbeigei.oiggetfile.php.iu=2u4S>
6767H ;1<)*)=1 ). 2-&&%"2(%4 '.$%& I%""%J1 K L(%$'%&
A specific anu uetaileu typology of cuiiencies can be founu
in the seminal book on iegional cuiiencies by Naigiit Ken-
neuy anu Beinaiu A. Lietaei (2uu4). It attempts to establish
a scheme foi classifying all foims of cuiiency:
"So, we will classify all foims of cuiiency, whethei conven-
tional oi complementaiy, histoiically attesteu oi cuiiently
in uevelopment." Kenneuy Lietaei (2uu4), p. 2S7
The authois piopose the following uivision into five uiffei-
ent uimensions:
1. Puipose oi objective
2. Neuium
S. Function
4. Noney cieation piocess
S. Cost iecoveiy mechanism
The puipose of this classification is to make it possible to
make conceptually cleai uistinctions between the vaiiety of
cuiient expeiiments with complementaiy cuiiencies anu
to simplify the cieation of new mouels. Two fuithei sub-
categoiies with uiffeient attiibutes aie pioposeu foi the
five uimensions. Coiiesponuing attiibutes aie intiouuceu
on a seconu level. Some attiibutes aie given auuitional uis-
tinguishing ciiteiia on a thiiu level. The typology is com-
piehensive anu can be seen in Table 1.
0ne uisauvantage is quickly appaient: foi many systems a
whole bunule of attiibutes aie assigneu, oi mixeu ciiteiia
aie given, which makes the uiffeiences even moie compli-
cateu to iecognise. Foi instance, 'Neuium' is uiviueu into
'commouity money', 'papei anu coins', 'electionic money'
anu 'hybiiu foims'. Nany complementaiy cuiiencies have
to be put into the categoiy of 'hybiiu foims' anu so the clas-
sification scheme yielus no gieat insights.
This scheme is applieu to seveial inteinational examples in
the book. Anothei paii of wiiteis who use this typology aie
Kaikuschke anu Fischei (2uu6).
6767M /*'44(9(2'$()" ). 2)0<*%0%"$'&1 2-&&%"2(%4 '.$%& N)J%
In hei uegiee thesis, "Potential of iegional complementaiy
cuiiencies to piomote enuogenous iegional uevelopment"
foi the 0niveisity of 0snabick, Siglinue Boue (2uu4) useu
hei own, Kenneuy Lietaei-ueiiveu classification. It is
baseu on the type of business ielationship using the key:
Business = B, Customei = C, ielationship between them = 2
(to) anu the iesulting foui possibilities:
B2B - B2C C2C - C2B (See Table 1 Kenneuy Lietaei, col-
umn, Finei uiauations).
Fiom this she uevelops the following scheme:
&&J$AB, %,+!$<)(K
#@<B
B!A/,($
#A#$,/
"!&'<(.
LETS mainly C2C closeu seivice-backeu
Baitei Club mainly B2B closeu seivice-backeu
vouchei
System
mainly B2C
(also B2B)
open cuiiency-
backeu
This typology is baseu piimaiily on conventional business
thinking. In the business economy, howevei, money is al-
ways assumeu to be the meuium of exchange. Thus, it is
pooily suiteu as a base foi a tiue typology. The uivision,
howevei, has some piactical value anu pioviues impoitant
clues about how cuiiencies opeiate.
6767O P$5%& $1<)*)=(%4
0n the occasion of 'Nonetaiy Regionalisation 4th Re-
gional Noney Congiess' on 29 Septembei 2uu6 in Weimai,
Piof. Wolfgang Cezanne, then Piofessoi of Economics
Nacioeconomics at the 0niveisity of Cottbus (now ietiieu),
Table 2: Classification of CC Types according to Bode
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
4
piesenteu a shoit 'typology' of iegional cuiiencies. Cezanne
iuentifies thiee types of Regional Cuiiency (Cezanne 2uu6):
- Bemuiiage money that iemeuies the low cuiiency
ciiculation iate uue to excessive hoaiuing (wealth
accumulation).
- Cieuit money that iemeuies the lack of uemanu uue
to lack of cieuit extension.
- Isolation money that iemeuies local competitive
weakness with soliuaiity foi the iegion.
This uivision veiy much assumes a 'iepaii function' of com-
plementaiy cuiiencies, which Cezanne in othei iespects
finus unnecessaiy anu attests to a coiiesponuingly ques-
tionable, oi even complete lack of, economic effect of all
types of system. Bowevei, Cezanne is in favoui of a 'uena-
tionalization' of money, in the sense of competition be-
tween uiffeient money systems.
The TALENT Switzeilanu association uses a classification of
cuiiencies by puipose anu by sectoi (Bolu 2u1u). Thus a
spectium between |maiket competitionj anu |ielation-
ships, gift economyj is coveieu. The Swiss fianc iepiesents
one extieme on the maiket siue, time-baseu cuiiency on
the ielationship siue. In auuition, 'sectoial money' that can
be useu foi limiteu economic activities is uistinguisheu.
Examples given: Tiavel (Reka checks), euucation (euuca-
tional voucheis Biazil), caie in olu age (Fuieai-Kippu, }a-
pan).
>?L -372M7730F 0N 2M995F4 2:8773O328430F7
Cuiient typologies aie in many iespects not satisfactoiy:
- The economic peispective limits itself to the func-
tions of money oi its mateiial basis anu ieveals little
about the money system itself.
- The uistinctions of the Regional Noney Association
iefei to the specific situation anu pioblems of ie-
gional money anu can not be extenueu to all com-
plementaiy cuiiencies.
- The uecision matiix of the 0nteiguggenbeigei Insti-
tute unuoubteuly uemonstiates impoitant uiffeien-
tiating featuies, but is intenueu as a guiue foi ieues-
igning systems anu is not uesigneu to coheiently
allocate all existing systems.
- The classification by Cezanne is stiongly emotional
anu juugmental anu is not tiuly systematic.
- The Swiss TALENT classification actually builus on
the stateu puipose of the cuiiencies, which is a con-
nection woith puisuing fuithei, but is not yet sys-
tematically applieu.
The only typing uiscusseu heie that can claim to be fully
usable is that of Kenneuy Lietaei. In fact, most cases can
be cleaily uiffeientiateu with it. Next to the teim 'goals' in
the main uivision, the teim 'function' was intiouuceu,
which in neo- classical economics is uiviueu into means of
payment, measuie of value, meuium of exchange, stoie of
value. These teims aie, howevei, ueployeu to chaiacteiize
money in anu of itself. Any type of money can assume these
piopeities. It is theiefoie not auvisable to use them to uis-
tinguish between uiffeient cuiiencies. (In auuition to the
above comments about this classification in anu of itself).
0theiwise theie aie many oveilaps anu uuplications. A
cleai evaluation scheme anu a uesciiption of the uiffeient
types aie missing. Thus this classification shoulu be seen as
an aiu to chaiacteiizing anu classifying vaiious impoitant
featuies of cuiiencies.
In this iespect the pieviously consiueieu typologies aie not
satisfactoiy anu uo not yet peimit any easy compaiisons.
The following uiscussion attempts to uevelop an impioveu
typology on the existing founuations with a focus on using
it foi evaluating the success of systems.
L? C)=(-!$<)(# )C ! (,* $AB)+).A
We will now tiy to avoiu these uiawbacks by fiist uevelop-
ing a basis foi unueistanuing money in a ceitain way. This
will allow us to uiaw out vaiious featuies anu then, in the
thiiu step, show theii ielationships with each othei. The
goal is to enable the cleaiest possible uiffeientiation of
vaiious cuiiencies. By clusteiing similai attiibutes of uif-
feient cuiiencies we can then iuentify uiffeient types.
Since neaily all complementaiy cuiiencies have emeigeu
out of the paiticulai iuea of solution to social anu economic
pioblems, this point is incluueu as a key ciiteiion. We will
also fuithei uevelop the iuea that a complementaiy cui-
iency also exists as an oiganization, which is kept alive
thiough paiticipation, membeiship, woiking togethei anu
mutual tiust. Baiuly any attention is paiu to this aspect in
touay's 'national cuiiencies'. Insteau, it is often assumeu
that money caiiies society insteau of the othei way aiounu.
With complementaiy cuiiencies this uisguising effect falls
away anu it is usually quickly appaient that the behavioui
of the paiticipants ueteimines the natuie of the money
useu anu that a specific oiganization is usually neeueu as
'caiiiei' of the cuiiency. Bence it is a goou iuea to incluue
the coie iueals of a cuiiency in its typology along with the
iules by which one can become a membei oi may use the
cuiiency.
L?> &845G093P8430F 82209Q3FG 40 .9520 R %35G5:
As the basis anu staiting point foi the uevelopment of the
typology, a categoiization of cuiiencies mentioneu by
Thomas B. uieco will seive us (uieco 2uu9). A piactice
oiienteu categoiization is to be founu in the chaptei Bow
Complementaiy Cuiiencies Succeeu oi Fail. Refeiiing to
iueas anu piinciples of E.C. Riegel (2uuS), uieco fiist pie-
sents the following bioau categoiies into which you can
uiviue the factois that contiibute to the success oi failuie of
an exchange system:
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
5
- the aichitectuie of the exchange system, oi the cui-
iency in itself
- the management of the exchange system oi cuiiency
- the implementation stiategies
- the context in which the cuiiency oi the exchange
system is embeuueu.
Thiee key questions iepiesenting thiee (uesign) piinciples
foi builuing a successful cuiiency seive in paiticulai to
explain the aichitectuie in uetail:
- Who is qualifieu to issue the cuiiency.
- 0n what basis shoulu the cuiiency be issueu.
- Bow much cuiiency can be biought into ciiculation
by each issuei.
In a latei Chaptei 18 0iganizational Foims anu Stiuctuies
foi Local Self-Beteimination anu Complementaiy Exchange
fuithei points aie listeu. Also, seveial tips on successful
implementation stiategies aie given anu the impoitance of
context is illustiateu by two successful examples, the WIR
Bank (Switzeilanu) anu 'Social Noney' (Aigentina). An im-
poitant point iefeiieu to is that both mouels aiose in ie-
spective times of ciisis. Point 2, the management of the
cuiiency, is not uealt with. Any fuithei application oi use of
the categoiies is also not shown in the book.
uieco's founuation is useu heie to uiaft a typology as a
mouel foi mapping ielationships in the aichitectuie of a
system.
L?L -593S8430F 0N 465 T8732 Q3U5F730F7
Thus the aichitectuie of a cuiiency can be chaiacteiizeu by
the typology. uieco's thiee basic piinciples will seive as the
staiting point. This is followeu by an auuitional fouith cii-
teiion aiticulating the basic puipose, which plays a uecisive
iole in complementaiy cuiiencies.
:7:76 Q&("2(<*% 6R F5) (4 S-'*(9(%J $) (44-% $5% 2-&&%"21T
Answei accoiuing to uieco (2uu9, p.146): @"1)"% U5) ).#
.%&4 =))J4 '"J 4%&V(2%4 .)& 4'*% (" $5% 0'&W%$ (4 S-'*(9(%J $)
(44-% 2-&&%"217
0i a fuithei iesponse accoiuing to Riegel (2uuS, p.16): @
U)-*J#E% 0)"%1 (44-%& 0-4$X (" %C25'"=% .)& $5% =))J4 )&
4%&V(2%4 5% E-14 .&)0 $5% 0'&W%$X <*'2% =))J4 )& 4%&V(2%4 )"
$5% 0'&W%$7 !" $5(4 4(0<*% &-*% ). %S-($1 *(%4 $5% %44%"2% ).
0)"%17
This piinciple is in anu of itself coiiect but neeus to be ex-
panueu, because we cannot assume, in contiast to the two
Ameiican authois, that iueal maiket conuitions anu com-
pletely voluntaiy agieements can be achieveu. Thus we will
mouify the question to: Who is %"$($*%J to issue the cui-
iency. The answei to this question piouuces uimension A)
of the typology: who has peimission to issue the cuiiency
(Figuie 1).
Figure 1: Permission to issue the currency
All All
membeis
Nany small
gioups
Few laige
gioups
A cential
authoiity
- All: all who wish to paiticipate eg }apanese systems
oi Ninuto.
- All membeis: Any paiticipating membei can cieate
cuiiency eg most time exchange systems.
- Nany small 'gioups' (businesses, oiganizations): eg
only SNE companies like in WIR.
- A few laige 'gioups': eg the commeicial banks in
most national cuiiencies.
- 0nly one cential authoiity: eg the iesponsible volun-
taiy association as in most iegional cuiiency sys-
tems.
:7:7: Q&("2(<*% :R P" U5'$ E'4(4 45)-*J $5% 2-&&%"21 E% (4#
4-%JT
uieco iesponus to this question with a long-establisheu
piinciple of banking: Noney shoulu be issueu on the basis
of goous alieauy in the maiket oi on the way to the maiket.
(uieco 2uu9)
That means that money is issueu as bank cieuit on the ba-
sis of potentially available goous (anu seivices). Be makes a
fuithei uistinction between tuinovei cieuit (cieuit facility,
shoit-teim cieuit) anu investment cieuit (investment
cieuit, long-teim cieuit). The above banking piinciple only
applies to a cuiiency that is useu foi opeiating loans. In-
vestment loans shoulu not be guaianteeu thiough money
cieation but only by alieauy existing but cuiiently unuseu
money ('savings money').
Again, this piinciple is coiiect as fai as it goes anu shoulu
be followeu, but neeus expanuing a little. Stiictly speaking,
the potentially available goous anu seivices aie not the
ieason foi gianting a loan but the cuiient capabilities of a
peison oi company to iealize this potential. With each
noimal bank loan, banks tiy to assess the tiustwoithiness
of potential boiioweis using moie oi less suitable means.
This assessment also has the final say in all figuies anu
calculations, but is often only uesciibeu as a 'goou feeling'
of the bankei. So heie we aie uealing on the basis of 'tiust
in fellow citizens.' Bow uoes this then appeai in the con-
stiuction of a cuiiency. A cuiiency is cieateu anu uoes not
live only thiough a single loan but fiom the sum of the mu-
tual cieuit of all paiticipants. The uecisive factoi is the qual-
ity of tiust eg the stiength of voluntaiy agieements anu
contiol of agieements on the one hanu anu, on the othei
hanu, the willingness to tiust otheis anu actually give them
cieuit.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
6
We can uistinguish between cuiiencies with the following
bases foi cuiiency issuance (Figuie 2)
Figure 2: Basis for currency issuance
- Puie peisonal loan: cieuit is issueu uiiectly to people
(companies) on the basis of theii skills anu tiack
iecoiu. Bigh foim of tiust.
- Cieuit against goous anu seivices: cieuit is issueu to
people (companies) on the basis of theii potential
ability to piouuce goous anu seivices.
- Cieuit against mateiial assets: cieuit is issueu to
people anu in paiticulai companies on the basis of
available capital (machines, builuings, iights, golu
bais).
- Cieuit against piopeity value: cieuit is issueu to
people anu companies on the basis of piopeity own-
eiship.
- Cieuit against highei value cuiiency: cieuit is issueu
to people anu companies on the basis of a cuiiency
with a highei value eg most vouchei systems, incluu-
ing iegional cuiiencies with so-calleu 'Euio backing'.
Low foim of tiust.
:7:7A Q&("2(<*% AR Y)U 0-25 2-&&%"21 2'" E% E&)-=5$ ("$)
2(&2-*'$()" E1 %'25 (44-%&T
This question is the key issue in managing a cuiiency.
Riegel (2uuS, p.9S) answeieu it like this: Each peison oi
coipoiation is entitleu to cieate as much money, by buying,
as he oi it is able to ieueem by selling. So he sees it as an
iueal that any peison oi fiim shoulu be able to issue as
much money as they might be able to 'buy back' latei with
theii own seivices.
The main challenge foi a money system is the most 'accu-
iate' possible balance of cuiient supply anu uemanu.
Theiefoie, a stable system shoulu seive to ensuie that
enough money is always available in the iight place. Time
plays a ciucial iole in this. A balance can only be uetei-
mineu foi each accounting peiiou, as touay in the annual
accounts of companies. Between these peiious theie is an
inueteiminate situation, when too much oi too little money
may be available. This leaus to the seemingly tiivial ex-
panueu statement, analogous to the funuamental law of
accounting:
Any peison oi gioup in a monetaiy system is entitleu to
issue as much money in a ceitain peiiou as they aie able to
ieceive back at the enu of the same time peiiou. (veision by
authoi)
uieco (2uu9, p.1Su) ueuuces fiom this the neeu to uetei-
mine a specific cieuit limit foi companies, baseu on pievi-
ous iegulai ietuins. Foi example, if a vegetable coopeiative
hau a iegulai annual tuinovei of $1 million, as a membei of
a monetaiy system it woulu now ieceive a cieuit limit (oi
ability to cieate money at any time) of $2Su,uuu, baseu on a
peiiou of 1uu uays (about S months).
As fai as it goes, this piinciple of 'piouuctive people anu
businesses' is ceitainly a goou iefeience point.
The essence of the auvanceu foimulation above then is the
concept of the peiiou. The ciucial question heie is cleaily
which peiiou shoulu be useu. Beie aie a few iueas:
- Annual Sales: Shoulu have coveieu all costs by the
enu of the yeai.
- New factoiy: Shoulu have coveieu constiuction costs
within ten yeais.
- Chilu: Shoulu have coveieu the costs of tiaining anu
euucation by the age of 4u.
- Peison of ietiiement age: Shoulu have coveieu the
cost of living to 8S by the age of 6S.
Riegel's piinciple soon becomes ielative in this context. It
gets even moie complicateu in the case of uisableu people,
who can nevei iepay the costs of theii caie uuiing theii
whole life. In this iespect, even the extenueu foimulation
can not be useu as a base stanuaiu, although the piinciple
is valiu in many cases.
The question iemains how the cuiiency ensuies that at the
enu of each peiiou all accounts aie in balance with each
othei. This is non-tiivial foi a cuiiency, because if it is not
guaianteeu, then inflation oi financial ciises pose a thieat.
An actual total balance of all economic activities is, in most
cases, not feasible. Exceptions aie small systems anu time
banks with centializeu accounting. But even heie, tiuly
ielevant uata about the life ciicumstances oi phase of the
paiticipating useis anu oiganizations is often lacking. Thus,
even a complete money balance has only limiteu signifi-
cance.
What tools coulu still be useu to assess this peiiouically
necessaiy balancing of a cuiiency. It woulu be possible, foi
example, to assess the ciiculation of the cuiiency on the
basis of the unuseu (iule) oi lacking money. These compo-
nents aie substantially moie static than the effectively cii-
culating money but the ueteimination of these quantities is
often uifficult with a cuiiency. Bowevei, an even simplei
quantity must be avoiueu. The question is the 'constiuction'
of the ciiculation contiols. The ielevant question is this: P"
U5'$ <&("2(<*% J)%4 $5% 2-&&%"21 2(&2-*'$%T
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
7
Puie
peisonal
cieuit
uoous anu
seivices
Nateiial
assets
Piopeity Backeu by
highei value
cuiiency
Becisive foi this aie the costs of the savings piemium (also
calleu liquiuity piemium, Keynes 2uu6, p.2u1ff). Inteiest-
beaiing money is often talkeu about in this context. The
base iate of each Cential Bank in the existing geneial cui-
iencies is a iefeience point. The iatios aie howevei compli-
cateu even moie by the ability of commeicial banks to cie-
ate money.
We can theiefoie uistinguish between cuiiencies with uif-
feiential costs anu benefiots foi holuing the cuiiency (Fig-
uie S):
Figure 3: Costs and benefits of holding currency
Laige
holuing
costs
Small
holuing
costs
No costs
oi pie-
mium
Small
savings
piemium
Laige
savings
piemium
- Noney holuing costs mean that the cuiiency auto-
matically loses value ovei time (eg 'uisappeaiing
money' oi time limiteu voucheis). This is also ie-
feiieu to as a 'ciiculation guaiantee' as it encouiages
people to spenu money as quickly as possible anu
not to hoaiu it. Contiol of the oveiall balance ovei
time thus tenus to be easiei (negative feeuback) as
the necessity of iegulai new cuiiency issuance
makes it much easiei to influence anu coiiect exist-
ing cuiiency substiuctuies (assets, amasseu piop-
eity).
- No costs oi piemium: these aie cuiiencies that nei-
thei uevalue themselves noi inflate thiough positive
inteiest iates (eg time exchange systems). Bowevei,
stagnation can easily set in thiough inuiffeience anu
lack of tiaue.
- Savings piemiums automatically cause a cuiiency to
expanu anu giow ovei time (eg all official cuiien-
cies). This is an oppoitunity but is also an impeiative
to giowth. People piefei then to 'invest' anu hoaiu
theii money because they get an auuitional savings
piemium. Contiolling the balance ovei time tenus
then to be moie challenging (positive feeuback) as
the necessity of iegulai new cuiiency issuance has
an incieasingly stiong effect on existing cuiiency
substiuctuies (assets, amasseu piopeity).
Ciitical to this appioach is the fact that only the actual cash
level is consiueieu. Coiiections, foi example thiough taxes
oi othei fees, shoulu not be consiueieu heie.
:7:7H Q&("2(<*% HR F5'$ '&% $5% '(04 ). $5% 2-&&%"21T
As an auuitional fouith piinciple, we piopose the consiu-
eiation of the basic puipose oi intention of a cuiiency. This
plays a ciucial iole in complementaiy cuiiencies anu is
effectively the ieason foi staiting them in most cases. Nany
complementaiy cuiiencies have stiongly altiuistic featuies
in theii eaily uays. In this sense they can easily be associ-
ateu with the geneial iuea of oiganizations in the non-piofit
sectoi.
This piinciple leaus to the question: What puipose uoes the
cuiiency seive in the spectium fiom inuiviuualism (ego-
tism) to collectivism (altiuism).
This puipose shoulu be piincipally ueiiveu fiom the mis-
sion statement of the issuing oiganization oi, wheie this is
not stateu, fiom its pioposeu aims oi cuiient piactice, as
shown in Figuie 4.
Figure 4: Who does the currency serve?
The cuiiency seives in paiticulai:
- Inuiviuuals: The cuiiency shoulu geneiate the high-
est possible wellbeing foi inuiviuuals. Biiect collec-
tive benefit is not intenueu eg histoiical cuiiencies
issueu by local aiistociats.
- The cuiiency seives the inteiests of gioups them-
selves, eg most company uiscount systems.
- The cuiiency seives a mixeu cuiiency community:
The cuiiency shoulu seive all (potential) paitici-
pants, eg WIR Coopeiative, but also Lunch Checks
(meal vouchei system in Switzeilanu).
- The cuiiency seives gioups which stiive to achieve
positive effects foi otheis, such as time banks foi the
socially uisauvantageu.
- The cuiiency is useu thioughout the community,
uifficult to iealize as a goal, no cuiient examples.
Theie exist, howevei, suggestions foi a 'woilu cui-
iency' oi global iefeience cuiiency, foi example,
Keynes's Bancoi (Keynes, 1989) oi Lietaei's Teiia
(Lietaei, 2uu2).
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
8
Inui-
viuuals
uioups
seiving
themselves
The
cuiiency
community
uioups
seiving
otheis
The
geneial
public
L?V !F 5S8:M843S5 0S59S35W
The next step is to fuithei expanu, summaiise anu cieate
an oveiview of the inuiviuual categoiies uesciibeu above.
We will intiouuce a weighting system anu logical oiuei foi
the aiguments. The iesults can then be iepiesenteu in the
foim of simple uiagiams.
:7A76 ?)"%$'&1 <-&<)4%
What puipose uoes the cuiiency seive. This is the most
impoitant of the founuations foi a cuiiency anu seives as
the main chaiacteiistic heie.
Bimension: Seiving inuiviuuals (self-oiienteu) <-> Seiving
eveiyone (otheis-oiienteu)
Rating: 1 to S
1. Inuiviuuals
2. uioups foi themselves
S. Cuiiency Community
4. uioups foi otheis
S. The geneial public
:7A7: N'4(4 ). $&-4$
0n what basis shoulu the cuiiency be issueu.
Bimension: low tiust in people <-> high level of tiust in
people
Rating: 1 to S
1. Cieuit baseu on highei value money
2. Cieuit baseu on piopeity values
S. Cieuit baseu on mateiial assets
4. Cieuit baseu on goous anu seivices
S. Puie peisonal loan
:7A7A ?)"%1 2&%'$()" 212*%
Who is qualifieu to issue the cuiiency. 0i even bettei: how
is the cuiiency cieateu.
Bimension: 0ne issuing authoiity (cential, easy to contiol)
<-> Eveiyone (iemote, uifficult to contiol)
Rating: 1 to S
1. 0nly a cential authoiity
2. A few laige gioups
S. Nany small gioups companies
4. All Nembeis
S. Eveiyone
:7A7H /(&2-*'$()" <&("2(<*%
0n what piinciple uoes the cuiiency ciiculate. The uimen-
sion 'savings' can be uiviueu into five types of ciicumstance,
aiiangeu aiounu the zeio value.
Rating: +2 to -2
+2 Savings piemium laige unlimiteu
+1 Savings piemium low limiteu
u No savings costs oi piemiums
-1 Savings costs low limiteu
-2 Savings costs high
:7A7M Z-00'&1
Table S gives an oveiview of the pioposeu evaluation ciite-
iia.
L?X !II:328430F 40 8 4HI0:0GH
We piopose heie to iepiesent two 'uimensions' in the foim
of a chait in oiuei to uevelop oui own typology fiom the
above evaluation system. A unique 'type' may then be as-
signeu thiough a uivision into quauiants (see Figuie S).
:7H76 N'4(2 2-&&%"21 2)"2%<$
We summaiize the fiist two values togethei in the basic
cuiiency concept:
- Cuiiency puipose
- Basis of tiust
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
9
B%<(&<B+, (!/, %!$<(.
1 2 S 4 S
P-u Puipose Inuiviuuals uioups seiving
themselves
Cuiiency
community
uioups seiving
otheis
ueneial public
1 2 S 4 S
P-2 Tiust Bighei valueu
money
Piopeity Nateiial assets uoous anu
seivices
Peison
1 2 S 4 S
P-1 Cieation Cential agency Few laige gioups Nany small
gioupsbusiness
All membeis Eveiyone
-2 -1 u 1 2
P-S Ciiculation Bigh savings costs Low savings
costs
Zeio Low savings pie-
mium
Bigh savings pie-
mium
Table 3: Evaluation Grid
In oiuei to make the assignment ciiteiia foi the quauiants
cleai, we will not use the mean value of S, but the value of
2.7S.
Figure 5: Basic Currency Concepts: diagram of the quad-
rants

B
a
s
i
s

o
f

t
r
u
s
t

Quadrant I


enforcement-
oriented

Quadrant II


service-oriented
Quadrant II


security-oriented

Quadrant IV


community-oriented

1
2.75
5
2.75 5
Currency purpose
The teims useu:
- Enfoicement-oiienteu: Noney is seen as a means of
enfoicing (piivategioup) inteiests. The goal of un-
limiteu peisonal eniichment is alloweu.
- Seivice-oiienteu: Noney is seen as a means foi ex-
changing seivices. Peisonal ielationships as an ex-
change of seivices.
- Secuiity-oiienteu: Noney is seen as a stoie of value,
to be maue secuie, also thiough investments in
piopeity anu assets.
- Community-oiienteu : Noney is seen as an impoi-
tant community builuei anu means foi peisonal
uevelopment.
:7H7: ;%25"(2'* J%4(="
We unite the seconu two values in the technical uesign:
- Noney Cieation
- Ciiculation piinciple
Beie the quauiants aie not assigneu with the aveiage val-
ues of u anu S but aie set at u.2S anu 2.2S in oiuei to en-
suie cleai classifications.
Figure 6: Technical design of the currencies: Diagram of
the quadrants

M
o
n
e
y

c
r
e
a
t
i
o
n

Quadrant VI

expansive

Quadrant III

separating
Quadrant II

inversive
Quadrant I

neutralising
2.25
5
1
0.25
+2 -2
Circulation principle
The teims useu:
- neutializing : manageable systems with a tenuency
to offset inequalities
- inveisive : moie complex systems, goou manage-
ment necessaiy, the tenuency to shiink must be ac-
tively uealt with
- sepaiating: systems with stiong giowth that also
cieate anu piomote inequalities, only limiteu contiol
possible
- expansive : systems with a stiong expansion uiive,
uifficult to manage, iegulation is uone by iegulai
collapse (touay's stock maiket money-cieation)
V? ,E8UI:57 0N 09G8F3P8430F7 8FQ 2M995F2357
The typology uevelopeu above will now be applieu to exist-
ing oi foimei cuiiencies. The selection of oiganizations
iunning cuiiencies was maue with the puipose of encom-
passing a bioau spectium of uiffeient cuiiencies. Foi this
puipose we have iefeiieu back to oiganizations fiom the
ueiman-speaking countiies we investigateu foi the Nas-
tei's thesis. 0f the 18 oiganizations stuuieu, we selecteu
those with the most uiffeiences fiom each othei in oiuei to
use the typology in the wiuest possible way. In auuition, we
have incluueu a concept by }.N Keynes foi an inteinational
cuiiency calleu the Bancoi (Keynes, 1989). As a contiast,
anu also to poitiay the familiai national cuiiencies in the
typology as examples, the Swiss fianc is intiouuceu at the
enu using the same scheme.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
10
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
11
V?> "8F209 Y<F4 &:5893FG =F30FZ V?> "8F209 Y<F4 &:5893FG =F30FZ
0iganisation A plan piesenteu by }ohn Naynaiu Keynes foi an Inteinational Cleaiing 0nion at Bietton Woous in
1944 anu unfoitunately iejecteu by the politicians piesent. Nembeis woulu be all states (oi theii cen-
tial banks).
Cuiiency Bancoi , Expeiimental tiibute coinage
Nembeis none, intenueu as all the countiies of the woilu
Tuinovei -
0iigin see oiganization
Puipose Puipose: The global balancing of suiplus balances in favoui of inteinational planning, assistance anu
economic iecoveiy. Iuea stage foou foi thought, still non-existent
Tiust Tiust is baseu on the value of the inuiviuual membei cuiiencies.
Cieation By cleaiing anu conveision of national cuiiencies in the fiamewoik of inuiviuual cieuit limits foi each
state.
Ciiculation A fee of 1% on balances up to a ceitain limit pei countiy, 2% on balances above that limit.
Comments No oiganization exists, theiefoie consiueieu only within the typology.
V?L &635UG8M [0:MF489H !770238430F V?L &635UG8M [0:MF489H !770238430F
0iganisation Chiemgau voluntaiy Association, Rosenheim, ueimany www.chiemgauei.eu
Cuiiency Chiemgauei, 1 Chiemgauei equals 1 t
Nembeis 2,686
Tuinovei 4,u19,S1S Chiemgau yeai
0iigin Founueu in 2uu2, fiist issue of Chiemgauei Su.1.2uuS. 0iiginateu as a stuuent pioject at the Fiee Wal-
uoif school, Piien am Chiemsee.
Puipose Constiuction of iegional economic cycles, piomoting the common goou
Tiust Euio backeu vouchei system, t 1uu% uepositeu in bank accounts.
Cieation Chiemgau voucheis bought with t. Also electionic Chiemgaueis in coopeiation with iegional banks.
Also iecently cieuit cieation facilities in the context of the ueiman micio-cieuit ueciee anu backeu by
the ueiman Niciofinance Institute.
Ciiculation Quaiteily 2% fee. With auuitional ieuemption fee in t. Suppoit foi non-piofit oiganizations. This can
be uiiectly specifieu by consumeis useis anu ieceives S% of tuinovei.
Comments Laigest iegional cuiiency system anu mouel foi most othei iegional cuiiencies in ueimany. The oi-
ganization has just been iestiuctuieu. An auuitional oiganization, the Regios co-opeiative was also
founueu, piimaiily as an opeiating company suppoiting the electionic veision of the Chiemgau anu
the specially uevelopeu billing system.
V?V &03F74844 &00I598430F %3FG Y&00I59843S5Z V?V &03F74844 &00I598430F %3FG Y&00I59843S5Z
0iganisation Coinstatt Coopeiation Ring (Coopeiative), Witten, ueimany . www.coinstatt.ue
Cuiiency Coin , value: 1 Coin equals 1 Euio
Nembeis 67 paiticipating businesses, no foimal membeiship iequiieu, 247 useis iegisteieu in Novembei 2u1u
Tuinovei 2uu,uuu Coin
0iigin Founueu in 2u1u, existing pieviously as Coinstatt, Keusemann anu Schneiuei Company
Puipose "The Coinstatt Coopeiation Ring exists to encouiage anu suppoit exchange tiansactions between pii-
vate anu commeicial useis thiough the use of its own accounting unit as a complementaiy cuiiency.
This will contiibute to sustainable, ecological anu socially just economic foims, that have a paiticulai
concein foi the woith of natuie anu people."
Tiust Is basically guaianteeu by tiust in the othei Coin useis. But the goous anu seivices on offei play an
impoitant iole foi the useis as a basis of tiust.
Cieation Staitei cieuit foi all paiticipants (inuiviuuals C Su -, companies C 2uu, -)
Ciiculation Expiiy of notes aftei 6 months with possibility of 1:1 conveision, fee on oveiuiawn accounts, uona-
tions to chaiitable oiganizations.
Comments Also woiking on the constiuction of 'Coin communities' eg in the aiea of health anu on national net-
woiking anu collaboiation.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
12
V?X /3FM40 Y'39726 \ *54459U8FF C0MFQ8430FZ V?X /3FM40 Y'39726 \ *54459U8FF C0MFQ8430FZ
0iganisation Initiateu anu conceptualizeu by the Kiisch Wetteimann Founuation, Nenteishausen-Bauhaus, uei-
many. www.minuto-zeitgutscheine.ue
Cuiiency Ninuto time voucheis. 6u Ninutos coiiesponu to one houi of quality seivice, conveision to t Su t pei
houi.
Nembeis No ieal membeiship stiuctuie
Tuinovei Not available
0iigin The iuea of self-cieateu payment meuium anu uesign by Konstantin Kiisch in Febiuaiy 2uu9, then im-
plementeu fiistly in a local gioup.
Puipose Solution to the uepenuence on global anu centializeu financial systems thiough uecentializeu, inuiviu-
ual money cieation.
Tiust Tiust is baseu on the status of the issuing peison anu the peisonal suppoit of one female anu one male
citizen.
Cieation Piepaieu, signeu voucheis cieate money when fiist puichaseu (peisonal loan foi the issuei).
Ciiculation Coupons with limiteu valiuity. Retuin to the issuing peison at the enu of the ciiculation peiiou (oi be-
foie).
Comments Expeiimental cuiiency without cential uecision-makeis. Alieauy offshoots in othei paits of ueimany
anu Austialia.
V?] #W377 +MF26K&652^ &00I59843S5 V?] #W377 +MF26K&652^ &00I59843S5
0iganisation Swiss lunch check coopeiative, Zuiich, Switzeilanu. www.lunch-check.ch
Cuiiency Lunch-Checks, voucheis in Swiss fiancs (Lunch-Fianc)
Nembeis ca 4,uuu membeis of the coopeiative (iestauiants anu businesses) with 4,Suu coiiesponuing payment
locations
Tuinovei CBF 81.6 million
0iigin Co-opeiative founueu in 1961 by iestauiant owneis (innkeepeis) anu people in gastionomic ciicles
Puipose "The coopeiative aims to opeiate a suppoit system foi piivate anu public enteipiises in the cateiing
inuustiy anu to piomote theii inteiests"
"... Was establisheu with the aim of cieating a kinu of intei-company canteen. Since then employeis
have been offeieu a cost effective alteinative to in-house cateiing solutions thiough a cashless cateiing
system tailoieu to Swiss iequiiements. "
Tiust Sale of voucheis in exchange foi Swiss fiancs. The fiancs aie investeu (caiefully) in secuiities.
Cieation Each paiticipating company has the iight to cieate cuiiency.
Ciiculation voucheis aie valiu inuefinitely. Reuemption only by membeis with 1.S% commission .
V?_ #W377 $98S5: CMFQ %5^8 &00I59843S5 V?_ #W377 $98S5: CMFQ %5^8 &00I59843S5
0iganisation Swiss Tiavel Funu (Reka) Coopeiative, Bein, Switzeilanu. www.ieka.ch
Cuiiency Reka checks, voucheis in Swiss fiancs (Reka-Fianc)
Nembeis About 2.4 million useis anu 8,Suu payment locations (numbei of coopeiative membeis is not ielevant)
Tuinovei S86 million CBF (Reka-Checks)
0iigin Coopeiative founueu in 19S9 by employeis' anu woikeis' oiganizations anu touiism associations fol-
lowing a tieaty between the social paitneis. Initially issuing 'tiavel maiks'.
Puipose "As an oiganizei of social touiism Reka piomotes holiuay, tiavel anu leisuie activities, especially in
Switzeilanu. It gives special consiueiation to the neeus of people with limiteu financial means.
Reka's coie business in this context is the piovision of a payment meuium anu of holiuay offeis."
Confiuence Sale of voucheis in exchange foi Swiss fiancs. The fiancs aie investeu (caiefully) in secuiities anu ieal
estate.
Cieation Puichase by employeis' anu woikeis' oiganizations, Coops oi otheis. Resale at ieuuceu piices to useis.
Ciiculation voucheis aie valiu inuefinitely. Initial 1.S% piice ieuuction is fuithei ieuuceu by employeis to S-2u%.
Reuemption foi S% Commission.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
13
V?` $8:5F4 ,E268FG5 %3FGa [0989:T59G V?` $8:5F4 ,E268FG5 %3FGa [0989:T59G
0iganisation Talente Tauschkieis voiailbeig, neighbouihoou help association, Boinbiin, Austiia, affiliateu with its
own management oiganization: Talent Seivices anu Tiaue Registeieu Coopeiative Society, Boinbiin.
www.talentieit.at
Cuiiency Talents anu houis, value of 1 houi is equivalent to 1uu talents = 7.8 t (oi 11S talents is 1u t). Both
voucheis (papei) anu account management via a cential, Inteinet-accessible system Cyclos
Nembeis Nembeis 7uu, Paiticipants 0seis 1,8uu
Tuinovei Su,uuu houis (2u1u)
0iigin Founueu in 199S as a iesult of vaiious talent system initiatives, staiting with the fiist system in Switzei-
lanu.
Puipose "The puipose of the TALENT exchange ciicle is the utilization of iule capacity anu iegional iesouices in
the context of a haimonious ielationship between humans on the one hanu anu people anu natuie on
the othei."
Tiust Peisonal loans, each membei has a 'cieuit limit' (-S uuu to S,uuu Talents foi people, -S, uuu to 7,uuu
Talents foi companies.
Cieation Both thiough effective exchange anu puichasing tiansactions as well as buying Talents voucheis with
Euios.
Ciiculation Zeio' - without uiiect chaiges benefits. vaiious levels of annual membeiship fee in Euios (u-Su t) anu
Talents (Talents u-S6u) foi mateiial costs anu account management.
Comments Special accounts foi pensions anu health insuiance exist, which enables people to save foi ietiiement.
0veiall, one of the most auvanceu anu sophisticateu systems.
V?b C:5c3T:57 !770238430F V?b C:5c3T:57 !770238430F
0iganisation Fleibles, Association foi the investigation of a new economy-system, Zuiich, Switzeilanu.
www.flexibles.ch
Cuiiency Flec (combines the association's name anu the EC0, the olu Euiopean unit of account befoie the Euio)
Nembeis 8u membeis, of which S2 paiticipants ciiculating cuiiency uuiing its existence (1992-94).
Tuinovei Flec 2,8uu yeai
0iigin Association founueu in 1992 with its own funus to piomote exchanges among membeis (then mostly
self-employeu oi small companies). Pilot pioject Flec no longei in opeiation, was completeu aftei two
yeais.
Puipose Buiing the life of the cuiiency the puipose of the association was uefineu as follows: "The association's
geneial puipose is to piomote the cieativity anu uevelopment potential of piofessionally self-employeu
oi paitly self-employeu people in theii caieeis. The association wants to cieate a fiee space in the woilu
of woik, that enables the most uiveise foims of self-employment anu especially meaningful collaboia-
tion between uiffeient piofessions."
Tiust Acceptance value as its own ieason foi tiust, peison oi also goous anu seivices accoiuing to pieuisposi-
tion of ieceivei.
Cieation Basic iight of all membeis along with issuance in exchange foi seivices to the Community Association.
Ciiculation Inteiest-fiee, ciiculation contiols thiough uesciiption of puipose anu peisonal signatuie on ueliveiy.
Comments The association is still engageu touay with complementaiy cuiiencies but no longei issues its own.
V?d $8M7265F 8U C:M77 !770238430F V?d $8M7265F 8U C:M77 !770238430F
0iganisation Tauschen am Fluss Association, Zuiich, Switzeilanu. www.tauschenamfluss.ch
Cuiiency Bouis (Fluss-houis). Account management via a cential, Inteinet-accessible system Cyclos
Nembeis 186
Tuinovei 9SS.S houis (2u1u)
0iigin Founueu in 2uu6 with stiong backing fiom the 'Pio }uventute, Zuiich community centies', that in tuin
has a contiact foi socio-cultuial seivices with the city of Zuiich.
Puipose "The puipose of the association is the exchange of seivices. In auuition to the piactical benefits anu
mutual suppoit amongst membeis, this shoulu encouiage anu maintain peisonal ielationships between
paiticipants."
Tiust Peisonal loans, each membei has a 'cieuit limit' (+ - 2u houis)
Cieation Thiough effective exchange anu settlement mechanisms (mostly peisonal seivices).
Ciiculation Zeio' - without uiiect chaiges benefits. Annual membeiship fee of CBF 4u - plus 2 houis of woik foi
the Community exchange.
Comments Is integiateu into the Zuiich Community Centie Wipkingen anu can also uiaw on iesouices theie
(laboui, facilities).
X? ,[!+=!$,- ,c!/B+,#
Baseu on the 1u pieviously piesenteu complementaiy cui-
iencies anu the Swiss fianc as a compaiison cuiiency, the
typology can now be claiifieu. As with any typology, heie
too questions of claiity aiise seveial classifications woulu
be possible. Each of these questions is answeieu heie with
'moie the case that' oi 'the main point is that with an em-
phasis on'.
The examples aie evaluateu in the following table. In this
case the giiu is extenueu to incluue inteimeuiate values
(u.S). Cuiiencies which coulu not be cleaily assigneu oi foi
instance cuiiencies which staiteu with one scoie but have
now uevelopeu towaius the next point, have been valueu
with half points. The evaluations in the pieviously pub-
lisheu aiticle Naitignoni, 2u1u) have been paitially coi-
iecteu. The scoie (-2) foi ciiculation was nevei assigneu,
insteau (-1.S). Swiss fiancs (oi Euios) have been ie-
classifieu as 'expansive'. The figuies oiiginate as fai as pos-
sible fiom the uesciiptions of the cuiiencies in section S.
The figuies foi ciiculation weie estimateu when not cleaily
known. Foi a uetaileu calculation of the actual savings costs
anu piemiums moie uata neeus to be collecteu.
Table 4: Evaluation of the examples
&=%%,(&A B=%B)#, $%=#$ &%,!K
$<)(
&<%&=+!K
$<)(
Bancoi 4.S 1 2 -1
Chiemgauei S.S 1.S 1 -1.S
Coin S 4.S S -u.S
Flec 2.S 4.S 1 u
Fluss-houis 2 S 4 -u.S
Lunch-Fianc 2 1 1 u.S
Ninuto 1 S S u
Reka-Fianc 4 1 1 1.S
Talent S S.S S.S u
WIR-Fianc 2 S.S S.S u
Swiss-Fianc 1 2 S 2
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
14
V?>e *<% &00I59843S5 "8F^ V?>e *<% &00I59843S5 "8F^
0iganisation WIR Bank, Basel, Switzeilanu www.wii.ch
Cuiiency WIR-Fianc (CBW)
Nembeis S6,Suu membeis (companies)
Tuinovei CBW 1.6 billion (WIR fiancs) pei yeai
0iigin Founueu in 19S4 by seven companies which weie uenieu access to cieuit by the banks. Feueial bank-
ing license.
Puipose "Self-help oiganization foi commeicial, inuustiial anu seivice enteipiises (SNEs only). Thiough the
WIR system the oiganization biings economic benefits to its membeis anu othei WIR useis anu man-
ages one of the few banks iemaining open to the geneial public. Foi this puipose the WIR bank iuns
the following activities: oiganization of the WIR cleaiing system as well as the WIR moitgage anu loan
business management of the banking business, such as ieceipt of foieign funus in all bankable foims,
moitgage anu lenuing business anu exteinal business, paiticulaily management of payments."
Tiust Cieuit iating of membeis on joining, only commeicial businesses with an appiopiiate tiack iecoiu.
Cieation via cieuit cieation against noimal bank guaiantees oi also thiough business-ielateu loans by the
bank.
Ciiculation In itself inteiest-fiee, inteiest on loans actually coveis costs without an expansion of the money sup-
ply.
Comments Woilu's laigest complementaiy cuiiency.
V?>> #W377 C98F2 Y#W377 (8430F8: "8F^Z V?>> #W377 C98F2 Y#W377 (8430F8: "8F^Z
0iganisation Swiss National Bank Coipoiation, Zuiich anu Bein, Switzeilanu www.snb.ch
Cuiiency Swiss-Fianc CBF
Nembeis No Non Piofit 0iganisations.
Tuinovei Effective tuinovei coulu piobably be estimateu fiom the Swiss gioss national piouuct.
0iigin Baseu on laws, ueciees anu uecisions of the Swiss Feueial State since 1848. Incoipoiation of the busi-
ness 19u7.
Puipose Inteinational cuiiency, which howevei is still baseu on the same concept as a national cuiiency (ue-
iiveu fiom the nationalism of the 19th centuiy) anu which can be attiibuteu to the neeus of inuiviuual
aiistociats anu bankeis.
Tiust Effectively in the powei of the state oi teiiitoiy anu thus in its natuial assets piopeity.
Cieation Intianspaient system with paiallel cieation of money by piivate commeicial banks. Also touay mas-
sive cieation of money thiough uiiect speculation by othei paiticipants (ueiivatives, heuge funus,
etc.). Thus 'bets' on iate changes aie tiaueu as secuiities.
Ciiculation Positive base iate when issueu by the Cential Bank. Plus, at the level of commeicial banks, auuitional
inteiest iate iises uepenuing on the effects of speculation.
X?> %57M:47
The assessment piesenteu within two uiagiams is shown in
Figuies 7 anu 8. Figuie 7 shows the basic concept of a cui-
iency to be uistiibuteu in all foui quauiants. In Quauiant II,
seivice-oiienteu (top left), theie is a clustei of time ex-
change systems in paiticulai, while in quauiant III,
secuiity-oiienteu (bottom iight), we finu those cuiiencies
baseu on national cuiiency.
The technical uesign (Figuie 8) shows a uistiibution cen-
tieu in the quauiant I anu II, that is neutializing anu invei-
sive. Piesumably this can also be tiaceu back to the pievail-
ing ciiticism of inteiest payments (eg fiom the Fiee Econ-
omy teachings of uesell) in the complementaiy cuiiency
community. Beie positive inteiest iates aie seen as jointly
iesponsible foi the instability of the monetaiy system, since
exponential giowth can be asciibeu to it. The example of
the Reka-Fianc, howevei, shows that this effect can be suc-
cessfully hainesseu to meet social neeus.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
15
Figure 7: Diagram of basic
currency concept with
examples included
Figure 8: Diagram of
technical design with
examples included
Table 5: Overview of Completed Typing
&=%%,(&A "!#<& &)(&,B$ $,&@(<&!+ -,#<.(
Bancoi secuiity-oiienteu neutializing
Chiemgauei secuiity-oiienteu neutializing
Coin community-oiienteu inveisive
Flec seivice-oiienteu neutializing
Fluss-houis seivice -oiienteu inveisive
Lunch-Fianc enfoicement-
oiienteu
sepaiating
Ninuto seivice -oiienteu inveisive
Reka-Fianc secuiity-oiienteu sepaiating
Talent community-oiienteu inveisive
WIR-Fianc seivice -oiienteu inveisive
Swiss-Fianc enfoicement-
oiienteu
expansive
X?L -372M7730F 0N 957M:47
It is founu in this analysis that, fiom the sixteen theoieti-
cally possible combinations of the chosen sample cuiien-
cies, seven emeige, as shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Overview of The Types Found
$AB, "!#<&
&)(&,B$
$,&@(<&!+ -,#<.( (=/",%
A enfoicement-
oiienteu
neutializing
B inveisive
C expansive 1
B sepaiating 1
E seivice-oiienteu neutializing 1
F inveisive S
u expansive
B sepaiating
I community-oiienteu neutializing
} inveisive 2
K expansive
L sepaiating
N secuiity-oiienteu neutializing 2
N inveisive
0 expansive
P sepaiating 1
T0TAL 11
This coulu now be followeu by a uetaileu analysis of the
iesults but the limiteu scope of this woik uoes not peimit
it. The examples aie intenueu piimaiily to uemonstiate
that the uevelopeu typology is useful as a woiking tool.
X?V C3FQ3FG7 8FQ NM94659 fM57430F7
Aftei iunning thiough this classification piocess we may
once again ask whethei anything has been gaineu by it.
Boes it open any new peispectives.
The authoi believes the new typology piesenteu heie
achieves this because it is baseu on a conceptually moie
consistent basis than pievious classifications. This iepie-
sents a move away fiom classical economics, which uoes
not iecognize money anu cuiiency as inuepenuent eco-
nomic objects. Thus, it is a contiibution to the on going
uiscussion about a new view of cuiiencies anu money, even
within the economic sciences. With the help of the giiu
when uesigning a new cuiiency it will be easiei to ueciue
which basis shoulu be chosen. The typology might also play
a iole as a vaiiant of a systematically ueiiveu moiphologi-
cal fiamewoik (Zwicky, 1989).
Bow useful anu applicable these pioposals aie foi woiking
piactice, foi people who want to establish, manage oi use
complementaiy cuiiencies, iemains to be seen. The teims
anu uefinitions will be aujusteu anu checkeu against othei
examples in futuie.
"<"+<).%!B@A
Bickelmann, Annette (2uu9): Kleingelu, Nonetie Regionalisieiung
uuich Regiogelu als Weikzeug im Regionalmanagement, Biplo-
maibeit Fachbeieich ueogiaphie ueowissenschaften, 0niveisitt
Tiiei, Abteilung Raumentwicklung unu Lanuesplanung, Tiiei.
Blanc }ime (2u11): Classifying "CCs": Community, complemen-
taiy anu local cuiiencies' types anu geneiations, in: I}CCR Inteina-
tional }ouinal of Community Cuiiency Reseaich, volume 1S,
www.ijcci.net
Boue, Siglinue (2uu4): Potentiale iegionalei Komplementi-
whiungen zui Foiueiung einei enuogenen Regionalentwicklung,
Fieie wissenschaftliche Aibeit zui Eilangung ues Bochschulgiaues
einei Biplom-ueogiaphin, 0niveisitt 0snabick, Fachbeieich
Kultui- unu ueowissenschaften, 0snabick.
Cezanne, Wolfgang (2uu6): Wiitschaftliche Effekte von Regional-
whiungen aus makiookonomischei Sicht (voitiag 29.u9.2uu6),
i n : v o s s h e n i i c h , K a y ( B i s g . ) , N o n e t i e
Regionalisieiung4.Regiogelukongiess (BvB), Weimai.
Bolu, 0isula. (2u1u): 0npublisheu sciipt about TALENT in Switzei-
lanu, Begeisheim.
Ba }eiof, Nevio. (2uu8): Noney Entscheiuungsmatiix, 0nteigug-
genbeigei Institut, Woigl.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
16
uieco, }i., Thomas B. (2uu1): Noney - 0nueistanuing anu Cieating
Alteinatives to Legal Tenuei, veimont.
uieco, }i., Thomas B. (2uu9): The Enu of Noney anu the Futuie of
Civilization, veimont.
Kaiuschke, Natthias Fischei, Bietmai (2uu6): Nachbaikeitsstuuie
Regio-Initiative Bainim-0ckeimaik - Im Auftiag uei Kommunitt
u i i m n i t z e . v . } o a c h i m s t h a l , ,
http:www.swschweut.uekunuenuckeimaikpiojektemachba
ikeitsstuuie.htm24u, 2u.u7.2u1u.
Kenneuy, Naigiit Lietaei, Beinaiu A. (2uu4): Regionalwhiungen -
Neue Wege zu nachhaltigem Wohlstanu, 2.Auflage, Nnchen.
Keynes, }ohn Naynaiu (2uu6): Allgemeine Theoiie uei Beschfti-
gung, ues Zinses unu ues uelues, 1u. Auflage, Beilin.
Kiause, Petei (Bisg.) (2u1u): Anueis - Banu I: Komplementi-
whiungen, Bie eigene Welt mit neuem uelu, Reihe: Coinstatt
Koopeiationsiing Beiuecke, Beilin.
Lietaei, Beinaiu A. (2uu2): Bas uelu uei Zukunft - bei uie zei-
stoieiische Wiikung unseies uelusystems unu Alteinativen hieizu,
Nnchen.
Naitignoni, }ens (2u1u): Ein neuei Ansatz zui Typisieiung von
Komplementiwhiungen, in: Anueis - Banu I: Komplementi-
whiungen, Beilin, S.92-128.
Naitignoni, }ens (2u11): Typologie von Komplementiwhiungen
unu Eifolgsfaktoien von Komplementiwhiungsoiganisationen,
Nasteiaibeit an uei wiitschafts- unu sozialwissenschaftlichen
Fakultt uei 0niveisitt FieibuigSchweiz
0ttachei, uebhaiu (2uu7): Bei Welt ein Zeichen geben Bas Fiei-
geluexpeiiment von Woigl 19S2SS, Kiel.
Riegel, Euwin C. (2uuS): Flight fiom Inflation - The Nonetaiy Al-
t e i n a t i v e , 2 n u e u i t i o n , L o s A n g e l e s ,
www.newappioachtofieeuom.info, 1u.u6.2u1u.
Spanknebel, Wilhelm (2uu6): Regionalwhiungen in Beutschlanu -
Konzeptionen, 0nteischieue, Peispektiven, Bausaibeit, 0niveisitt
uottingen, Seminai fi Politikwissenschaft, uottingen.
vossheniich, Kay (Bisg.) (2uu6): Nonetaiy Regionalisation 4.
Regiogelu Kongiess, Bokumentation auf BvB, ueutschenglisch,
Weimai.
Zwicky, Fiitz (1989): Noiphologische Foischung, 2.Auflage,
Schiiftenieihe uei Fiitz-Zwicky-Stiftung, Banu 2, ulaius.
International Journal Of Community Currency Research 2012 Volume 16 (A) 1-17 Martignoni
17