Market

The economist Hyman Minsky espoused the maxim that ‘everyone can create (issue) money, the problem is getting it accepted’. Where mainstream money can be thought of as IOUs issued on the most part by banks as the legal tender to settle debts and taxes – community currencies cannot rely on legal rules to enforce their use. They are essentially voluntary in terms of participation and, therefore, need to encourage use by creating a viable and valued market. A currency’s value is mainly achieved by ensuring it is widely and reliably accepted. It could thus be said that a complementary currency requires the creation of a complementary marketplace. For this reason, the development of criteria governing whether to accept a particular business as a member of the currency network is particularly important. Some currency operators view any business wanting to join and willing to submit to the currency’s terms and conditions as a good thing and welcome them, be it a McDonald’s, major supermarket or petrol station. Others put lots of criteria on their membership, such as local ownership, provision