Complementary Currency

Complementary Currency

Complementary currency (CC) is a currency meant to be used as a complement to another currency, typically a national currency. Complementary currency is sometimes referred to as complementary community currency (CCC) or as community currency. The term local currency, describing a complementary currency which is limited to a single locality, is sometimes used interchangeably with complementary currency. There are, however, some complementary currencies which are regional or global, such as the Community Exchange System, WIR and Friendly Favors, or the proposed global currency terra.

Complementary currency describes currencies that exists as a supplement to our conventional (national) money. “A complementary currency (…) is an agreement to use something else than legal tender (i.e. national money) as a medium of exchange, with the purpose to link unmet needs with otherwise unused resources” (Lietaer & Hallsmith 2006: 2).