What is the Community Exchange System?

The Community Exchange System (CES) is a community-based, global trading network using a money other than our familiar national ones — an alternative, parallel, local, community or complementary currency system. In short, the CES is a new money system.

What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - A new, usury-free money and banking system for the commons, free of private control and manipulation.
Describe what makes your idea unique—different from all others in the field. - Complementary currencies are growing in popularity throughout the world but these are mostly stand-alone initiatives. The CES is the first global complementary currency network. It is an attempt to introduce a new, community-based but global money and banking system. It uses a money that is fundamentally different from our conventional national monies. This money does not 'exist' like conventional money and as such does not have to be 'created' and there is thus no need to 'have' it before anything can happen. CES 'money' is a retrospective record of what has already happened, not a barrier preventing things from happening. Although the CES is internet based it works for those who do not have computers through local-area 'branches'. Trading is streamlined as it is the sellers in the system who enter or get entered the transaction records. This eliminates the frustrations involved in getting paid: sending accounts, waiting for payment, debt collecting, bad debts etc. A seller can never not get paid. By placing the power of money control in the hands of sellers, the employer/employee relationship is turned upside down.

Tim Jenkin
Administrator
Community Exchange System
(NGO)

Project URL: http://www.community-exchange.org
Source: http://www.changemakers.net/node/9749