Complementary Currencies package for Drupal

The complementary currencies package consists of mutual_credit and other modules, for LETS, Time banks, and similar communities. For a complete hosted Drupal installation, please visit Community Forge

Complementary currency software for whom?

LETS, Timebanks and any mutual credit system should find this package meets most if not all of their needs, as long as community members have internet access. This software allows communities to be autonomous and supports the local economy.

This site is a demo showing the basic module, moreorless out of the box. It also demonstrates the incomplete 'multiple currencies' feature. Log in as one of the dummy users on the left, and experience it for Drupal as an end user. For a more sophisticated demo, visit Community Forge, or you can download the module and install it into Drupal yourself, taking care to refer to the README.txt

Remember when evaluating this site, that it is a demonstration of a single module, not a complete web service.

Open source module

This chart shows the number sites running the Mutual Credit module. The zero at the end is this week's data which hasn't been collected yet... Weekly Complementary Currencies usage by API version

Mutual Credit for Drupal is important

There are few real software options for complementary currencies if you require open source, free, usable, and autonomous solutions. The main players are not based in social networking, and do not using a web framework. These projects will find it harder and harder to keep up. In contrast to the others, the complementary currency package for Drupal:

  • is the first of a new generation of complementary currency software
  • is much cheaper to build and maintain, because it is a specialised module in an excellent framework i.e. Drupal
  • works alongside hundreds of other Drupal modules
  • offers communities autonomy over their web tools

Warning on Governance

Complementary currencies historically have a very high failure rate. Web tools are no substitute for proper governance and community buy-in. You should be seeking advice from experienced professionals if you don't want to let down people in your community, and the wider movement. Please check out Value for People's Community Currency starter pack.

Complementary Currency system compatibility

There is a wide variety of complementary currency systems around. This Complementary Currencies package supports mutual credit systems such as LETS, Timebanks, and Tauschringen.

This software is not for fiat money systems however it should work very well for a mixed cash / banking system, where currency can be checked in and out of a 'cash' account and distributed as notes.

Members of systems such as the RegioGeld in Germany, where commercial banks are participating will be less impressed with this system. However banks tend to take away autonomy from communities and if that was a problem, Mutual Credit might be appropriate.

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