Expedition FING : "Monetary innovation"
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Thursday 21 April 2011, 12:53 - Economics & Finance - Permalink

Around the world, "complementary currencies" emerge : to facilitate local trade, to cushion the effects of the crisis, to make possible a "sustainable" economy and many other things. Complementary currencies have existed for a long time, but ICT introduces several breakthroughs related to : the extent of these currencies in terms of diversification of their functions, the easiness to create (and dissolve) them, the actors who support them...
This Fing "Expedition" aims to explore new frontiers of money, around two objectives: to identify opportunities for innovation monetary contributions and complementary currencies to innovation. Currency is not neutral, it can be a powerful tool for social innovation!
Complementary currencies, unlike conventional currencies, limiting their scope to promote a particular territory, an activity or community. Some have found their legitimacy and even legality. Their existence is nothing new, but several signs suggest that their number and diversity could increase considerably in the years to come. They could promote new opportunities and new jobs, but also require new tools and new rules. There are over 5000 complementary currencies and their use is less limited than people may usually think.
I accepted this rewarding internship, because as you may notice on my blog I do believe that monetary innovation through ICT could fix some social and economic issues that neither the market nor State can handle. Working at FING, (in the same building as Mediapart, Netscouade and many other video game or IT start-up) is also an exceptional experience ; these next months will be intellectually speaking, very stimulating. I feel lucky to be able to work with such a group of bright people.
Stay tuned to know more about this fascinating study.
If you want to join the FING group working on monetary innovation and complementary currencies, feel free to do so :