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The Community Exchange System (CES) is an internet-based global trading network which allows participants to buy and sell goods and services without using a national currency. It may be described as a type of local exchange trading system (LETS) network based on free software. While it can be used as an alternative to traditional currencies such as the Australian dollar or euro or South African rand, the Community Exchange System is a complementary currency in the sense that it functions alongside established currencies.
The CES name was coined by an online web service which started in 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa, as the Cape Town Talent Exchange (CTTE). From there it spread to 99 countries, with the biggest take-up in Australia, where CES Australia was founded in 2011.[1] This original CES takes the idea of LETS and similar systems a step further by providing the means for inter-community trading; it is a global network of communities using non-monetary exchange systems.[2]
The CES is international in scope.[3] It does not have printed money or coins[4] but uses computer technology to serve as an "online money and banking system" or alternative exchange system and as a marketplace.[5] It is an advance from an arrangement in which either one good or service is exchanged for another good or service, or commonly called barter, since it uses a digital unit of value (not the same as a digital currency).[3][4]
- ^ "Who are we?". Community Exchange System. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ^ "Global Trading". Community Exchange System. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b "New complementary currency brings out trading talents of locals". Independent Online. October 30, 2006. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
- ^ a b "A Wealth of Talents". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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