We want to live in a world where communities can create diverse and satisfying means for people to provide for and exchange with each other.

Sustainable Economies Law Center's Money & Finance Program supports economies based on barter, gifts, time banks, and local currencies by providing legal services, resources, and research on regulatory issues, including tax law, employment law, and securities law.

Legal Resources

Links to community currency workshops, webinars, legal guides, and online legal resources.

Legal Basics for Time Banks and Barter Exchanges

Advocacy

In June 2014, California took a significant step toward further legitimizing the creation and circulation of community currencies and other innovative means of exchange with the California Alternative Currencies Act (AB 129). Signed into law by Gov. Brown, AB 129 repeals the outdated and vague Section 107 of the California Corporations Code, thus removing a significant legal barrier to the continued growth of the community currencies movement.

News

All the latest updates from the Community Currencies program.

Frequently Asked Questions About Community Currencies

Further resources and answers to general community currency questions.

Why Community Currencies? 

A community without dollars is not a community without wealth. Every community, no matter how money poor, has a wealth of abilities and the capacity to create material resources.  Dollars give us an organized means of sharing and exchanging those abilities and resources.  However, when there is a scarcity of dollars, our economy need not grind to a frightening halt.  We need only find additional ways to share and exchange.  Alternative systems for exchange could be as organized as a local currency, online barter network, or time bank, or as casual as swapping and gift-based gestures among friends and community members.  This vast realm of economic possibility churns up new legal grey areas which are the focus of our research and education.