Cash, Currency, Credit

[Mithras]

Is there canon currency? Is the credit hard cash? Or a credit card sort-of thing... with commications limited to the speed of travel, cash of some description would seem to make alot of sense.

This was sparked by reading thread on an independant scout service (http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=5138) and it came to mind that they might be well served in shipping this hard cash. Who'll mess with the scouts, after all?

 

[Supplement Four]

Is there canon currency? Is the credit hard cash? Or a credit card sort-of thing... with commications limited to the speed of travel, cash of some description would seem to make alot of sense.

Imperial Credits are both cash and electronic currency (including coins). It depends on the TL of the world.

For a canon reference to hard currency, check out the Traveller Adventure (complete with illos.) As for electronic currency, there is a JTAS article that covers it, but IIRC, TL minimum is TL 12 (for encryption and prevention of theft/forgery).

 

[Golan2072]

Purely electronic currency is problematic in a large TU due to the comm lag. IRL international credit cards work because of (effectively) instantaneous global communications - an ATM or credit-card-reader in one country could interface with your credit card account in another in the matter of seconds. In Traveller, even if your account information is transmitted to all starports (and most small accounts won't be), it'll be out of date by one week per x-boat jump (4 parsecs in the OTU) from the point of origin. So travellers would either have to carry hard currency, goods easily converted to currency (such as gold or gems), or bearer-bonds (possibly electronic).

IMHO, on TL7+ worlds you could convert your hard currency/bearer-bonds/goods to electronic currency if you want and use a local credit card, or just use your hard currency directly. In TLs 7-11, this would require you to open a bank account locally; at TL12+ you could "load" your e-money to an electronic card directly.

 

[Mithras]

I'll have a look at the Traveller Adventure. There was a fantastic article on hard currency in one edition of White Dwarf that I liked, different denominations of credit cards that you bought. As the value wore down, I think they actually were clipped or something, physically and electronically changed. Nice article. I will dig it out - I don't like the idea much of paper money, though platinum (and other weird and wonderful metals) coins feels 'right'.

 

[epicenter00]

I think an Imperium-wide currency is one of the biggest handwaves in all of Traveller. On the other hand, it's fascinating to try and make it work somehow.

The problem with physical currency that isn't made of something inherently valuable is that it can be counterfeited. While this could be reduced by making currency only on the highest TL worlds in the Imperium (TL15-16), the Imperium doesn't operate like that - it makes it on TL12, which is a TL that a lot of worlds have, both inside the Imperium and outside of it. By the definitions of technology, any equal or high TL world could duplicate the currency exactly if they wanted to.

While small polities probably couldn't produce enough to destabilize Imperial markets in a wide area, there's several places that have a long history of antagonism towards the Imperium and the Imperium wouldn't be in a position to do anything about it - Vargr, Zhodani, K'kree, and Hivers come to mind. The Solomani could do it, but would probably be shooting themselves in the foot counterfeiting as their markets are so integrated with the Imperium's and the Aslan don't seem to be the types to go for that kind of behavior. Indeed if you look at mind-based bent of the Zhodani, you realize that if it weren't for the "romantic" image of galactic war, with worlds in flames and huge starships slugging it out in space, the Zhodani aim of curbing the Imperium could probably be done through judicious use of counterfeiting and psionic influence to create a general sense at the Spinward Marches isn't worth expanding into due to a lack of economic oppurtunities - it'd certainly save lives and the Zhodani could even have a decent relationship with the Imperium.

So perhaps precious substance currencies might work better. Unlike Star Trek there exists no widespread transmutation technology which would render precious substances meaningless. On the other hand, this kind of coinage is only as valuable material it's made from and it's usually constantly being destroyed as the metal is being used for the purposes its valued for. In addition, in an Imperium of 11,000 worlds, "precious" metals might more common on some worlds. Also, there's also the "Spanish Sickness" - if a world where some precious metal is abundant is discovered, the sudden influx of the precious metal would have calamitous effects on markets. However, mankind tends to have this irrational attachment to gold, so that might work - even in a place where everyone is starving people have been proven to still be willing to kill each other over gold. Another candidate is lanthanum. If you go this route, then counterfeiting of another sort exists - debasing. That is, alloying the precious metal with something less valuable to make your precious metal go further. So, at spaceports, you might find "currency checking" that has to occur - everyone bringing specie in to spend has to have each and every coin inspected for purity before they could spend it. The opportunities for graft and manipulation of this interface would probably be good fodder for a few games, in addition.

 

[Supplement Four]

IMHO, on TL7+ worlds you could convert your hard currency/bearer-bonds/goods to electronic currency if you want and use a local credit card, or just use your hard currency directly. In TLs 7-11, this would require you to open a bank account locally; at TL12+ you could "load" your e-money to an electronic card directly.

That's the gist of the JTAS article, IIRC.



Paul - don't forget that part of the X-Boat job could be to transfer banking records. The X-Boats zip in, transfer electronic data, and the next boat zips out.

You could bring this into your game by making the PCs carry hard currency, but if they go anywhere but the starport,they'll have to use local currency (and some worlds may be using the Imperial Credit as local currency).

There's a second great JTAS article on this that discusses exchange rates and such. The gist is that, if the players stay at the starport, then normal prices apply. If they venture out into the world to explore, then there is a handy chart in the article that makes for quick figuring of the value of local currency vs. the Imperial Credit.

I don't like the idea much of paper money, though platinum (and other weird and wonderful metals) coins feels 'right'.

How very "Han Solo" of you.

 

[jawillroy]

IM Proto TU, I assume the prior existence of a larger empire, which has inexplicably fallen within the past several hundred years. However, their currency -the credit- remains the interstellar currency. Its value is supported, at least in part, by the Independent Scout Service's use of the credit as the standard currency for its transfers of funds from one world to another. Also, the Traveller's Aid Society supports the value of the credit by means of its program of high passage distribution.

Credits IMPTU are passed as cash, but bearer's notes are heavily used in interstellar trade as well. Credit as we know it exists on worlds whose technology supports it, but the delays associated with interstellar communication make this less convenient beyond those worlds. This being the case, those expecting to do business on other worlds are often compelled to bring cash, or goods convertible to cash on arrival.

 

[Renaissance Man]

I don't really think there will be an imperial "currency" in MTU for the mentioned issues with counterfeit and time lag. For inspiration, we should look back to the beginning of the international banking system - probably the 13th century. I don't really KNOW much about early finance, but here's an attempt. I could definitely use a reality check on it though...

One option is to use the Imperial Bank:

If you are of high enough soc, say A+, you are able to go to any imperial bank on any world and draw out a certain amount of money electronically on "credit" in the original sense - as in on your honour. Your accounts will reconcile at the normal rate of X-boat traffic. The higher your soc, the higher your credit. If you intentionally or egregiously overdraw, you commit an imperial offense and are stripped of your status and thrown in jail. Your family is also indemnified for the remaining debt, which can mean liquidating estates. The reason nobles can do this is that their social status guarantees that someone within the noble's family has property and therefore collateral to back up the credit.

Imperial scrip is then transferred to local currency at the going rate at the bank and distributed as the noble sees fit. When a noble is done on a world, he puts his local money back into imperial scrip and moves on.

A fixed amount of imperial scrip CAN be transferred to a non-noble in the form of a "signet," or secure electronic bond, which the non-noble can then use in other star systems. However, the noble's honour, name and liability is still on the line. A non-noble with a signet bond is essentially withdrawing said noble's money on his behalf, so such bonds are not given out lightly.

Another option for non-nobles is merchant house scrip. Merchants registered with an established house can travel anywhere where the Merchant banking system has a relationship with that house and withdraw scrip in amounts based on the merchant's rank. The house backs the money, and if you overdraw, even if you manage to escape jail, your career (which is based on a merchant's word and mercantile code of honour) is pretty much over. Merchant scrip can also be given to third parties who perform services to the house, usually after a business relationship has been well-established.

Then there's military scrip, issued to members of the Imperial army, navy or marines against their accumulated pay. You face military court for defrauding that system - and it's considered about as bad as desertion.

Something like that...

 

[Golan2072]

The problem with physical currency that isn't made of something inherently valuable is that it can be counterfeited.

This problem has existed ever since non-valuable materials were used to produce currency - centuries in some places (such as china); and yet they are in wide use today. The key is to make counterfeiting difficult enough to keep the amateurs from doing it, then hunting down the few professionals. A certain amount of counterfeiting exists in any currency system (including electronic ones) - the thing is to keep it at a tolerable level.

But I like the idea of using gold - now you have doubloons for your space-pirates to steal

And about this Zhodani conspiracy you've mentioned, now THAT could be the hook for a great counter-espionage campaign

 

[Icosahedron]

I use a system of information transfer based on X-boats, electronic transfer using a section of every ships computer that 'belongs' to a bank, a 'scrip system similar to that outlined above (the original is better than mine, thanks for the heads-up, RM), purchased 'decreasing value' cards, and coins resembling casino chips with a microchip inside them.

I figured that, like the Bank of England, there will be certain TL16 state of the art banking houses in the Imperial Homeworlds where all 'minting' will take place. To make cash anywhere else is illegal, and probably impossible to forge. Why would the Imperium want to create cash at TL 12?

 

[Agemegos]

Purely electronic currency is problematic in a large TU due to the comm lag.

This presents difficulties that were essentially solved by old-fashioned banking systems as early as the late Middle Ages, by means such as the letter of credit. There are plenty of trustworthy third parties to carry banking records between banks and branches in different systems: the Scout Service, for instance, or shipping lines. You would have to expect that large shipping lines would have a lucrative sideline in commercial banking.

 

[Golan2072]

This presents difficulties that were essentially solved by old-fashioned banking systems as early as the late Middle Ages, by means such as the letter of credit.

Exactly - a universal imperial electronic currency faces these difficulties. Letters of credit and even direct credit (if you're trustworthy enough - such as the representative of a megacorp - if you sell to a megacorp trader on credit, you could always use your credit to buy from another trader from the same corp) do not and thus would be widely used. Precious metals would be used as well.

There are plenty of trustworthy third parties to carry banking records between banks and branches in different systems: the Scout Service, for instance, or shipping lines. You would have to expect that large shipping lines would have a lucrative sideline in commercial banking.

The problem here is not how you transmit the data, but how fast you do so - in our hyper-connected modern world, when you travel to a different location your account is already accessible from there; in Traveller, you'll have to carry your account - or, at least, part of it - with you as you travel. Bearer-bonds and letters of credits would probably carry an electronic component, but would also have a non-electronic component for use on low-TL worlds without the need to exchange them into local cash. You'll only need to exchange these to cash for small transactions - most traders selling you in bulk would probably gladly use bearer-bonds and letters of credit as currency.

 

[atpollard]

THE CREDIT CARD
In the universe of Traveller, there is no interstellar communication faster than the normal mode of travel. This poses a problem for the interstellar banking organizations.

Part of this bookkeeping nightmare has been solved by the Imperial Standard Credit Card (ISCC). This credit card is in reality, a portable bank teller. It contains a micro-processor unit which keeps track of the account contained within and solves the problem of having to report back to the bank its owners balance status. The card also contains the information which is cross-referenceable with other personal identification.

The card is nearly tamper proof, requiring at least an individual with Electronics-5 and Forgery-3 along with several million credits of rare electronic equipment. Even then, tampering is not necessarily successful and the bank will catch up with you eventually.

Most of the time, tampering results in the "blanking" of the card. The bank can usually detect such attempts due to the automatic recall nature of the reader machines in credit registers. It should also be noted also, that the bank has done a statistical analysis on the required degree of tamper-proofing to provide lower loss than investment in the "crediting" of the card. The card contains a thumb-print (left or right as the case may be) actuator. Within is also contained a record of the owner's retina print which is required for verification on all major (over Cr100000) transactions with the card. The card is accepted in most systems of TL 13 + . In such systems, purchases are sped up through this card's use and take only the time to do a quick retina scan in a credit register's sensor. The Traveller's Aid Society accepts the use of the credit card in all of its facilities for cash advances or other services.

The iridium edition of this card is available only to millionaires and contains the owner's DNA code allowing for positive proof identification and practically unlimited reliability of credit. Starships have been purchased on these cards!

Provided in accordance with the "fair-use" guidelines to support the current discussion.

 

[Mithras]

Actually, lets think about hard currency a bit more. I said I liked the feel of it, portable, physical and real, as opposed to an etherial credit transfer between star systems.

And the problems with precious metals, are of course: you can suddenely find a new reserve that upsets the value of the currency; and it can be forged (debased with other metals).

BUT.

Science has the answer, surely, and at TL 12 this will be even easier. Archaeologists and geologists today can identify the exact source of metals based on particular chemical makeups (I believe - probably doesn't work with melted metals like gold, I don't know...). So, the Imperium has 3 worlds or even one world from which it which extracts its gold/lanthanum/etc and creates coins from that reserve.

Coins can be taken at 'face value' on a low-tech world or they can be scanned at any TL 8+ vendor, who can instantly analyse the makeup and recognise a different metal source (or something like that).

 

[Golan2072]

The advantage of bearer bonds, letters of credit and even hard cash from a game POV is that, even if they're hard to forge (as they should be), they are physically portable and not easily traceable. This works well with various robbery, piracy and theft scenarios.

 

[Supplement Four]

Here's the catch on the Card. TL 13+.

If you're playing in the Spinward Marches, take a look at how many systems are TL 13+. There's usually one or two per subsector.

So, the card, in that area of space, is just about worthless.

"You can use your card here or here."

"But, we're not there or there. We're here."

"Exactly."



Of course, I thought playing it that was was "cool". It lends itself to a certain type of atmosphere. And, a GM can use the card as a "pull" if he wants the group to go in a certain direction.

 

[Agemegos]

The problem here is not how you transmit the data, but how fast you do so

The problem is not severe, since banking information can travel as fast as people do. So you bank your credit, and when time comes to travel from one system to another your bank closes your account in the system you are leaving and gives a sealed and encrypted transfer order to a trusted courier who is going the same place as you at the same time, such as the purser or supercargo of your ship. When you arrive, the transfer order is passed to a local branch of the same bank or to a local bank, which opens and account in your name for, say, 99.75% of your previous balance. Since you have never handled the transfer order, and since the banks know where the purser's husband and children live, there is comparatively little problem with forgery. That makes such a system more secure/cheaper than a letter of credit or bill of exchange.

Of course such a system does not work for yachtsmen and people on tramp vessels, who go in unpredictable places and not in company with a trustworthy third party. They must deal in cash and letters of credit, which they have in their own custody and which therefore bear a risk of counterfeiting, and must bear the corresponding costs.

 

[aramis]

Actually, Agemegos, they would be HIGHLY unlikely to let it go on your ship. probably send it on the first ship other than your own, as a data packet, and on the next one that isn't yours, too, and one more as well.

IMTU, transmitting an account is usually as follows: You get one single-use key, the message is encrypted with the receiving bank's public key, and with the originating bank's private key, and with the single use key you carry as your receipt. Double encryption with a one-use pad of under a kilobyte of information and a key length approximating 5% or more of the data packet...

The destination gets the packet, and the header gives the overt info, and instructs to wait for the one-use key. You arrive, they transmit to the bank, too. The bank won't even try to decode unless they get two identical copies. You take in the one-use key. They open the packet with it, to get a twin-key encrypted packet, as they have the public key for the other bank, and their own private key, and use that to decode the result of hitting your one-use key.

It's not totally secure, but given that they send new public keys every 4 months or so... and keep the older keys for the last year for all systems within 2 XBoat system hops...

The real expense is when you want to send it several dozen parsecs; you may need to transfer it from A to B to C to get it to D, with each link being a max of 8 parsecs.

On well traveled routes, with large volumes of traffic, it will usually beat you there. In the backwaters, carry some cash.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

The card is nearly tamper proof, requiring at least an individual with Electronics-5 and Forgery-3 along with several million credits of rare electronic equipment. Even then, tampering is not necessarily successful and the bank will catch up with you eventually.

Except, what is the TL required to read the card? That's the TL at which forgery takes place. If it requires a TL15 ATM to get out some drinking cash, you're back to the same problem of carrying specie or some such. You only have to fool the reader, after all.

This works well with various robbery, piracy and theft scenarios.

The point, of course...

In the backwaters, carry some cash.

Which means, for PCs, always carry cash.....

 

[jawillroy]

I'd read the JTAS "Credit Card" article before - and while some of the mechanics are cool, I would call it anything but a credit card just on principle. I wouldn't want to feel like I was running an RPG set in, you know, a mall. Wrong atmosphere.