When we usually think of buying in local currencies, most procurement and finance minds think about denominating contracts in local currencies (e.g., RMB) rather than in the dollar or Euro. But the concept of local currency takes on an entirely different meaning when the financial instrument is one that’s not exactly traded on the open, global market. I recently read on my iPhone an article on FoxBusiness that I found so fascinating, I book-marked it to write about when I got back to the office. The article examines the growth of “local, hours-based ‘currencies’ that are growing in popularity nationwide.” The article suggests that “today, there are close to 100 types of local currencies operating in the United States … While some currencies are true to their name and are backed by federal dollars, others are simply a record of hours worked by contributing ‘time bank’ members.”
