THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

mind, it may well be currency,' said Alfred J. Kelly Jr., vice-president
of frequent-traveller marketing at American Express Travel Related
Services. There is no question that you'll see more partnerships
between organisations as they try to provide additional value to
customers. We're trying to create segment-specific programs that not
only provide value to our customers but also instil loyalty to us and
our partners.'
For example, Kelly noted, if American Express customers want to
have 'convertibility' between Membership Miles credits and Connect-
Plus that’s something Amex's 'central bank' might be prepared to
arrange. All of a sudden, Amex credits begin to rival dollars as a
means of payment to purchase both travel and communication.
Private currencies are on the rise not just because companies are
pushing them, but because they are what the customers want. If the
ruble can be convertible, why not the American Airlines frequentmiles
program?
Indeed, as sophisticated information technology continues to seep
through the economy, the ability to grow and manage private
currencies increases. It becomes both cheap and easy to track
individual purchases and credits. 'Just as people try to manage their
credit cards, they will soon be managing their 'credits' to handle a
variety of shadow currencies.'
What will a central bank do about such private corporate scrip, or
those that will appear on the Net - such as the already available
NetMarket currency of Cendant?
Should we not recognise that the Information Age has already
created a much more fundamental question about the way national
currencies will play their role in the future? The danger is that central
banks may be tempted to clam down on what they can reach (i.e. the
small-scale, politically unprotected complementary currencies) rather