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

Floating Exchange Rate: Rate at which one currency can be
exchanged for another as determined by the free bidding and asking
in the foreign exchange market. Has been the regime for most
national currencies since 1972.
Fractional Reserves: When a currency is issued with only a fraction
backed by whatever supports it. The practice of fractional reserves
initiated in mediaeval goldsmiths' practices when they issued paper
currency, which was backed by the deposits in gold made by clients.
It still is an important feature of today's modern banking system,
because a bank can issue fiat currency while only having a small
fraction of national currency or government bonds in deposit (this
fraction varies with the kind of deposit - long or short term for
instance - and is one of the variables that central banks can use to
change money supply).
Gift Economy: Economy in which the exchange of gifts plays the
key social role. Anthropological research has shown a direct
relationship between gift exchanges and community building. The
word 'community' itself shows this connection: cum = together, among
each other and munere = to give, hence community - to give among
each other.
Global Reference Currency (GRC): A currency, which would be a
stable international reference for contractual and payment purposes
world-wide, specifically designed for international trade. One
example of a Global Reference Currency is the Terra, which consists
of a currency backed by a specific basket of a dozen commodities and
services critical in international trade. The cost of storage of the
commodities involved would be passed along to the bearer and
function therefore as a built-in demurrage charge. This feature
reverses the tendency to discount the future, and therefore realigns
the corporate financial interests with long-term sustainability.