A scrip is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons. Scrips have been used in local commerce at times when regular currency was unavailable, including remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long voyages, or occupied countries in wartime. In some cases, scrips have been used for exploitative payment of employees under truck systems. It has been illegal in the US for companies to pay employees in scrip since 1938. Besides company scrip, other forms of scrip include land scrip, scrip issues, local currencies, vouchers, token coins such as subway tokens, IOUs, arcade tokens and tickets, and points on some credit cards. Scrips have gained historical importance and become a subject of study in numismatics and exonumia due to their wide variety and recurring use. Scrip behaves similarly to a currency, and can thus be used to study monetary economics.
Types of scrip
Company scrip
Company-issued customer scrip Some companies issue scrip notes and token coins, which can be used at the point of sale. Canadian Tire money can be used at the Canadian Tire stores and gasbars in Canada. Disney Dollars are no longer printed, but they are accepted in circulation at The Magic Kingdoms and at other establishments owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company.
Scrip issue
Gift cards and gift certificates
In the retail and fundraising industries, scrip may be issued in the form of gift cards, or, less commonly, paper gift certificates. Physical gift cards often have a magnetic strip or optically readable bar code to facilitate redemption at the point of sale. In the late 1980s, the term scrip evolved to include a fundraising method popular with non-profit organizations like schools, bands and athletic groups. With scrip fundraising, retailers offer the gift certificates and gift cards to non-profit organizations at a discount. The non-profit organizations sell the gift cards to member's families at full face value. The families redeem the gift cards at full face value, and the discount or rebate is retained by the non-profit organization as revenue. Visa, Mastercard and American Express gift cards are initially funded by a credit card or bank account, after which the funding account and gift card are not connected to one another. Once the predetermined funds are consumed, the card number expires. A gift of a gift card, maybe in an attractive wrapper, may be seen as more socially acceptable than a gift of cash. It also prevents the gift being spent on something the giver views as undesirable (or used as savings). However, unless the gift card is obtained at a discount (paying less than the actual value of the card), buying scrip with ordinary money is arguably pointless, as it then ties up the money until it is used, and usually it may only be used at one store. Furthermore, not all gift cards issued are redeemed. In 2006, the value of unredeemed gift cards was estimated at almost US$8 billion. Another disadvantage of gift cards is that some issuers charge "maintenance fees" on the cards, particularly if they are not used after a certain period of time; or the card will expire after a given period of time. Some provinces and states in North America (e.g. California, Ontario, Massachusetts, Ohio, Washington) have enacted laws to eliminate non-use fees or expirations, but because the laws often only apply to single-merchant cards buyers have to review the gift card conditions prior to purchase to determine exact restrictions and fees. Additionally, if a retailer goes bankrupt, gift cards can suddenly become worthless. Even if stores do not close immediately, the company may stop accepting the cards. This became a significant issue during the 2008 financial crisis, prompting the Consumers Union to call upon the Federal Trade Commission to regulate the issue.
Voucher
Local currency
Scrip was used extensively in prisoner-of-war camps during World War II, at least in countries that complied with the Third Geneva Convention. Under the Geneva Conventions, enlisted prisoners of war could be made to work and had to be paid for their labor, but not necessarily in cash. Since ordinary money could be used in escape attempts, they were given scrip that could only be used with the approval of camp authorities, usually only within the camps. The late-2000s recession inspired the creation of some new local currencies in some localities. Some examples include the Bristol Pound, Ithaca Hours, Detroit Community Scrip, Berkshares, and Calgary Dollars.
Stamp scrip
Stamp scrip is the paper money form of a complementary demurrage currency, a currency intended to lose purchasing power at a constant rate over time. Historically, most demurrage currencies in the modern era existed on local scales and required stamps for their intended usage as paper money. The stamps and dates on the bills are designed to help demurrage currency circulate and not to be hoarded. Demurrage money was used in ancient Egypt and in Europe during the High Middle Ages. It has been credited for the economic prosperity of those times. Demurrage currencies peaked in popularity during the Great Depression as a series of emergency currencies, intended to reinvigorate the circular flow of income throughout the economy, due to their faster circulation velocities. Despite their success, most demurrage currencies were banned by central banks for violating national monopolies on currency. As of 2026, there are only a handful of local demurrage currencies that are still used, with the Chiemgauer being the most notable and widely used of them all.
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