Credit

Credits are a common currency instrument used throughout the Pact Worlds and among other groups that trade with them. Credits are backed and regulated by the Pact Worlds government and the church of Abadar. The credit used by the Pact Worlds is based on the economic utility of one UPB, and are sometimes used interchangeably.

Many individuals and businesses store their credits digitally, using the services of banking houses that secure credits with spells and encryption. Digital funds stored this way can be difficult to access due to the enhanced security and the full transparency of transactions to governments and banking officials. Some transactions sent or received by a reputable organizations use account transfers, however most transactions are facilitated using credsticks.

Credstick

Credsticks mostly come in the form of inexpensive, small physical objects (generally the size of a human finger) that can digitally store credits anonymously. These credits can be transferred wirelessly or the credsticks can be handed to someone else to pay them. Because the funds on a credstick are anonymous and are very hard to trace, they are vulnerable to being lost or stolen but are perfect for less-than-legal financial transactions. Due to this weakness, most people only carry enough credstick to pay for a week's expenses. Credsticks can be refilled at bank kiosks. Because of their anonymous, untraceable nature, credsticks are used to launder money, and illegal financial transactions are often accomplished by trading large numbers of small denomination credsticks. Very foolish (or wealthy) individuals sometimes carry large denomination credsticks that can directly link to a line-of-credit account in a bank.