Monetary Unit
The Monetary Unit (μ) is the official Illuminatian unit of currency, as defined in collaboration between the Department of Monetary Policy (DMP) and the Department of Standards and Measures (DSM).
The symbol used to indicate units of the Monetary Unit in currency is the mu (μ). For smaller divisions of the Monetary Unit, the Milli Monetary Unit (mμ) is used.
The Monetary Unit is significant in the single digits for substantial transactions. For smaller trivial everyday transactions falling below the 1.000μ threshold, it is common to use the Milli Monetary Unit.
For example, a newspaper, at an average newsstand price of 30mμ, would be considered an inexpensive, inconsequential everyday item of a negligible price. An example of a more significant but still unsubstantial item for purchase might include a ticket to attend a sportsball game, priced on average at 240mμ for an NSBL game.
A typical citizen might spend an average of 3.200μ per day on all necessities and non-essential products and services, including housing, sustenance, and extraneous spending, but excluding taxes, savings, and investment. The average annual income for an Illuminatian is 1,000μ per AU, including earned income and social benefits from the government.
Illuminatian personal finances are affected by the Office of the Central Bank (OCB)'s monetary policy that guarantees a negative interest rate on idle money. Therefore, the typical Illuminatian invests funds that would otherwise be stockpiled into retirement savings instead into active enterprise and business in exchange for assurance of return on investment at promised rates, often through a complex series of brokers for such investment. Many Illuminatians directly invest into their own business and income-generating activities.
The Monetary Unit as a unit of measurement is closely protected as a standard of value relative to the worth of various commodities and the price of human labor by the Office of the Central Bank (OCB) to prevent short-term fluctuations in the value of the currency or long-term inflation.
Monetary Network
- See article: Monetary Network
The exchange of wealth in the form of the Monetary Unit is conducted entirely electronically using the Monetary Network, a system of communication channels and devices that form Illuminatia's entirely electronic monetary transaction system. The Monetary Network is maintained by the DMP's Office of the Monetary Network.
All banks and transaction terminals are connected to an island-wide monetary data network dedicated to the transmission of specifics regarding monetary balances associated with accounts held by individuals and other entities and transactions between those accounts.
Small personal wallet-size mobile electronic devices, each device unique to an individual bank account, are carried by the vast majority of Illuminatians. These devices communicate account and balance details to other networked and off-network devices. These devices are capable of executing transactions. The Monetary Network devices, if used off-network, query and transmit information to the Monetary Network once a connection is reestablished.
The Monetary Network is both wired and wireless. The security and accuracy of data is ensured through an open system of checks, redundancy, and observation. Transmission of information regarding monetary transactions utilizes open encryption via a tamper-evident protocol to ensure the integrity of the data that is transmitted and stored on the Monetary Network and its devices. But information regarding all transactions is also freely available to the public in real time, ensuring an honest monetary system that discourages corruption and illicit activity.
There is no paper currency in Illuminatia. Secret monetary transactions without the use of the Monetary Network are impossible.