The International Standard Credit (symbols: ₵ or CR, code: ISC), also known as the credit and colloquially as creds, is the universal standard currency of the United Nations and the official currency of international trade. Created in 2073 to succeed the United States Dollar (USD) as the international reserve currency and to counteract inflation, the Credit is a fiat currency backed by the International Monetary Fund and hundreds of government financial institutions, cementing its legitimacy and allowing it to be used as the standard money of the Sol.
One of the significant advantages of the credit is its universality. Being the official currency of the United Nations, it is accepted across all member states, eliminating the need for currency conversions and promoting seamless international trade. In the interstellar era, the credit has been useful in maintaining a singular currency for extraterrestrial use as well, being the official money of the colonies like Mars and Venus.
As of 2117, the ISC is equivalent to approximately US$1.40 in 2020 dollars.
Denominations
Credits, in physical format, come in bills of varying denominations. These denominations are ₵1, ₵5, ₵10, ₵20, ₵50, ₵100, and ₵500. All bills are 160mm (6.3 in) in width and 60mm (2.4 in) in height and come in varying colors.
Credits are decimalized into 100 cents (¢). To prevent confusion with the symbol for the credit itself, the ¢ symbol is rarely used; instead, references to cents are made using decimals instead (such as ₵0.30).
Credits can be minted in the form of banknotes, which come embedded with over 30 anti-counterfeit measures. They also, infrequently, can be found in coin form, with denominations ranging from ₵0.01 to ₵1. These coins are pressed from various metals, with the ₵1 coin being made of nickel plated with 18-karat gold. However, by far the most common distribution and storage method of credits is digital, using computer transactions and accounting to handle every purchase.
Administration
The management and value of the credit is governed by the International Monetary Fund, the world's central bank, who is also given sole minting rights for manufacturing bills and coins. The IMF also governs digital finances, licensing banks and regulating their transactions in an attempt to keep the currency stable.
As of 2117, the IMF attempts to keep the inflation rate of the credit at less than 4% annually, though economic conditions can change this.