Currency

In order to better understand the currency system and how the economy in Atharen generally works, here is the lore information on Atharen's currency.

Introduction

For the majority of history, Atharen operated on a variety of different currencies largely tied to nations - Atinaw, for example, would have its own system of coin and the same would apply to Ailos, Lorien, the Free Cities, Kaldria and so forth. Though this worked fairly well at the time, during the reign of the Unbroken Empire this method of transacting was seen as a burden on the Empire and all currencies were reformed to fit a common market, with even those nations outside of the Empire's footprint pressured to conform in order to continue trade with the titanic nation. A single currency was designed and distributed, with old currencies acquired by banks in exchange for converted Imperial currency, only for the old coins to be sent to Daegos Kaitel in order to remove them from fluctuation.

The new standard currency became known as Imperial Dranari, and since its introduction has remained the dominant form of currency for virtually all nations, carrying the same value across regions and realms, making trade between countries easier and more effective. The Dranari has since been renamed Dranari Farthing, or 'df', referring to the individual coins that make up one standard denomination of worth.

Dranari

Dranari works on farthings as individual coins, with each farthing being a truly tiny coin of marble texture and greyish-jade coloring. One farthing is not considered to be worth very much, but each farthing is typically used as a form of change or for the purchase of much smaller items. Larger dranari values virtually always take the form of bank notes, withdrawn from a local bank or given by one's employer in order to make purchases. There are even certified, high-value bank notes for the purchases of more prestigious items or one-time purchases such as homes, ships or other valuable objects, with these notes being written to a near-unlimited value so long as they are certified by someone with the right institutional authority.

There is no such thing as a 'cent' or 'penny', with all dranari operating on a single total denomination, physical farthings and bank notes only acting similar to 'bills' of lesser or greater value. All dranari farthings will be recorded as one singular currency on someone's ledger, typically 'df' for their total value. There are no gold farthings, silver farthings, etc -- it is up to the RPer in role-play to determine what denominations they may be carrying around in terms of bills and farthing coins.

Banking

Most banking in Atharen is either directly performed by or related to the United Imperial Vault, or more commonly coined ‘the Imperial Bank,’ a multi-national, politically neutral association of lenders, investors, wealth managers and institutional banking professionals. The Imperial Bank is extremely wealthy and powerful, with more dranari than most governments in reserve and truly astronomical annual earnings. Headquartered in the Grisith Empire, the influence of the Imperial Bank reaches as far out as the fringes of Mornoth and has had a heavy hand in the finance sector since the Clockwork Age. For this reason, deposit rates, banking policies and lending interest rates tend to be uniform across the world. The bank also plays a heavy part in the fluctuation and control of wages and property values.

Deposit Rates

Simple Deposit Yield: 4% - Simply put, all money left in a bank garners a 1% quarterly or 4% annual interest rate for the depositor. For example, if you leave 100,000df in the bank in Searing, in Ash the balance will increase to 101,000.

Investment Yield: 8% - Every two seasons, or twice a year, you will be given a deposit of 4% of your total investment value to your bank account. An investment deposit locks up all money deposited for a six month period, at which point the money can either be re-deposited into the investment, withdrawn or converted to a simple bank balance deposit. It is possible to withdraw the funds outside of the six month renewal period, but with a 5% penalty to the total balance of the investment deposit (not including interest gained) being taken from you.

Lending

Lending Rates:

• 5,000-24,999df: 5% SIR (Seasonal Interest Return); 5% of the total loan value must be paid to the Imperial Bank as interest every season until the full loan amount is repaid. Even if the loan’s principal value is decreased, the total value determines interest payments. The same rules follow higher loan amounts, but with lower percentages attached.
• 25,000-74,999df: 4% SIR
• 75,000-149,999df: 3.5% SIR
• 150,000-499,999df: 3% SIR
• 500,000df+: 2.5% SIR

Please note that as the Imperial Bank has influence globally, all cities will have repossession and interest acquisition agents on hunt for those defaulting on their loans. Three seasons of aggregate failed interest repayments is considered a default, meaning you can never be allowed to miss more than two payments total across your loan. Serious RP repercussions can follow.