History

Ethical Currency, founded in August 2009, is the world’s first foreign exchange brokerage to voluntarily pay the Currency Transaction Levy (CTL). The CTL was originally conceived as the Tobin Tax by Nobel Laureate James Tobin in 1972. The tax is taken from our companies’ profits and has no cost effect on our clients – they just save money.

Realising that large financial institutions are highly unlikely to institute the tax without significant political pressure, we thought we’d incorporate it into our business model and start to be an agent for positive change. Although we know that we can’t make the kind of difference so desperately required on our own, we hope to show that the tax is feasible and that financial companies could easily incorporate the tiny tax into their business models. If we can start a groundswell then other companies may join us. If the idea gains traction the new, sustainable and innovative funding stream could raise between $30 billion and $40 billion a year, every year. We’ll need your help so sign up for a free, no-obligations FX account and become a part of the positive change we’re hoping will grow into a meaningful annual contribution to eradicating global poverty, all the while saving yourself, your company or charity/NGO significant sums of money and time.

Doing good is good business.