Currently, all my players have their Credits in hard cash, credit chips etc.

They dont (technically) have any means of transferring money digitally. So to pay docking fees they have to actually hand over the cash on landing.

Should there be some method of transferring cash digitally, like buying stuff online via a credit card.

How would you handle this? Or would you hand wave it?

Granted, having my players create a Bank Account would give me the choice of "freezing their assets" but its never been made overly clear to me how this works with Banks and the Empire, and the Galaxy in general.

I've made my players have to make efforts to keep their accounts hidden.

Using pseudonyms and scrambling access logs work well provided the checks are made.

It also takes some buy in from the players. Sometimes, you don't know that you failed.

You could also just make up a credit stick, i forget what movie I saw it on but it's like the size of a life saver role and it electronically transfers funds to/from you and connects to a bank if you want, sort of a credit/debit card type thing. If you made it to where all but the poorest citizens carry one, it would make for some devious things a PC/NPC thief to pickpocket also. Just think of a PC thief having a sort of scanner and "BING" the credits are transferred to the PC.

Money is left sufficiently vague that you could do pretty much whatever you like at your table. The last season's episodes of TCW had a series about Palpatine seizing control of the baking clan through subterfuge (of course), so the implication is clear the Empire keeps firm control over galactic commerce. Some sort of Star Wars hawala system could likely have risen in the underworld as a result I'm sure.

Money is left sufficiently vague that you could do pretty much whatever you like at your table. The last season's episodes of TCW had a series about Palpatine seizing control of the baking clan through subterfuge (of course), so the implication is clear the Empire keeps firm control over galactic commerce. Some sort of Star Wars hawala system could likely have risen in the underworld as a result I'm sure.

2P, What does baking have to do with money?

What 2P says after you get past my stoopid joke makes sense.

You can also bring in a bartering system.

i'm going to be having my players set up accounts on a world of their choosing since part of their income will be from somewhat legitimate employers and for tax purposes. Remember, Capone got busted and put away for tax evasion.. so even if you're a criminal with income from illegal sources.. pay your **** taxes!

I actually try to remove a lot of the sensibilities of the modern world. I prefer the hard currency. The holonet is not the Internet, it facilitates communication, nothing more. R2-D2 had physically connect with an computer, he didn't wirelessly connect.

i'm going to be having my players set up accounts on a world of their choosing since part of their income will be from somewhat legitimate employers and for tax purposes. Remember, Capone got busted and put away for tax evasion.. so even if you're a criminal with income from illegal sources.. pay your **** taxes!

Pay them to whom? If you're outside the Core or Midrim you're not in the Empire. They might have representatives or show force on some worlds, like Stormtroopers searching Tatooine for a few droids, but that doesn't mean they control all that space. So, the taxes you pay are the tariffs and spaceport fees. Also, who says there are any income taxes?

I actually try to remove a lot of the sensibilities of the modern world. I prefer the hard currency. The holonet is not the Internet, it facilitates communication, nothing more. R2-D2 had physically connect with an computer, he didn't wirelessly connect.

Yeah, this is a galaxy a long time ago and far, far away. So, just because we've come up with these technologies doesn't mean others have, or maybe they did and abandoned them due to the risks (like Battlestar Galactica vs the Cylons). Especially when you have intelligent machines. I don't incorporate our modern technology into Star Wars, either.

It would be mind boggling complex to deal with taxing individuals and likely not even cost effective. I would imagine the Empire's primary income sources come from direct levies against major corporations in the form of value added taxes at the point of manufacture and maybe a head tax for total number of employees, organic and non-organic. Then they would likely control the mining/extraction of critical resources and charge manufacturers directly.

In regards to planets there would likely be a standard cost levied against a planetary government for the services and security provided by Imperial presence. The Empire would just collect one check and leave how the money is gathered to each planet.

i'm going to be having my players set up accounts on a world of their choosing since part of their income will be from somewhat legitimate employers and for tax purposes. Remember, Capone got busted and put away for tax evasion.. so even if you're a criminal with income from illegal sources.. pay your **** taxes!

Pay them to whom? If you're outside the Core or Midrim you're not in the Empire. They might have representatives or show force on some worlds, like Stormtroopers searching Tatooine for a few droids, but that doesn't mean they control all that space. So, the taxes you pay are the tariffs and spaceport fees. Also, who says there are any income taxes?

You are correct that outside the Mid-rim, the Empire doesn't have a whole lot of control. But there are plenty of worlds that have their own governments and no form of government can exist without some form of taxation, whether it is the form of money or goods. And the reason for the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo was because of corporate taxation, deemed excessive by the Trade Federation of course but we have no idea what the actual rates of taxation were.

Sure, there might not be income taxes but we know there are corporate taxes, which could include taxes on wages paid, items purchased or moving a large sum of money from world to another or whatever.

It would be mind boggling complex to deal with taxing individuals and likely not even cost effective. I would imagine the Empire's primary income sources come from direct levies against major corporations in the form of value added taxes at the point of manufacture and maybe a head tax for total number of employees, organic and non-organic. Then they would likely control the mining/extraction of critical resources and charge manufacturers directly.

In regards to planets there would likely be a standard cost levied against a planetary government for the services and security provided by Imperial presence. The Empire would just collect one check and leave how the money is gathered to each planet.

I agree. It would be extremely complex for the Empire's bureaucracy to handle all the taxation of individuals. It would be best to determine a rate or amount per planet and have the planet come up with that money. If a planet couldn't come up with the money, the hammer could be dropped.

Lets see, credit stick ties in to closest local bank to player along with the merchants, banks should have the money and power to connect to the other banks. Banks would be the only ones required to have to use HoloNet. According to the rules, There are banks in SW, if you put your money in one bank on a planet across the galaxy then you would have to go to that planet to deposit or withdraw.

How else would an Entrepreneur be payed 100 credits for each rank of Sound Investments? He is basically playing the Stock Market, How would he be able to do that? Does he not get immediate access to the 100 credits each session? Are you as a GM gonna make him spend the credits to travel to where the Entrepreneur has his investment? I'm sorry but I won't play Entrepreneur if that's the case, as you will be spending more money than you are making. What a waste of a career and talent and XP. See pg 67 and 68 of Far Horizons.

See page 69 EotE: under Explorer description

"Other Explorers scour the HoloNet and other data

services, looking for groups, businesses, or organizations
in need."

So the Imperial government is the only ones with access? See above please.

So nothing says the banks won't be using them, would the credit stick be hooked up to the HoloNet? Nope, by normal encrypted comms? Possibly.

The cred stick would only have to be scanned to complete the transaction, encrypted comms transmit to the bank, banks communicate by HoloNet. If there is no bank and no tech on the planet you are on then you need to wait, So yes having hard credits on you would help.

I believe that the credit stick I saw was in the Buck Rogers TV show from the late 70s early 80s one where he is in a Casino.

So nothing says the banks won't be using them, would the credit stick be hooked up to the HoloNet? Nope, by normal encrypted comms? Possibly.

The cred stick would only have to be scanned to complete the transaction, encrypted comms transmit to the bank, banks communicate by holonet.

Actually the credstick wouldn't need any outside comms to verify the data on it. Depending on the level of built-in hardware/software encryption and control the transaction could be completed right there. The credstick would record the new balance and then encrypt the data again and the other end would see the deposit of money. So, the credsticks are really a repository of digital cash. No banks, no names, no association of the money to a person. Hand the stick to someone and they have the money just as if you'd handed them cash directly. Works great for backwater worlds or ones outside the normal channels that might not even have a Holocomm unit on the planet, let alone in that particular city.

So nothing says the banks won't be using them, would the credit stick be hooked up to the HoloNet? Nope, by normal encrypted comms? Possibly.

The cred stick would only have to be scanned to complete the transaction, encrypted comms transmit to the bank, banks communicate by holonet.

Actually the credstick wouldn't need any outside comms to verify the data on it. Depending on the level of built-in hardware/software encryption and control the transaction could be completed right there. The credstick would record the new balance and then encrypt the data again and the other end would see the deposit of money. So, the credsticks are really a repository of digital cash. No banks, no names, no association of the money to a person. Hand the stick to someone and they have the money just as if you'd handed them cash directly. Works great for backwater worlds or ones outside the normal channels that might not even have a Holocomm unit on the planet, let alone in that particular city.

Agreed, but how does the Entrepreneur get his credits for his talent? Far Horizons does go a little into the banks, stating that the Entrepreneur's credits go into the bank, if the Entrepreneur is in a place where he can't get them that he will need to wait for a more convenient place, not that he has to go all the way back to his home world or where his bank is. Plus, if I had over 1000 credits I wouldn't want to carry that much on me.

Hit a decent bounty or a good run gambling, I have seen other threads where people were getting 20K+ credits, where do you carry said credits? If you carry that much, you are asking to lose them also. Just wondering how you guys would handle it.

So nothing says the banks won't be using them, would the credit stick be hooked up to the HoloNet? Nope, by normal encrypted comms? Possibly.

The cred stick would only have to be scanned to complete the transaction, encrypted comms transmit to the bank, banks communicate by holonet.

Actually the credstick wouldn't need any outside comms to verify the data on it. Depending on the level of built-in hardware/software encryption and control the transaction could be completed right there. The credstick would record the new balance and then encrypt the data again and the other end would see the deposit of money. So, the credsticks are really a repository of digital cash. No banks, no names, no association of the money to a person. Hand the stick to someone and they have the money just as if you'd handed them cash directly. Works great for backwater worlds or ones outside the normal channels that might not even have a Holocomm unit on the planet, let alone in that particular city.

Agreed, but how does the Entrepreneur get his credits for his talent? Far Horizons does go a little into the banks, stating that the Entrepreneur's credits go into the bank, if the Entrepreneur is in a place where he can't get them that he will need to wait for a more convenient place, not that he has to go all the way back to his home world or where his bank is. Plus, if I had over 1000 credits I wouldn't want to carry that much on me.

Hit a decent bounty or a good run gambling, I have seen other threads where people were getting 20K+ credits, where do you carry said credits? If you carry that much, you are asking to lose them also. Just wondering how you guys would handle it.

I'd say the Entrepreneur would need access to a decent planet to get their money. Much as old school banks back in the days of the telegraph only worked with bigger banks if they had access. Small, local banks on planets without hypercomms are just that, a local bank only, serving just people on that world, much as our banks do now. You're not much of an entrepreneur if you aren't staying involved in your investments, either by remote communications, or by going to the job sites and seeing how things are going.

I know a number of people that keep 2000+ in cash on them with no issues and have done so for years. We see Han loading up his payment from the Alliance for rescuing Leia onto the Falcon near the end of ep IV. And banks aren't that secure. Ours, today, are backed by the Federal Government in the US (FDIC), but only up to so much money and have tons of other regulations to try and keep them from being risky so that people will use them. A ship is a big place with many more nooks and crannies than a typical house for hiding stuff. And, in a way, most cargo haulers are carrying quite a bit of value in their ship already, in the form of their cargo, that will get turned into cash at the other end to buy the next cargo with.

And to go back to our banks, transactions above a certain amount get reported to the government behind the bank. If you're doing more fringe type stuff, do you really want someone knowing each time you have a large payday or make a large withdrawal?

I'd say the Entrepreneur would need access to a decent planet to get their money. Much as old school banks back in the days of the telegraph only worked with bigger banks if they had access. Small, local banks on planets without hypercomms are just that, a local bank only, serving just people on that world, much as our banks do now. You're not much of an entrepreneur if you aren't staying involved in your investments, either by remote communications, or by going to the job sites and seeing how things are going.

I know a number of people that keep 2000+ in cash on them with no issues and have done so for years. We see Han loading up his payment from the Alliance for rescuing Leia onto the Falcon near the end of ep IV. And banks aren't that secure. Ours, today, are backed by the Federal Government in the US (FDIC), but only up to so much money and have tons of other regulations to try and keep them from being risky so that people will use them. A ship is a big place with many more nooks and crannies than a typical house for hiding stuff. And, in a way, most cargo haulers are carrying quite a bit of value in their ship already, in the form of their cargo, that will get turned into cash at the other end to buy the next cargo with.

And to go back to our banks, transactions above a certain amount get reported to the government behind the bank. If you're doing more fringe type stuff, do you really want someone knowing each time you have a large payday or make a large withdrawal?

Makes sense, I guess closer to the Mid Rim/Core would be where the "comms transfers" to a bank would be about right, a credstick would be best to keep all your credits after withdrawal keeping you from having credits weighing you down and suspicious government officials from prying.

IMO, you would have a variety of systems, much like we do here on Earth.

Some places would be not very technologically advanced, and they would have local hard currency (coins, paper, whatever), and you would probably have some sort of “money changer” operation at the space ports. Or there might be the equivalent of a “General Store/Post Office” that could perform the money changing operation — for a fee, of course. The money changer allows you to buy local currency with standard Credits, at a certain exchange rate.

In SW:ANH, Han clearly uses some sort of coin to pay the bartender when he leaves after killing Greedo, and says “Sorry for the mess”. So that’s clearly one mechanism that is used in some places. But how did he get that coin? I’d be willing to bet it was probably at a money changer.

There was also an episode of TCW when payment came in the form of gold bars (or something like that), when Asajj Ventress was temporarily working alongside a young Boba Fett. I’m sure there are other examples.

More technologically advanced places would allow you to have an electronic device for more anonymous transactions, much like credit or debit cards — perhaps in stick form, or maybe in the form of a small crystal pyramid, or whatever. The transactions would be made with local banks, who would be responsible for interacting with the financial institutions on other planets using the Holonet, or whatever.

Some would be advanced enough that you might be able to securely transfer virtual/crypto currency using offline/anonymous methods.

I would think that you could also store currency or account information on a datapad, using the same sorts of mechanisms but in pure software form.

To be honest, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. That is, unless you want to worry about it because of a potential plot hook or something.

In A New Hope Han is loading his reward which consisted of several good sized cash boxes (10,000cr) and there was no mention of transferring credits from Alderaan, so my guess is that cash is king.

In A New Hope Han is loading his reward which consisted of several good sized cash boxes (10,000cr) and there was no mention of transferring credits from Alderaan, so my guess is that cash is king.

*for terrorist and criminal activity.

I'm pretty sure that everybody in AGFFA uses Disney Magic Bands for cashless transactions.

In A New Hope Han is loading his reward which consisted of several good sized cash boxes (10,000cr) and there was no mention of transferring credits from Alderaan, so my guess is that cash is king.

*for terrorist and criminal activity.

Thats fair but, and I hate to reference the prequels (because I think they suck), Qui Gon could have transferred credits to Watto rather than gone through that ridiculous bargaining business for the ship part. At that point in the films there was no reason for not using such a system if it existed.

Actually, I would use that example to indicate the exact opposite. You wouldn't think Qui-gon is carrying several thousand republic credits in hard currency in his belt pouch, would you? Currency he wouldn't have any reason to take with him to a diplomatic meeting on a civilized world? So how did he expect to pay Watto when he offered republic credits - likely with a direct transfer from one of the jedi petty cash funds in a republic bank. Which would have worked, if Watto didn't have the equivalent of a "Cash only" sign because he's a small time junk dealer on a Hutt controlled world at a time where currency fluctuations make the republic credit much less stable in worth than the Hutt Wupipi (which everyone else on tatooine uses).

Qui-gon was doing the equivalent of walking into a midwestern american pick-and-pull and trying to buy a porsche engine with euros.

Qui-gon was doing the equivalent of walking into a midwestern american pick-and-pull and trying to buy a porsche engine with euros.

Ta be fair weez out here gots us a few of dem new fangled swipers on our smarts phones.

I don't know about during the Republic era I (I too am not a PT fan), but there would be reasons in the civil war era to limit cash. Obviously revolutions are about lawyers, guns, and money. Making hard cash weigh a certain amount and capping denominations at the 'common man' street use face value would be a real impediment to financing seditious activity.

I also don't like the PT, but as far as QG not having the credits, individual Jedi are not rich, don't believe in personal possessions (could have credits for missions), was on Tatooine (a backwater, outer rim planet), and it was around 20 years prior to where the "basis" of EotE is "supposed" to be set.

A lot can happen in 20 years as far as tech is concerned.