The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. The dispute is about the existence of the "Federation Credit" or any other form of currency in the Federation. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ...
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The Federation Credit is the basic monetary unit of the United Federation of Planets in the Star Trek. In the Star Trek fictional universe, the United Federation of Planets (UFP) – widely referred to and known as merely the Federation – is an interstellar federal state of more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies. ... Star Trek collectively refers to an American science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series (which comprise 726 episodes) and ten feature films, in addition to hundreds of novels, computer and video games, fan stories, and other works of fiction — all of which are set within the same fictional universe...

It has been said in episodes like the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Neutral Zone" and movies like Star Trek: First Contact that the economy of the Federation is quite unlike the economics of the 20th and 21st centuries, almost unrecognizably. There is no poverty and no hunger, and the pursuit of money is not a driving force in society. According to Tom Paris in the Star Trek: Voyager episode Dark Frontier a "New World Economy" began to take hold on Earth and throughout the Federation in the late 22nd century, and eventually made money obsolete. He even mentions that in the 24th century, Fort Knox is a museum, apparently to money and capitalism. The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... The Neutral Zone is the finale of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount Pictures, 1996; see also 1996 in film), is the eighth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Thomas Eugene Paris is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe who served aboard the USS Voyager (NCC-74656) as helmsman and pilot, with the rank of lieutenant. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ... There is also a Fort Knox in the state of Maine, across the Penobscot River from Bucksport. ...

In the United Federation of Planets, Replicators and other advanced technologies provide for virtually all basic material wants and needs equally and sufficiently to all. Every citizen of the Federation has plenty of food of virtually any type they want, clothes, shelter, recreational and luxury items, and has all their basic material needs easily met. A society based around self-improvement and collectively improving the human race instead of cutthroat competition, combined with heavy automation, means labor is essentially free and menial tasks are automated. As we've seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes with Jake Sisko and Joseph Sisko show that people are not paid in credits for their work, at least for running restaurants and being journalists. In the fictional Star Trek universe, a replicator is a machine capable of converting energy into matter and vice-versa. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ...

When the Federation Credit is shown, it is shown in one of three capacities:

• A bartering tool between the United Federation of Planets and other governments, presumably representing goods, services, or energy worthy of barter in a galaxy where physical wants often mean little. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode (The Price), the Federation makes a large bid in Federation Credits to attempt to purchase the rights to a stable wormhole.

• A means of internal budget allocation in the United Federation of Planets, such as in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode (Errand of Mercy). While it has almost unlimited resources, they have been shown to be finite (such as having limited numbers of Starships), and thus some method of allocating Federation and Starfleet resources must be used.

• A way for Federation citizens to barter for objects that cannot be replicated, such as live animals, such as in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode (The Trouble with Tribbles), or for services that are far too costly to be given away freely, such as hiring the services of an entire starship (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock), or for the use of facilities (such as public transporters) that are in high demand and must have a method of rationing their access like in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode (Explorers).

It is unclear how citizens gain credits, but since they are not paid directly for their work in credits, but there is no poverty, there is some highly egalitarian and fair method of distributing the wealth of the United Federation of Planets to its citizens. The Price is the name of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, from the third season. ... The starship Enterprise as it appeared on Star Trek Star Trek is a culturally significant science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. ... Errand of Mercy is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, and was broadcast on March 16, 1967. ... The Trouble with Tribbles is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast on December 29, 1967 and repeated June 21, 1968. ... Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Paramount Pictures, 1984; see also 1984 in film) is the third feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Explorers is the 22nd episode in the third season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ...

Controversy of the Credit

The Federation Credit has been a subject of controversy among fans and conflicting accounts in the source material.

For the first 20 years of Star Trek, from 1965 until 1985, there was no indication that money was outmoded. The Original Series sometimes referenced the cost of services or objects in "credits". Earth society itself was never shown, but it was mentioned and implied to be a peaceful and idyllic. In his writings at the time, Gene Roddenberry said he intentionally avoided talking about the political, social and economic structures of Earth, simply implying that it was far more advanced than the modern day. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... This article is about the year. ...

The first mention of the Federation not having money in the modern sense was in 1986, in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Kirk expresses frustration at the use of money on 1986 Earth. Then, in early 1988 in "The Neutral Zone", the last episode of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Picard explains to a banker from the 20th century that economics are quite different and the pursuit of money is no longer a part of human existence, however earlier in that season in Encounter at Farpoint, Beverly Crusher purchased a bolt of fabric, while asking for it to be billed to her account on the USS Enterprise. Two years later, in the third season of TNG, in the episode "The Price", the Federation bids for ownership of the Barzan Wormhole in credits. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Encounter at Farpoint was the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Beverly Crusher, a character in the Star Trek fictional universe, was the Chief Medical Officer onboard the USS Enterprise-D and held the rank of Commander; upon the destruction of that ship, she has continued in that post and rank on the USS Enterprise-E. This character first appeared in... The Price is the name of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, from the third season. ...

Later in TNG, and especially in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it was repeatedly stated that the Federation did not use money, and that the pursuit of money was generally abhorrent to humans, especially as a counterpoint to the highly capitalist Ferengi (although the Federation citizens on Deep Space Nine did purchase drinks and merchandise from Ferengi), and were no stranger to obtaining and using money, even if they didn't explicitly need any. Lastly, in Star Trek: Voyager, the episode "Dark Frontier" has Tom Paris explaining that money began to fade from use when the "New World Economy" arose in the late 22nd century (notably after the 2161 founding date of the Federation), meaning even by later explanations, money was in use in the early history of the Federation. In Star Trek: Enterprise, set in the 2150s, the issue was never brought up directly, however in the episode These Are the Voyages... (the series finale) the holographic Charls 'Trip' Tucker does mention money, in reference to types of trust, however this may have just been an example he made to make his point understandable, and not proof of the economics of the time. Thomas Eugene Paris is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe who served aboard the USS Voyager (NCC-74656) as helmsman and pilot, with the rank of lieutenant. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... These Are the Voyages. ... Charles Trip Tucker III Commander Charles Tucker III, known as Trip (for triple, since he is the third generation of his family to be called Charles Tucker), is a fictional character in the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, played by Connor Trinneer. ...

The Federation Credit in Non-Canon Works

The Federation Credit appears in many alternate canons and non-canon but licensed works about Star Trek, generally basing their reference off of the appearances of the Federation Credit in the Original Series, and reinforced by their occasional reference in later works.

In the Star Trek RPG made by FASA from 1982 to 1989, it presented the Federation Credit in a method quiet similar to modern currency, including pay rates for Starfleet members. Since the most of the products of this Star Trek book line were established before the apparent retcon of the Federation not using money in the modern sense was established, this was done in good faith to be consistent with Star Trek as they knew it at the time. Star Trek: The Role Playing Game is, as the name indicates, a role-playing game set in the fictional Star Trek universe published and edited by FASA Corporation from 1982 to 1989. ... Retroactive continuity – commonly contracted to the blend retcon – is the adding of new information to historical material, or deliberately changing previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. ...

The Star Trek RPG made by Last Unicorn Games in 1998 through 2000 used the Federation Credit in it, as well as other units of currency mentioned in Star Trek canon, such as gold-pressed latinum, the Bajoran Lita, and the Klingon Darsek. In accord with the ideas put forth later in TNG and in DS9, money was heavily de-emphasized (especially for Federation characters), and it is explained that Federation Credits are only used for purchasing luxury goods which could not be replicated or for special services, since Federation Citizens don't need money to live. The Star Trek RPG is a role-playing game set in the fictional Star Trek universe, designed by Last Unicorn Games. ... The Star Trek canon consists of the television series Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture and its sequels. ... A list of fictional chemical substances can be found on one of two pages: Fictional chemical substances, A-M Fictional chemical substances, N-Z This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

In the Prime Directive game set in the Star Fleet Universe alternate universe of Star Trek, the Federation credit is the basic monetary unit of the Federation, and is used in a method highly like modern currencies. Prime Directive is a role-playing game set in the Star Trek-derived Star Fleet Universe. ... The Star Fleet Universe is the variant of the Star Trek fictional universe as detailed in the series of tactical and strategic interstellar wargames from Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. ...

The Federation Credit also appears quite frequently in licensed, but non-canon, Star Trek novels, especially when the main characters are no longer a part of Starfleet and must tend with life beyond the core worlds of the Federation, such as "The Lost Years" by J.M. Dillard where Leonard McCoy, having recently quit Starfleet (set circa 2270, during the gap between TOS and Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]), is stranded on a distant planet and attempts to radio the Federation from help and to warn them about a crisis that is emerging, only to find that interstellar communications are difficult and very expensive for civilians, or in "Prime Directive" by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens where Hikaru Sulu, and Pavel Chekov, recently dishonorably discharged from Starfleet and publicly disgraced, can only find work with the Orion Syndicate to raise money to be able to clear their names, for which they are paid in Federation Credits. Leonard Horatio McCoy, M.D., nicknamed Bones (as in Sawbones, an old-fashioned colloquialism for a doctor or a surgeon), is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, played by the late DeForest Kelley. ... Hikaru Sulu is a fictional character in the original Star Trek series, played by George Takei. ... Pavel Andreyevich Chekov (Cyrillic: Павел Андреевич Чеков), a character from the fictional Star Trek universe, was the Navigator and Weapons Officer on the Starship Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, Orions are a green-skinned alien species which seem to have a hostile attitude towards the Federation. ...