People seek alternatives when convention no longer meets their needs or operates within their values.
Community banks are extending beyond credit unions to support local business and to encourage mutual support. If the money stays in the community, it flows. If the money goes to a remote corporation the money may never return. Keeping the money local makes a healthier community.
Currencies are easier to develop now. Bitcoin has shown the way electronically. Local currencies like the Bristol Pound are providing low tech solutions. People find them attractive because they aren’t controlled by central banks or used to fund things like wars.
Microfinance and its close cousin of peer-to-peer lending are taking banks out of the lives of individuals who need loans and of those who want to invest money, but without being charged a high rate or only being paid at a low rate. An extension is crowdfunding, where social media and online exchanges provide visibility to direct fundraising of entrepreneurs from Iowa to Afghanistan, or for charitable donations for people in catastrophic debt. Within the world, there’s probably enough support for every cause that is too small and risky for conventional banks.
“Beyond Wall Street: The Encouraging Growth Of New Financial Models” – The Guardian
Pretending Not To Panic 