Secretly the disputed Greek Minister of Finance, Yanis Varoufakis, tested out the possibility of introducing a parallel electronic payment system. Behind the model is the Norwegian scientist Trond Andresen.
The premise for the proposal was that the Greek government had a breathing space of a couple of months. At the end of that period a parallel electronic currency could have been put into circulation.
Trond Andresen, scientist at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Trondheim, Norway, was the first to argue for this, and he has long been pushing for such payment systems. Several times in recent years he has published articles in which he explains in detail how Greece could go forward.
“Such a mobile-based transaction system may be implemented through one of the technically proven schemes already in successful operation in some developing countries, also recently put in operation by the central bank of Ecuador. The system may be implemented to work also with older models of mobile phones, since it may be SMS-based (but there will be apps for smartphones),” he writes in one of his articles.
“My argument has been that a parallel electronic currency will speed up the Greek economy and also strengthen Greece’s position in negotiations with the EU,” says Andresen to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
The advantages of an electronic payment systems versus bills and coins are among others that the system can be implemented fast, and adjustments that turn out to be needed can be implemented in software, therefore very easily and cheaply. In addition the system is very cheap to run, compared to a system with notes and coins. And forgery is impossible.
News agency Bloomberg has expressed doubt to the system, but Varouflakis has talked openly about his “Plan B” with his team.
The Greek paper To Visma printed a long article with the heading, “Yaris, Andresen’s Adventure and Trondheim Drachmas”.
Andresen met Veroufakis in Australia in 1997 and To Visma calls him “the visionary from Norway”.
“It’s fun that Veroufakis would test the model that I have written about and promoted for five years, but I’ve never been a part of Varoufaki’s secret team,” said Andresen to Aftenposten.
Could a Norwegian Saved Greece From Drowning? compiled by Admin