Corporate scrip is a supplementary currency issued by a corponation that is valid only within that corponation's sovereign territory, accepted only at corponation-operated or corponation-licensed businesses, and exchangeable for Quanta only at rates set by the issuing corponation. It is not, technically, money. The QFIC classifies scrip as "corporate benefit tokens" — a legal distinction that exempts it from financial regulations governing actual currency and places it instead under the much looser regulatory framework governing employee benefits. This distinction matters because it means that the entity issuing the scrip also sets the rules governing its use, its value, and the terms under which it can be converted to real money. The issuing corponation is simultaneously the central bank, the treasury, the regulator, and the only store that accepts the bills.

As of 2195, eleven of the twelve QFIC member corponations issue some form of scrip. Only Sterling-Nakamura — which designed the Quanta system and benefits most from its universal adoption — refuses to issue scrip, viewing it as a dilution of Quanta's monetary monopoly. The remaining eleven issue scrip under various names: Axiom calls theirs "Security Credits," Tessera uses "Consortium Points," Vossen labels theirs "Vitality Units," and Zheng-Dao issues "Interface Tokens." The names are deliberately innocuous. The effect is deliberately constrictive. A worker paid 40% of their compensation in Axiom Security Credits can only spend that 40% at Axiom-operated commissaries, Axiom-licensed medical facilities, Axiom housing, and Axiom recreation services. The prices at these establishments are set by Axiom. The worker has no alternative vendor, no competitive market, and no bargaining power.

The scrip economy creates a closed loop that maximizes corporate revenue extraction from labor compensation. Consider the cycle: Axiom pays a security contractor Φ2,000 per month, of which Φ1,200 is in Quanta and Φ800-equivalent is in Security Credits. The contractor spends the Security Credits at the Axiom commissary (where prices are 15-30% higher than Shelf market rates for equivalent goods), at the Axiom medical clinic (where services cost 20-40% more than independent clinics), and on Axiom housing (where rent for a 30-square-meter unit is Φ400 in Security Credits — a price that would be Φ280-320 in Quanta on the open market). The contractor's Φ800-equivalent in scrip purchases approximately Φ550-620 worth of goods and services at market rates. The remaining Φ180-250 is profit captured by Axiom from its own employee's compensation. The worker was paid Φ2,000. The worker received approximately Φ1,750-1,820 in actual purchasing power. The difference went back to the company.

Scrip defenders — primarily corponation HR departments and their contracted public relations firms — argue that scrip provides stability: guaranteed access to goods and services regardless of market fluctuations, consistent pricing that allows financial planning, and the convenience of a single integrated system for all needs. These arguments are technically accurate and morally bankrupt. A prison also provides guaranteed housing, consistent meal times, and the convenience of a single integrated system. The question is not whether the system functions but whether the people inside it had a meaningful choice about entering it. For most scrip-compensated workers, the answer is no. The labor market in GLMZ is structured so that the majority of available positions offer partial scrip compensation. Refusing scrip means refusing employment. Refusing employment means the UBC minimum of Φ120 per month. The choice between scrip and destitution is not a choice. It is a mechanism.