This paper aims to present an analysis of the different meanings of social currency within the context of the Development of Community Banks in Brazil. The research was developed at the Banco União Sampaio located in a peripheral neighbourhood in the city of São Paulo.

Within dest strategy, the local social currency holds a central role in an economic dimension as well as from a social perspective. As is stated by academic literature, it is a fact that social currency strengthens the local development processes such as the stimulation of consumption within their own neighbourhood, maintaining this wealth internally. Furthermore, from a social perspective the focus of the discussions is placed on the enhancement of community ties, contributing to the promotion of a local identity. These functions assigned to the currency which strengthen the community banks' discourse are not necessarily the only to be observed.

For this research we interviewed workers, credit users and bank customers from whose responses we were able to understand the social currency as a mapping of dinamics, such as the  relationships between community members to those from outside their community and demonstrate the absence of the State and the systems created by the community to reduce such a lack.