Corporation Supplemented Money

Seeing as most western money is fairly dull. It could do with a touch of colour. Advertisements work by being eye catching and pleasing to view. Why not combine the two?

Only a certain number of companies could be allowed to advertise on the money, as people would get confused as to what is actually legal tender. Probably only one or two companies to each note or coin would be optimum. It would be quite nice if the companies were selected by a random lottery of all those that wanted to be included, so that some local shop would have as much chance of being put on the money as the corporate giants. However, the funds necessary for such a venture would elude most, and also that a corner shop going on a national note would be overkill. It would probably end up being based on donations, or quality of suggested design. There would, of course, be some mandatory features like the value of the note and mandatory security requirements. Aside from these though, the note could be as plastered with adverts as its creators want. All designs would have to be approved by the national mint/(whatever the American or Australian version is) before becoming legal tender.

Here's the kicker though. When taking money from a bank. You would only be paying for a percentage of what you are getting. For example, if you were to withdraw a £5 note, only a percentage of that (£4.95, £4.90, maybe even £4.50) would be withdrawn from your account and the company that sponsers the £5 note would supplement the rest. Perhaps different companies could offer different supplements, and ATMs and bank tellers would ask you what format you would like your money in, so that the lesser used notes and coins don't get too left out.

Naturally, this wouldn't be of any use if you were to pay be credit card or cheque, as it is an incentive to use cash and thus, be exposed to the advertisements. And this would be an alternative to regular money rather than a replacement. So that people who don't mind paying a little extra can avoid the ads.