A credit chip, as seen in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Credits are an international electronic currency accepted worldwide[1] in the universe of Deus Ex. Credits are used as mainstream currency in countries such as Germany, France, the United States, Egypt, Canada, the Czech Republic, and the People's Republic of China.
They are mostly used digitally through the internet and ATMs, but despite what their name implies, physical financial transactions can also be made through the use of tangible credit chips (or chits).
The symbol for credits is ¢ in the first two games, and 
in Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Background[]
Following the abandonment of the United States dollar as standard global currency due to housing and banking crises of the early 2010s,[2] credits were introduced as an international electronic currency.[1] They became the worldwide standard within just a few years: By 2029, they could be directly used for payments in lieu of local currencies, allowing travelers to avoid exchanging money to local currencies and budget travel more easily.[3] Together with smart credit chips that could be pre-loaded with money, they took the world by storm,[4] and could be used even to make poker bets in casual games.[5][6]
Credits have not displaced traditional currencies, but existed alongside them, and national budgets remained denominated in local currencies, while the US dollar provided a useful point of reference when discussing money, such as estimating trade deal prices,[7] company valuation[8], or simply complaining about the state of the tourism industry[9] and working conditions.[10]
Online donations could also be made in national currencies as late as 2029,[11] while the US national budget remained expressed in dollars, up to the Collapse of 2052: For example, the nanotechnological augmentation of Paul Denton and JC Denton cost roughly one hundred billion dollars.[12]
Value and prices[]
2027[]
Alcoholic beverages cost 5 to 25 credits. Ammunition is also relatively cheap (9mm cartridges typically costs 4 credits, and even the most basic of street thug vendor carries a supply of basic ammo and grenades on him).
2029[]
In Prague, the economic crisis due to the Aug Incident and subsequent crackdown on augmented humans resulted in severe increases in prices. Major financial losses were also expressed in dollars, rather than credits: Hundreds of billions of dollars disappeared from the market due to the Aug Incident,[13] [14] while the collapse of Panchea resulted in a financial loss of about a trillion dollars.[15] By comparison, Nathaniel Brown's Rabi'ah cost "just" 7 million dollars to build - per day.[16]
- Alcoholic beverages cost 10 to 50 credits.
- 0.45 kg or 1 lb. of ground beef from an industrial farm cost c50, considered extremely expensive.[17]
- MHD fares are denominated in credits in Praha and cost 32 credits for adults, minors above 15 years old, and students for a single 90 minute ticket, 24 for a single 30 minute ticket, and 110 credits for a 24 hour ticket. Children under 15 years of age and seniors pay half price, and both have access to a special, discounted 90 minute ticket available for 20 credits.[18]
- Same-day priority shipping at TF-29's cover company cost c56.[19]
- The 9mm bullet that a mere 2 years ago was valued at 4 credits has seen a sharp decrease to 1 credit, and various specialty items and military hardware goes for a premium. A basic pistol that cost 350 credits only two years prior now costs an astonishing 950 credits.
- Praxis software, when available, cost 10,000 credits.
2052[]
- It costs 2 credits to purchase a soda or candy bar from a vending machine,
- 8 credits to purchase a pack of Coughing Nails brand cigarettes.
Most Bartenders worldwide will sell cheaper drinks such as Forty and liquor for 10 credits. Non-explosive and non-energy ammo usually costs several hundred credits, and explosives such as LAMs and rockets have a street value of multiple thousand credits. Few people keep more than a thousand credits in their ATM accounts.
2072[]
Credits were supported by the WTO and remained the international standard currency. A routine service for an RK-4 routing service pilot beacon would cost 5045 credits (including firmware upgrades for c1250, dish mount cleaning for c30, and a WTO/Symmetriad 6 month license for c3765).[20]
Trivia[]
- Many signs in non-interactive Hengsha stores display prices in Chinese yüan, and in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, it's not unusual to hear NPCs talk about dollars or bucks. Additionally, there are "dollar to credit" ATMs around in many of the older shops scattered throughout Prague.
- Despite occurring after a 20 year economic depression, credits in Deus Ex: Invisible War are apparently worth more than they were in Deus Ex.
- Many restaurant and store signs in Prague seem to be made from real-world signs denominated in dollars or euro, with the Credit symbol overprinted where the original currency sign would be. A train ticket seen in Dobromila's mission adds the credit sign despite Kc., denoting the Czech koruna, already printed. (The price is realistic in korun but not in euro.)
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MarketVaceShop: " I accept international electronic currency."
- ↑ Civilian (Hengsha): "Must've been pretty tough when they decided to drop the dollar as the worldwide standard. But after all those housing and banking crises in the early 10s, what did you expect?"
- ↑ Civilian (Prague): "A few years ago I would have lost so much money converting to the local currency. But now that these credits have become the worldwide standard for currency, it is much easier to budget for travel."
- ↑ Credit Chip: "Non-descript ‘smart’ currency device, suitable for digital and physical financial transactions. May contain various amounts of credits."
- ↑ TF-29 bark: " "What the hell were those gate crashers after, anyway? They gun down the black market sellers, and Agent Singh. It sucks, you know, poor Arun, I owe him a hundred credits from the last time we played poker. I'll get his wife something nice.""
- ↑ TF-29 bark: " "Ah... Agent Singh, great poker player, I still owe him a hundred credits. So I hope his incursion with the Jinn lasts another few months. You know, maybe he'll forget I owe him the money."
- ↑ Czech civilian (bark): "We could not be happier with the service they offer. What they really give us is peace of mind. The last thing we need to worry about during a multi-billion dollar deal is the details leaking out to the public."
- ↑ Palisade ambience (20_blade_plaza/dlc_1_lw01_301_amb/dlc_1_lw01_301_amb_en): "[Masaaki Oshiro. The CTO of the Palisade Bank Corporation, was born in 1988 in Yokohama, Japan.
The middle son of three, Masaaki loved all things technical. He essentially grew up inside his father's robotics factory. It was there, that his
life-long fascination with computers was born.
At 19, he started a little company that would one day become a billion dollar provider of digital security around the globe: U-N-G-Y-O.
Passion for his work fueled the company's success and would have turned him into a lifelong workaholic, had it not been for a chance meeting with the woman who would become the love of his life...
Ashani Talwar and Masaaki Oshiro met and were married in Zurich in 2016. Two hearts, two companies, and two souls that became one. THE PALISADE BANK CORPORATION.]" - ↑ Czech civilian (?): "What the fuck is the point of bringing my tourist dollars to this shithole if I'm going to be trapped indoors like a prisoner!"
- ↑ Duncan MacReady: "Look. I get what you're saying, but I'm working a five-dollar investigation on fifty-cents worth of shit. I've got speculation to spare, mate."
- ↑ Aug activist: ""I donated three hundred dollars to ARC last year. So you see, I am right here, fighting in the trenches with you.""
- ↑ Walton Simons: "You can't run, Denton. Even if you escape, your killswitch is counting down. You'll be dead in twenty-three hours. Another fifty billion dollars down the drain."
- ↑ Civilian 1: "I hate watching the news. Wars, famines, murders, diseases. Is it my imagination, or did everything go to hell after the Incident?"
Civilian 2: "No, you're right. Thousands of companies closed their doors, hundreds of billions of dollars disappeared from the stock market overnight. The world still hasn't recovered. I almost lost my house!"
Civilian 1: "Hey, speaking of houses, are you going to that house party on Saturday?"
Civilian 2: "Are you kidding? If I missed it I would just die."
- ↑ Civilian 2: "The Incident ruined everything. Did you know it destroyed half the world's commercial airliners? When I vacationed in Cairo, I had to fly Coach!"
- ↑ Samizdat computers: ""Here's the latest draft. Let me know what you think: "Panchaea was humanity’s titanic plan to save the world, an arctic installation plunging to the bottom of the sea. Built by an augmented workforce, it was our hopeful answer to climate change. Until it mysteriously blew up on the day the Augs went crazy. It remains conveniently unclear what happened at Panchaea. Amidst conflicting reports of human remains, corporate sabotage, and radioactive salvage, we wait for the official truth -- engineering failure or another augmented horror story? More and more, Panchaea feels like a trillion-dollar hole in which to hide a trillion-dollar secret."
- ↑ RABI’AH: A BROWN NEW WORLD: "In a recent interview, Nathaniel Brown described Rabi’ah as a haven for Augs, further revealing that the “self-sufficient” city in the desert is costing over 7 million dollars per day to build. Santeau’s CEO seemed unperturbed. “It’s not just [the money] that keeps me doing what I do,” a honeyed Brown opined to camera. “Rabi’ah is giving augmented people all over the world an opportunity to rebuild their lives and dignity. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone and I’m proud to be involved.” Inspiring, isn’t it? In other news, Brown will attempt to walk on Santeau-branded water before turning it into wine and toasting his investors. The idea of Brown being hailed as some kind of business saint is repugnant. Reports out of Rabi’ah paint a picture of indentured Aug workers ransomed to pittance salaries with promises of a place in paradise. Trouble is, the only people getting tickets are those willing to buy them with Santeau’s money. The projected capacity of Santeauland -- sorry, Rabi’ah -- is 101,500. There are 7.1 million augmented survivors since the tragic Incident. By my reckoning, that’s roughly one for every daily dollar spent building a paradise most can’t afford. Will Brown make them pay to dig their own graves next?"
- ↑ Prague Modern district conversation:
Civilian 1: "And then I said, you want how much for this? And then he said fifty credits. FIFTY!"
Civilian 1: "Can you imagine, fifty credits for a lousy pound of ground beef?"
Civilian 1: "And this wasn't even from a fancy grass fed cow, who always got lots of hugs and died peacefully in her sleep. Fifty credits for meat from some poor cow kept in a cage their whole life."
Civilian 2: "Jesus. When did everything get so expensive?"
Civilian 1: "I know right?"
Civilian 2: "Did you buy it?"
Civilian 1: "Of course not! I do not have that kind of money."
- ↑ Fare prices
- ↑ Package company clerk: "And when would you like it to arrive?""
Client: "How fast can it get there?""
Package company clerk: " "Well, we have a variety of rates, from 'should-have-sent-it-sooner' to same-day super-high-ultra priority at 56 credits."
Client: "Fifty-six... ty vole. Hmmph... I guess I have no choice."
Package company clerk: " "Dobře. The paperwork will just take a minute." - ↑ Datacube transcripts (DXIW): "Maintenance Receipt
Pilot Beacon RK-4 Routine Service
Inspection - Passed. Approved for all air traffic.
Firmware upgrade - 1250 credits
Cleaned dish mount - 30 credits
WTO/Symmetriad 6 mo. license - 3765 credits
TOTAL - 5045 credits"
