As we have shown, clearing systems can be nested, with one clearing system having an account in a meta system. Smaller local modules are nested within larger regional modules, with the pattern repeated up to the global scale.
This is consistent with the pattern of system design in the natural world from microorganism to biosphere. Moreover, not only are facilities in the credit commons modular and nested, they are also iterative. In other words, the same principles of organisation and engagement can be applied at each system level. This is analogous to patterns of fractal design in the nature world.
For example, in order for a mutual credit facility to function, all participants must agree to the principle of balanced mutual exchange. In other words, they agree to give and receive equally over the course of their membership in the credit community.
Concretely, this can mean, for example, that participants must start with a balance of zero, and end with a balance of zero. This principle applies not just to individual participants in a local credit community, but also to local communities participating in a regional credit facility, and so on up to the global level. In the case of a regional facility, each local community agrees to balance its imports and exports in order to participate; the same principle applied at the next level.
We would suggest around 4 levels of nesting ranging from local systems to bioregional systems, to national or linguistic regions, to a world clearing system. This allows the same mechanism to serve at all scales of the economy and probably provides a bias towards more local trade, since currencies are more valuable nearer to where they can be spent.