Star Trek DS9: How did Starfleet pay for all of their fun at Quark’s bar?

How Starfleet more than likely paid for their drinks at Quark’s bar.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced fans to a different side of the Federation’s operation. In the near-utopian future, money no longer exists for the United Federation of Planets, but that doesn’t mean other cultures don’t still use some form of currency. Enter Deep Space Nine, a space station known for its multi-cultural port. One of the bigger forces on the station was the Ferengi, a race known for their monetary management acumen. As their society is built on the ideas and tenants of acquisition, they were far from ideal Starfleet recruits. While not all Ferengi are the same, Nog was a member of Starfleet,  and his father Rom worked as a DS9 engineer. Rom’s brother Quark never embraced the Federation ways. He wasn’t ever, truly, an enemy but he also didn’t give the Federation passes on their tabs either.

During the events of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Quark made sure that everyone, Bajoran, Federation, or Cardassian alike, paid their tabs. For some, that wasn’t very hard to do. For Federation officers, that was a different story.

After all, Quark dealt in acquisitions, most notably for gold-pressed latinum. So when the folks at Starfleet and the Federation came in to drink, eat and use the holosuites, what exactly did they do for money? Quark wasn’t known for his charity after all.

Quark made Starfleet pay for their fun on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Quark didn’t give gifts very often, so Starfleet absolutely paid for all of their wants and needs at Quark’s bar on Deep Space Nine. Since the Federation didn’t use money internally, how did those abroad get what they need?

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Well, according to Manu Saadia, who’s an economist and Star Trek fan, Starfleet did in fact use money. Saadia, the writer of Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek (click to purchase) claims that the Federation sold goods to get latnium and any other form of currency or resource needed to help those who were in foreign territory.

While he goes into more detail in his book, Saadia writes that the Federation more than likely would operate like the Soviet Union in the 60s and 70s, by using the world market to sell their own resources, and then turn around and purchase what they needed from other vendors.

This is actually seen in Voyager, where Captain Kathryn Janeway would often barter with other species and governments throughout the Delta Quadrant, in an attempt to get what she needed. This barter and trade system would extend into the Federation’s core crux of operation, apparently and, according to Saadia, Starfleet would then hand out a stipend to its offers when they were in regions where some sort of currency was needed.