The Tangbunia Bank is a bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

 run by the Turaga indigenous movement

Turaga nation

The Turaga nation is an indigenous movement based in northern Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. Its leaders include Chief Viraleo Boborenvanua and Motarilavoa Hilda Lini...

 on Pentecost Island

Pentecost Island

Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost Island is known as Pentecôte in French and Pentikos in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by names such as Vanu Aroaroa, although these...

 in Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

. It is notable for dealing in items of customary

Kastom

Kastom is a pijin word used to refer to traditional culture, including religion, economics, art and magic in Melanesia.The term is the generally accepted anthropology term to describe such phenomenon as well as the common and lay term used in everyday language.The word derives from the Australian...

 wealth such as hand-woven mats, shells or pig tusks rather than Western currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

. Accounts at the bank are reckoned in livatu

Livatu

The Livatu is a unit used by the Turaga indigenous movement and the Tangbunia Bank in Vanuatu to reckon the worth of items of traditional currency such as pigs and textiles. One livatu is equivalent to one fully curved boar's tusk, a symbolic item of value in Vanuatu culture...

, a unit equivalent to the value of one fully curved boar's tusk.

The Tangbunia Bank has fourteen branches throughout the island, with its headquarters at Lavatmanggemu. The bank's manager is Chief Viraleo Boborenvanua. It was set up in accordance with the national government's support for the indigenous customary economy, in a country where a majority of the population does not participate extensively in a monetary economy. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, the bank is similar to other banks in that it has "accounts, reserves, cheque books and tight security".

The bank is named after the giant baskets in which valuables were traditionally stored.

Record-keeping at the Tangbunia bank is done using Avoiuli

Avoiuli

Avoiuli is a writing system used by the Turaga indigenous movement on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. It was devised by Chief Viraleo Boborenvanua over a 14-year period, based on designs found in traditional sand drawings, and intended as a native alternative to the Western alphabet...

, a local writing system devised by Chief Viraleo.