The Federation didn't have a form of currency. Instead of currency, they bartered resources or other valueable goods for more valuable resources that you need. The Federation believes that interfering with undeveloped or struggling worlds is not an option. They convey these beliefs through a system called the Prime Derective. This says that giving technology to non-Federation civilitations was a punishable offense and caused an unnatural balance of power and could cause global economic depression or even them to fail or falter to the decline of the civilization.