A peer-to-peer network handles Peercoin's transactions, balances and issuance through SHA-256, the proof-of-work scheme (Peercoins are issued when a small enough hash value is found, at which point the block of transactions is added to the shared block chain. The process of finding these hashes and creating blocks is called 'mining').
Peercoins are currently traded for fiat currencies, bitcoins, and other cryptocurrencies[10], mostly on online exchanges. Reversible transactions (such as those with credit cards) are not normally used to buy Peercoins as Peercoin transactions are irreversible, so there is the danger of chargebacks.