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The Bristol pound (£B) was a form of
local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
, complementary, and/or
community currency A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
launched in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, UK on 19 September 2012. Its objective was to encourage people to spend their money with local, independent businesses in Bristol, and for those businesses to in turn localise their own supply chains. At the point of the close of the digital scheme in August 2020, it was the largest alternative in the UK to official sterling currency, and was backed by sterling. The digital currency ceased operating in August 2020, and Bristol pound accounts have reverted to sterling accounts at the Bristol
Credit Union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...
. The Bristol Pound CIC then developed Bristol Pay, which sought to both offer an e-money peer-to-peer payment platform that could generate income for charitable projects in the city and to create a range of token systems to encourage a culture change in how people thought about economic value in relation to social capital and environmental capital. However, Bristol Pay was shut down in mid-2023. The Bristol pound was withdrawn from circulation in September 2020.


Background

The Bristol pound was a
local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
, complementary, and/or
community currency A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
that was created to "improve Bristol's local economy". Its primary aim was to support independent traders in order to maintain diversity in business around the city. The scheme was a joint not-for-profit enterprise between Bristol Pound Community Interest Company and Bristol Credit Union. Previous to the Bristol pound, local currencies were launched in the UK in
Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...
(2006),
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
(2008),
Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
(2009) and
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...
(2010).


Effect on the local economy


Theory

According to a 2002
New Economics Foundation The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a Great Britain, British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice". NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new m ...
publication, money that is re-spent locally is the same as attracting new money into that area.' If a person spends a pound at a local shop, the owner of this shop can re-spend it by buying supplies from another local business, or paying local taxes ( Business Rates or Council Tax) to the council. The process can be repeated with exchanges kept within the local economy. This local circulation can lead to additional economic benefits for the area; this is called the local multiplier effect. In comparison, sterling pounds spent at a supermarket chain typically leads to more than 80% of the money leaving the area almost immediately. As well as potentially stimulating the local economy it can create stronger bonds within the community; by increasing social capital. Buying locally can decrease emissions as locally produced goods require less transportation. Local trade through the use of complementary currencies can be a resilience strategy; reducing the impact of national economic crises and dependency on international trade, and enhancing self-sufficiency. It can also increase awareness of the impact of one's economic activity.


Research

In 2017, the Bristol Post reported on some research that suggested the Bristol pound venture was too small to effect significant change in localism and had not increased local wealth or production. A spokesperson for the Bristol Pound claimed the findings contradicted previous research by the
University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
.


Usage

Bristol was the first city in the UK in which taxes and business rates could be paid in a local currency. Bristol pound account holders could convert £Bs to and from sterling at a 1:1 ratio. Bristol City Council, and other organisations in the city, offered their employees the option to take part of their salaries in Bristol pounds. The former Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, accepted his entire salary (£51,000) in Bristol pounds. From June 2015, energy bills were able to be paid in Bristol pounds to the 100% renewable energy provider, Good Energy. Its CEO claimed it was a world first for paying energy bills using a local currency. In June 2015, according to the Bristol Pound CEO, some £1 million had been issued in £Bs. More than 800 businesses accepted Bristol Pounds and more than a thousand users had a Bristol pound account. By late 2017, five million Bristol pounds had been spent. However, by this stage, usage of the currency was beginning to decline. In March 2020, the Bristol Post reported that the currency faced an uncertain future. By December 2021, the deadline for reimbursements on Bristol Pound notes had passed, marking the end of the Bristol Pound as a currency.


Organisation and partnerships

The Bristol pound was managed by the non-profit Bristol Pound Community Interest Company in collaboration with the local financial institution, the Bristol Credit Union. The Bristol Credit Union ensured that every £1 sterling converted to a printed £B1 was backed in a secure trust fund. The scheme was supported by
Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority for the city of Bristol, in South West England. Bristol has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being ...
, although the council had substantially reduced any financial support from 2018. Bristol pound was involved in the Digipay4Growth project, coordinated by the Social Trade organisation and with partners such as Sardex. Through this project Bristol pounds digitalised its currency, using Cyclos software. Bristol pound was part of a larger international movement of local currencies. The European funded Community Currencies in Action partnership provided support for communities which want to develop their new currency and works on innovations. Within the UK, Bristol Pound CIC founded the Guild of Independent Currencies – a platform for sharing experiences about local currencies - which later became the Independent Money Alliance. In this framework, Bristol CIC assisted Exeter, amongst others, helping it to launch its own local currency; the Exeter Pound. This formal group no longer exists.


Using the Bristol Pound

The Bristol pound was used in both paper and electronic format, like conventional money. One Bristol pound was equivalent to one sterling pound. Some businesses applied discounts for customers paying in Bristol pounds. Local taxes and electricity bills could be paid with Bristol pounds online. Paper Bristol Pounds Paper £Bs could be used by anyone, had been designed by Bristolians, and carried many high security features to prevent fraud. In June 2015 new paper £Bs were issued. These could be exchanged at a 1:1 rate for sterling at seventeen different cash points throughout the city, or ordered online through the Bristol pound website. Electronic payments The Bristol pound was the second local scheme (after the Brixton pound) to be able to accept electronic payments in the UK. This allowed, for example, participating small businesses to accept payments by SMS, without needing to pay for and install a credit card machine. The businesses were latterly charged 1% of the amount billed for payments made by SMS, a similar or sometimes reduced rate than with credit or debit cards, or
PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...
(3%). Payments could also be made online, with the recipient of each payment charged at a rate of 1%, capped at 95p per transaction.


Legality

Every paper £B was backed up by £1 sterling deposited at Bristol Credit Union. The Bristol pound was not
legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...
, and participation was therefore voluntary. The directors of the scheme could not prevent national and multinational companies accepting paper £Bs, but could decide, based on the Rules of Membership, whether a business was permitted to open a Bristol pound account and trade electronically. Bristol pounds could only be exchanged back into sterling via an electronic Bristol pound account. There was no fee for doing this. Paper Bristol Pounds could not be directly exchanged back to sterling unless first deposited into an electronic account. Technically, the notes were vouchers and the first issue of the paper Bristol pounds also had an expiry date (30 September 2015). The
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
acknowledged the existence and role of local currencies.


Awards

Bristol pound contributed to Bristol being awarded the title of European Green Capital 2015.


See also

* Bank Charter Act 1844 * BerkShares * Brixton pound * Cyclos *
Exeter pound The Exeter pound (£E) was a form of local complementary currency, or community currency launched in Exeter, UK on 1 September 2015. Its objective was to ensure more money was spent with local and independent businesses. It was one of the man ...
* Lewes pound *
Local currency In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
*
New Economics Foundation The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a Great Britain, British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice". NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new m ...
*
Scrip A scrip (or ''wikt:chit#Etymology 3, chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit (finance), credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitative payment of employees un ...
* Stroud pound * Totnes pound


References


External links

* {{Pound (currency) Bristol Pound (currency) 2012 establishments in England 2021 disestablishments in England Local currencies of the United Kingdom Currencies of England