Bottom Of The Barrel

New money worth more

Would you carry two different types of currency to save 10% on all of your purchases at local stores? This money would not be accepted at chain or national stores and it's all done in cash, would you still want to use it?

That is what the residents in Berkshire County, the western most county in Massachusetts, have been banking on. BerkShares, as they all called, are private notes issued by Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., have an exchange rate of 1 BerkShare to 90 U.S. cents. The paper scrip is available in denominations of one, five, 10, 20 and 50. In the first 10 month, there is currently 844,000 BerkShares in circulation, worth $759,600 at the fixed exchange rate. BerkShares are accepted in about 280 cafes, coffee shops, grocery stores and other businesses.

I think the idea of shopping locally is great, especially for very rural areas like the Berkshires, and giving a discount for those who shop there is an excellent give-and-take between local merchant and residents. BHB is looking at the next logical step which is a debit or credit card based on the BerkShare system which would be much more convenient for the shopper and maybe even the retailer. I can hear the slogan now, BerkShare Debit Card, the buck starts here.

Labels: Business

posted by TheWino @ 8:21 AM