{"id":6072,"date":"2021-02-04T14:59:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T14:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/?p=6072"},"modified":"2021-02-17T14:05:31","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T14:05:31","slug":"go-local-with-money-payments-and-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/04\/go-local-with-money-payments-and-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Go local with money, payments and data"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local currencies can help restore balance in society and it\u2019s time to move away from an economy based on the exploitation of individuals\u2019 personal data.<\/p>\n

So says Diana Finch, managing director of Bristol Pound and our interviewee in the latest New Money Review<\/em> podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bristol Pound is a local currency project born in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. It first appeared in 2012 and quickly grew to become the UK\u2019s largest scheme of its type.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely anxious about the data economy\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI am extremely anxious about the data economy and about how our personal data is bought and sold by big players whom we\u2019ve often never heard of,\u201d Finch says in the podcast.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s community-based money initiatives that can help us fight back in one of the key areas targeted by those big tech firms\u2014digital payments\u2014says Finch.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Diana Finch<\/em><\/p>\n

Where Bristol Pound succeeded\u2014and failed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe objective was to increase the value each pound spent in the city brought to the city,\u201d Finch says in the podcast, describing the original Bristol Pound initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim was to keep the money trapped in Bristol, circulating amongst local businesses and helping create jobs for local people.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the scheme\u2019s peak, around 700 businesses and 1300 individuals were transacting in locally denominated units of sterling. But the network failed to grow any further.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was somehow quite exclusive, even though we had no intention of it being exclusive,\u201d Finch says in the podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a lot of the people who ended up using the Bristol pound were already shopping locally,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

A pivot to payments <\/strong><\/p>\n

By early 2020, the scheme was reportedly on the verge of closure after running short of funds<\/a>. But its operators\u2014Finch had joined in 2018\u2014then decided to branch out in a new direction, towards locally branded electronic payments under a new logo, Bristol Pay.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround \u00a360m per year is lost to the Bristol economy in transaction charges for digital payments\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Finch, we need local money initiatives more than ever. In the podcast, she explains how the increasing digitalisation of payments has exacerbated the conditions that led to demands for local currencies in the first place.<\/p>\n

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated existing trends towards digital money transactions and away from the use of banknotes and coins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago, a lot more transactions in the city took place using cash,\u201d Finch says in the podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow those transactions are dominated by electronic payments, whether by mobile phone or card. As a result, the amount of money lost to Bristol through transaction charges has gone up hugely, even though the cost per transaction has gone down. It\u2019s been estimated that around \u00a360m per year is lost to the Bristol economy just in transaction charges for digital payments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using the UK’s fintech framework<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bristol Pay, which is currently in a pilot phase and due to launch later this year, plans to make use of the UK\u2019s Electronic Money Regulations, introduced in 2011. These are part of the legal regime that has underpinned the country\u2019s financial technology (fintech) boom.<\/p>\n

In the podcast, Finch goes on to describe:<\/p>\n