‘We need behaviour change to achieve the full vision of Bristol Pound’

The Bristol Pound was set up in the wake of the financial crash as a means of supporting local business and protecting the city’s economy.

Six years on and the pioneering initiative remains the largest alternative currency in the UK, and one of the biggest in Europe, but new managing director Diana Finch is seeking to take things to the next level.

Under her leadership, the Bristol Pound has just launched a new champions programme, inviting people from across the city to get involved and be a part of its future.

Bristol Pounds can be used to pay in businesses across the city

Speaking about the drive to get more communities and companies engaging with the currency, Diana admits that after the initial flurry of excitement, growth has slowed, with the surge in technology and contactless payment presenting new challenges.

In order to achieve the vision of a sustainable, circular Bristol-centric economy, she says that Bristol Pounds must be actively used more in day-to-day transactions.

“It was an idea that took off very quickly and was marketed very well,” says Diana.

“Having key partners, such as Bristol City Council, really added credence to the company – it meant that people felt confident about accepting Bristol Pounds in payments. The majority of the growth was in the first three years – the peak was when we were Green Capital.

“Since then, it has not had the coverage and hype that it had in the early days. It still continues to grow, but the impact we are trying to achieve is all about enhancing local independent businesses. That’s good for the people of Bristol – it provides jobs and keeps wealth circulating in the city’s economy.

“Unless the volume of transactions increases, we cannot really say we are achieving the goal of supporting and enabling independent companies, so another part of my work is to re-engage business members, as well as consumers.”

Read more: Bristol Pound inspires other cities

The champions programme aims to train and support 50 volunteers over the next three years and creates an opportunity for businesses to make a commitment to the independent future of Bristol through innovative engagement and funding initiatives.

Paul Wick, owner of Southville Deli, says the Bristol Pound makes good business sense

There are three strands to the programme:

Community champions: volunteers working in their local neighbourhoods across Bristol to raise awareness of the Bristol Pound and grow the scheme.

Business champions: companies leading the way in terms of engagement with the Bristol Pound, and committed to helping other businesses adopt the currency.

Funding champions: people who want to support the Bristol Pound philanthropically, helping develop the scheme in the short term so it can fund itself through trading in the longer term.

To get more businesses fully engaged, Diana is seeking to build up a network of trust, facilitating opportunities for companies and entrepreneurs to get together and use each others services.

“It’s about spending money with independent businesses and doing it in Bristol Pounds,” she continues.

“It’s getting that behaviour change. Trying to streamline things as much as possible and encourage people to really use the currency, then we will be creating that impact that has always been the vision of Bristol Pound.”

The organisation is seeking to expand its use across areas of Bristol where there is currently little use and is also constantly working to upgrade technology.

There are also plans in the pipeline for a new loans service: offering free loans for business members – up to £15,000 – payable over a year in 12 equal installments.

This will be funded by a five per cent supplier levy taken on by the contractor and Diana says it is a novel approach that will be accessible to businesses who might otherwise struggle to borrow money. A pilot is due to launch soon, with hopes for a full rollout in 2019.

Commenting on the Bristol Pound currency recently, Watershed’s Dick Penny said: “The point of an alternative isn’t necessarily so it becomes dominant, it’s so it can be independent and equal. A broad range of voices makes the world richer.”

Anyone interested in becoming a community, business or funding champion can get in touch via: www.bristolpound.org/volunteers/.