Bristolians invited to design local currency

by Simon Ward on 06 February 2012  |  3 comments
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People living in and around Bristol have been invited to design the banknotes for the UK's newest local currency - the Bristol Pound.

The people of Bristol have been invited to design notes for the UK’s latest local currency – the Bristol Pound.

The Bristol Pound is due to be launched in May and locals are being asked to submit designs for £1, £5, £10 and £20 bank notes.

“The winning images are expected to capture something of the city’s character, perhaps celebrating its commitment to greener living, its cultural diversity, its creative spirit or its technological heritage,” say the currency’s organisers.

The Bristol Pound will have the same value as pounds sterling and can be spent in both physical and electronic form at participating local businesses. The electronic payments include a mobile phone payment system, which the organisers say is the first for a local currency on this scale.

The city council will also accept Bristol Pounds as part payments for local taxes such as business rates.

Ciaran Munday, Director of the Bristol Pound, said: “As more and more shoppers and businesses spend the Bristol Pound, it will keep more of people's hard earned wages in our communities to be spent again. People in Bristol who love the range of independent traders will be putting their money where it matters and reduce the need for lorries constantly moving goods up and down the country.”

The Bristol Pound will join other local currencies in Totnes (the first to launch in 2007), Lewes (2008), Stroud (2009) and Brixton (2009).

You can enter the competition to design the Bristol Pounds at www.bristolpound.org.

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