Green Dollars: A Local Currency
The Green Dollar is the official currency of the LETS Exchange. A Green Dollar is equal in value to a Canadian dollar, but it only works within the system.
You earn Green Dollars by providing goods or services to another LETS member. You can then use them as a credit that is accepted by all members of the system.
There are no printed Green Dollars. Accounts are kept using a computerized accounting program. Members advertise the skills, services and goods they are offering to trade in the LETS directory and newsletters. When you make the purchase, you phone the transaction in to the 24-hour LETS Hotline, and staff do the bookkeeping. Account statements are sent out regularly.
Green Dollars can be used on their own, or in combination with Canadian dollars. Members are entirely free to set their own prices, and decide what proportions of Green and Canadian dollars to trade.
As you trade, you either have a credit or you are in commitment with the LETS Exchange. Being in commitment means that you are making a pledge to provide the LETS community with goods and services equivalent in value to those you have used, within a reasonable period of time. A commitment is not a debt in the conventional sense; no interest is ever charged.