Complementary Currencies/BoK EN - Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS)

General Description

LETS (Local Exchange Trading System or Local Employment and Trading System) is the running of a bookkeeping system intended for ordinary citizens and the economically excluded. Douthwaite and Wagman give a clear description of what LETS is: “(…) the common feature in all LETS is that members trade with each other using a monetary unit of their own devising and the system’s organizers keep records of all transactions, usually on a computer, so that it is possible to spot members who are taking more value out of the system than they are putting in” (1999:17). LETS logically have many similarities with barter. However, whereas barter is essentially a commercial organization and intended for businesses only, LETS is an association intended for ordinary citizens and usually voluntarily run by active community members on a not-for profit basis (Greco 2001: 89). Barter can thus be perceived a business to business (B2B) solution, whereas LETS is a consumer to consumer (C2C) solution.