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L.E.T.S Go Ballinasloe,
Ballinasloe Credit Union in association with Ballinasloe Chamber of Commerce officially launched a new Currency system for the Town. The purpose of the new currency is to promote the retail spend in the town by encouraging people to shop local and thereby reducing the leakage to shopping locations outside Ballinasloe.
The new currency is called The Ballinasloe LETS, with L.E.T.S standing for Local Exchange Trading System. The LETS will come in three denominations 5’s, 20’s and 50’s and will include various security features such as water marks and background images which are detectable under UV light. It’s a valid alternative to the Euro and can be used to purchase goods and services in participating outlets in the Town. WE thought LETS would be a very suitable name for the new currency as its an action word and allowed us to come up with the slogan ‘ Lets Go Ballinasloe ‘, to encourage people to use the new currency and to get people focused on the wide variety of shops and Services available in the town explained Chamber President Mr. Damien Clarke.
Mr. Clarke went on to say that similar schemes have been introduced in many towns through out the country, but most of them operate on a Voucher system whereas in Ballinasloe we’re going to print our own money!
The concept behind a Local currency system is very simple;
the currency can be purchased by the general public and local businesses from the Ballinasloe Credit Union and can then be used to purchase goods and services in any of the participating businesses around the town. It’s hoped that the general public will use the LETS as gifts for friends and family and by Employers for Employee bonuses.
The LETS will be operational by the end of July and so far there has been a great reaction to the scheme from the local business community. Already some of the major employers in the Ballinasloe area have agreed to use the LETS as part of their employee incentive schemes during the year e.g. Christmas bonuses, Staff retirements and other reward incentives. One of the major advantages to employers of using the LETS is that they can give staff up to 250 euros P/A worth of the new currency tax- free!
Mr. Clarke pointed out that in order to increase the appeal of the New Local Currency it is very important that as many businesses as possible in Ballinasloe participate in the scheme and perhaps consider using in store promotions or offering discounts on goods and services purchased with LETS.
The LETS are initially available at the Ballinasloe Credit Union and will be presented to the purchaser in a professional card wallet along with a list of participating businesses, where they can be spent. Businesses can then present all LETS received for reimbursement in the Ballinasloe Credit Union.
The Chamber of commerce and the Ballinasloe Credit Union will support this scheme with a strong marketing campaign and by maintaining an up to date listing of participating business. We will also encourage all major employers in the Ballinasloe area to use the Ballinasloe Local Currency as part of their employee incentive schemes. We would hope that this Christmas for example, employers that currently use other types of gift vouchers for staff incentives will use the Ballinasloe LETS instead said Mr Clarke. He also thanked Mr. Dermot Salmon, Gerry Strong and Joe Dervan from the Ballinasloe Chamber for all their hard work over the last couple of weeks
Speaking at the Launch of the New Currency, Mr. Noel Madden, Manager of the Ballinasloe Credit Union said he was delighted to be involved with this scheme as it fitted in well with the principles and Ethos of Credit Union in supporting the local community and was confident the LETS would be a great success. He also pointed out that each week a significant amount of money leaves Ballinasloe destined for nearby shopping locations in Athlone and Galway and if we could keep a fraction of that money here in town through use of the LETS, it would be well worth the effort.
Mr. Clarke went on to thank the Manager of Ballinasloe Credit Union, Mr Noel Madden for his positive reaction and great enthusiasm when first approached about establishing a new currency for the Town. He also thanked Assistant Manager Mr. Shane McNeill, marketing manager Mr Niall Clarke and Credit Union Chairman Mr Adrian Ahern for all their help to date.
