Transaction Policies

Online Payments

Transaction Fees

All sales and purchases are subject to a 2.5% transaction fee. This goes to the Community Account and is used for:

  • Rewarding the volunteers who organise and promote the network.
  • ‘Starter’ Credits in new accounts.

Optional Trading Slips

The Buyer can optionally send an online Trading Slip. See under Buyer Actions ‘7. Send Online Trading Slip’. The Seller must then lodge the trading slip by debiting the Buyer’s account for the amount agreed.

NOTE: It’s not necessary to send a Trading Slip, as long as there is agreement between Buyer and Seller, the Seller can simply go ahead and debit the Buyer’s account. Both Buyer and Seller are notified by email of all transactions. In addition, LETS Statements of Account are regularly issued.

Correcting Errors

If you believe your account has been debited in error, or debited by an incorrect sum, you should contact the Seller a.s.a.p. to resolve the issue. To correct the error, you can debit the Seller‘s account. If the problem remains unresolved please contact info@corklets.ie. Penalties may apply.

Pricing Guide

How much will I charge?

Credit prices can differ from Euro prices. New traders often charge at Euro rates but don’t get many customers, because Credits are so scarce and valuable.

The ‘law of supply and demand’ applies, so there are no prescribed rates, and prices for goods and services may fluctuate. In this new network it takes time for prices to stabilise. The ‘best’ price is the price at which a service will sell.

We adjust our prices to:

  1. supply and demand
  2. the availability of Credits in the system

Credits are scarce. For now – if you want customers – keep your Credit prices low!

What is a Credit worth?

In a world where currencies no longer provide any constant reference value, we’ve given the Credit a reference value of 10 minutes of basic/voluntary labour, i.e. a benchmark of ₵6 per hour for voluntary labour. N.B. This doesn’t mean you must charge at this rate; it means that prices in LETS Credits are measured against this base rate.

Benchmark Value

The volunteers who develop and run the LETS system are rewarded @ ₵6 per hour (funds permitting). This is the basic benchmark rate for the Credit. It’s the same as TimeBank’s rate of 1 hour = 60 minutes = 6 Credits.

Limits

Each member’s account has an interest-free overdraft and a Deposit Limit. There is no limit on turnover within these limits, and no account charges. Limits may be extended upon application to the local Accounts Administrator.

All members are encouraged to use their credit facility. It is permitted to run a long-term overdraft as long as there is healthy activity on the account.

In an average year, the ideal LETS trader spends as much as he/she earns. Her account goes ‘through zero’ i.e. from debit to credit, to debit again, many times. Overall her account balance averages zero, i.e. sales are balanced with purchases over time.

Several policies exist to discourage imbalances:

  1. Excess Deposits. LETS is a marketplace, not a savings bank. To encourage spending and prevent ‘stagnation’, deposits above the ceiling limit are subject to a ‘parking fee’ called Demurrage @ 3% per month until the deposit comes below the ceiling limit.
  2. Dormant Deposits. Deposits idle for more than 24 months are subject to 2% per month negative interest charge.
  3. Accounts in excess of overdraft limits are handled in two stages:
    1. Sellers trading with the member see a screen alerting them that the member has exceeded his/her limit;
    2. The local Accounts Administrator blocks the trader from making any further purchases. He/she may continue making sales.
  4. Long term out-of-balance accounts are subject to a review by the Accounts Administration. At worst, the member risks being classified and publically listed as a non bona fide member.
  5. Non bone fide members. Bona Fide [Latin, in good faith: honest; genuine; sincere; authentic]. A non bona fide member is deemed by the Lets Administration to have defrauded the network, by means of action or inaction, and who therefore risks being included in the public ‘Warning List’ of traders who bona fide members are advised to avoid.
  • The decision on whether a trader is attempting to rip-off the network, i.e. is a non bona-fide member, is made by the local and general Account Administrators having first considered all circumstances.

Starter Credits

From its Community Account, Cork LETS provides ₵12 Starter Credits for all new members.