Locabon Trade has three types of local community customers. These are consumers, businesses and neighborhood-based groups. Each type have its own needs that affect each others side. When these needs are solved it forms the foundation for sustainable well being of the entire local area and everyone who lives within it.
Trade for local consumers
Locabon Discounts are points that qualify its owners to receive an equal amount of discounts, 1 point to $1. Like airline miles, Locabon Discounts are rebates that are given to consumers as incentive and hence require part of purchases to be made in a common currency (U.S. Dollar, barter, etc.). And because Locabon Discounts are not taxable, they cannot be exchanged, bought or sold using any common currency.
Trade for local businesses
Locabon Credits are a value trading units used within a trade clearing network between businesses. It is a barter-like: freely tradeable, taxable, used as an alternative for any business that does not have access to a bank-issued funds in sufficient quantities to conduct healthy employment and commerce activities. It is independent from other currencies (not pegged), however a single unit of Locabon Credit is set equal to any single unit of any common currency (U.S. Dollar, Euro, etc.).
Trade for local groups and organizations
Locabon Hours is a neighborhood-based self-help system where neighbors trade between each other small things and favors without using actual money. This currency can be traded in Quarter Hour, Half Hour and One Hour that is used loosely and where value of each trading item is defined by trading parties. It is not taxable (in the U.S. time-based trading system is considered by IRS to be performing a socially important function for neighborhood communities and is made exempt from taxation).
All Locabon Trade programs are designed with a local community in mind, and is available as a free service to any regional area worldwide. Locabon Trade is using open source software to power its trade engine, developed by Social trade organisation STRO, a Dutch NGO, through its Cyclos project. Locabon also develops its our own software that it intends to release as open source.
If you need assistance in utilizing any of Locabon Trade programs for your organization or business contact us at 831-531-4710. Some of these are available now while the other parts will be available in the Fall of 2009.
Locabon Team
