Moray LETS is a community-based bartering network where people trade goods and services without using conventional money. Here’s how it typically works:
Core concept
Instead of cash, members earn and spend a local unit of account (sometimes called “credits,” “hours,” or a made-up local currency). There’s no physical money changing hands — it’s essentially a mutual credit system where the group as a whole keeps the books balanced.
How a trade works
- Directory of offers and wants — members list what they can offer (gardening, tutoring, plumbing, baked goods, car repairs) and what they need
- Members find each other — through a directory, noticeboard, or online platform, someone needing a service finds someone offering it
- Trade happens — the service or good is exchanged, and the agreed value is recorded in local units
- Account adjustment — the buyer’s account goes into debit by that amount, and the seller’s account goes into credit — no interest is charged on debit balances, and credit balances don’t earn interest either
- Central record-keeping — a coordinator or software system tracks everyone’s balances, similar to a communal ledger or bank statement, but for the trading unit rather than real currency
Key features
- No physical currency — the “money” only exists as entries in the accounts
- Zero-sum by design — every credit issued is matched by an equal debit elsewhere, so the system self-balances
- No interest — unlike conventional banking, going into debit isn’t penalized with interest, since the point is facilitating exchange, not profit
- Valuation is flexible — some systems value an hour of anyone’s time equally regardless of skill (common in “time banks”), while others let members negotiate value based on skill or market rates
Why communities use them
- Keeps value circulating locally rather than leaking out to national/global economies
- Lets people access goods/services even if they’re cash-poor but time- or skill-rich
- Builds community connections and mutual support
- Useful in areas with high unemployment or limited access to conventional currency
Where it all started
The original LETS was started in Comox Valley, Canada, in the early 1980s, and the model spread to the UK, Australia, and elsewhere. Related systems include time banks (where the unit is simply “hours of time,” regardless of the task) and various local/complementary currencies.