‘Mokummunt’ or ‘020coin’? Amsterdam wants to introduce a local currency

In Sardinia they have the Sardex, a local currency that residents can use with local entrepreneurs. It is one of the inspirations for the municipality to introduce a local currency itself. “Because what matters is that, of course, a lot of money is earned in the city and that money leaves the city through platforms and other large companies, for example. So for local SMEs it would mean more work and more income,” explains. IJmker. Within the faction of GroenLinks, the party that already spoke about this currency in their election program, she is the portfolio holder for the digital currency.

The plans are now also in the coalition agreement and the Commission is preparing for a pilot. The exact interpretation is still uncertain, for example, it is not known how consumers will obtain the coin, what it will be linked to and which parties may participate. Nevertheless, IJmker believes in the added value of the coin: “I think that if you live in Amsterdam you also see that certain small businesses disappear, that specialty shops are having a hard time, and that you can support them with this”.

Does the municipality really need a local currency to support SMEs? Can’t that be done with a campaign from the municipality? IJmker: “We have also tried campaigns like this in the past, but now we have a few nice examples from abroad where you see that such a local currency can also contribute in a structural way.” According to her, there is enough money at Economic Affairs for this project.

But the Amsterdammers we spoke to are less convinced. A woman on the Dappermarkt finds it difficult: “Because we are already having trouble with the euro, at least, then I’m talking about myself. But an extra coin? No.” She is not the only one, even a local entrepreneur himself has doubts. “I think it’s enough for now, that’s what I think. But we’re going to see.”

According to economist Jalal Selmani, the development fits within the digitization of money. “We all know bitcoins. In that sense it’s interesting and I think it’s beneficial that the government says: let’s experiment. Twenty years ago they would never have said that.”

However, Selmani also sees that the success of the currency has many conditions, such as that the currency must be easy to use and that entrepreneurs are willing to cooperate. “The aim of such a coin is that everyone will use it. If only a part of the local population uses it, it is questionable whether it is useful.”

easy

In East there is already a kind of local currency in the form of vouchers: the Makkie. Anyone who does volunteer work will receive a voucher that they can spend at shops in the district. At Studio/K they also accept the vouchers in exchange for a film screening. “Four Makkies per movie ticket,” explains employee Gijs Schabbink. According to him, it is not a storm, but there are certainly weekly guests who use their Makkies. Schabbink thinks it is a nice system and hopes that if a city-wide variant is introduced, it will also remain social.

In the case of the Makkies, the vouchers are collected every now and then. Entrepreneurs who accept them also get money back from the municipality. “We get six euros fifty for four Makkies,” explains Schabbink.

However, that is not the intention for the city-wide currency, says IJmker. “As a local entrepreneur you can also spend it elsewhere, so it’s not necessarily a voucher in that way, but more that you really let the money circulate locally. That it doesn’t leave the city.” According to her, it will probably be pegged to the euro. “Ultimately, it has to have some monetary value somewhere.”

‘Amsterdammertje’

Economist Selmani does have a tip for the college: “You really have to run a good PR campaign on it, so that everyone will know it. Promote that trade.” And that, of course, starts with a good name. Selmani advocates the ‘020coin’. The Amsterdammers on the street stick to ‘Mokummunt’, the ‘Amsterdammertje’ and one even goes for ‘Amsterdam Crypto Munt’.