As a customer, you can register for the system here. You will be sent an email asking you to confirm your registration with instructions about setting up your account.  To start spending B£e’s in participating businesses, you will then need to transfer funds from you bank account to the B£ Community Interest Company account and we will credit you with B£es, including the 10% bonus. So if you transfer £10 you will be credited with B£e11.
The B£ CIC bank account details will be sent in the registration email.  We recommend setting up a standing order to keep you account topped up.

It may take up to 24 hours to credit your account.  You’ll also be able to check if your balance has been credited by sending a text to the B£ e-bank (07797 880200) in the following format: “bal  [pin code]”

How does it work?

Once you have an account set-up you can Pay by Text in 2 simple steps:

1) You send a text to B£e bank (07797 880200) instructing payment to a B£ business with your unique PIN, the businesses’ username and the amount to be paid.

e.g. “pay 1234 whitehorse 12.99″ (1234 is your pin and whitehorse is the business username, which will be displayed prominently in each business)

2) B£e bank will send a text to both the B£e business and the customer confirming the transaction and payment received.  The transaction is then complete.

See the video below to see how the system works:

The Brixton Pound – “Pay By Text” in action from Brixton Pound on Vimeo.

Come and celebrate the launch of the UK’s first local electronic currency and unveiling of the new B£ 2nd edition notes at the Brixton Pound’s 2nd Birthday:

Thursday 29th September 2011 @ The Electric (formerly The Fridge), Town Hall Parade, Brixton. 7pm – till late.

To register for your free ticket to the B£ 2nd Birthday please go to: http://brixtonpound2ndbirthday.eventbrite.com

At the event there will be:

• The Launch of the UK’s first electronic local currency, allowing customers to pay by text or on-line for goods in Brixton businesses who accept the B£ e-currency. For more information go to: http://brixtonpound.org/b-e-currency/

• The unveiling the new B£ notes (2nd edition) – featuring a new set of Brixton Heroes, including some very famous ex-Brixton residents.

• Brixton Pound Market & Business Stalls selling food & drink

• Live music/DJs

Our program:

7:00pm     Doors open – Urban75 DJs
7:30pm    Welcome – Trevor Lock, Comedian and Brixton resident
7:40pm     Chuka Umunna – MP for Streatham & Shadow Minister for Small Business & Enterprise
7:50pm     ”Pay by Text” introduction and live demo – Josh Ryan Collins, B£ team
8:15pm      Derrick Anderson, Lambeth Council CEO
8:25pm      Blacker Dread – local entrepreneur and music producer
8:30pm      Unveiling of new notes – Charlie Waterhouse, B£ team
8:40pm     Speeches close and thanks – B£ team

And then…more Trevor Lock, live music by James Pyke Hip Hop artist, El Crisis spoken words master (tbc), and some very locally sourced DJing, as well as food stalls, a chance to buy our new notes, some good old mingling and generally meeting some very nice people of course.  Till late.

For Press & Media Enquiries please contact:

Rebecca Simpson, Press Manager, Brixton Pound, E: mediabrixtonpound@gmail.com

Gold and silver-backed currencies are seeing a reawakening in the Muslim world, particular in South East Asia where financial crises since the late 1990s have led to a collapse in confidence in paper money. Following the Asian currency crisis of 1997, then Prime Minister of Malaysia proposed introduction of Islamic gold dinar as currency for international trade in the Muslim world.  It was intended to replace the US dollar and, as a gold-based currency, provide a medium of exchange more stable than the dollar. Mahathir announced that Malaysia was to start using the dinar in mid-2003, but the plan was abandoned when he lost the leadership.  Despite this, markets and ordinary citizens trade with gold as an alternative currency throughout Malaysia – see www.publicgold.com.my.  And in the UK, organisations such as the Gold Dinar Exchange and FREE are challenging the monopoly of the big banks on trade and currency.

As the Euro and Sterling continue to be buffeted by the financial crisis and enormous national public deficits, the time may be coming to consider backing the B£ with something real… Brixton sauce perhaps?