Regional currency

A regional currency is a community currency or local currency that operates over a larger geographic region encompassing several cities or a certain contiguous region. T

Rationale

There are several reasons why local currencies would operate over a larger geographic area:

• The inhabitants of several nearby cities frequently travel between them for work. Typically, the largest city is the commercial and industrial center, while the surround smaller cities, while also having their own smaller commercial and industrial sectors, serve as bedroom communities for the larger one. In such cases, a local currency that is accepted in both the commercial center and the periphery is more convenient and more likely to succeed.

• There is a certain division of labor between nearby cities. For example, a few more rural cities serve as the food basket and produce most of the region's locally produced food. A few more industrialized ones serve as the manufacturing base. And the largest or most developed one serving as the cultural and entertainment center. In such cases, a local currency that is accepted in all these cities also makes more sense than several city-based local currencies.

Examples

• The Chiemgauer is a regional currency accepted in the Chiemgau region around the Chiemsee in Bavaria, Germany.
• Bay Bucks is a regional currency accepted in the greater Bay Area in California, USA.