BBC News 4 July 2021
A local currency launched in Bristol nearly a decade ago is to be withdrawn from circulation.
At its peak there were over £1m Bristol pounds in circulation and there is still about £40,000 "out there in people's pockets", the company said.
But the growth of cashless payments and cryptocurrencies made the currency less competitive and it is folding.
Anyone with unexpired £B paper money is advised to return them to Bristol Pound CIC by 30 September.
Run by a non-profit community interest company, the £B was circulated through about 650 businesses in the city and was "the most successful local currency in the UK".
Members could use the alternative to sterling for bus or train rides, to buy groceries, pay tradesmen and even their council tax.
But in January it was revealed the scheme needed £100,000 to cover its £13,000 monthly running costs or it would have to stop operating.
The company has now announced the £B will be "exiting circulation" and is encouraging those "who still have notes sitting around the house in draws, or behind tills in strongboxes" to return them.
"We want to make sure the currency ends how it began, by helping our local economy and community," a spokesperson said.
"Anyone sending in unexpired notes to Bristol Pound has a choice. If they provide their bank details, they will be reimbursed.
"If they don't, a donation will be made in the value of the returned notes to Feeding Bristol - a charity combating food poverty in Bristol."
If they are left to expire and are not handed in before the deadline, the value of each note will revert to pound sterling and be returned to the Bristol Pound Company's bank account.
