There are many companies that offer local currency programs. But they’re not all the same. There are three main things you should look for in a company before you select one. The differences we’ll cover in this article may seem small but they could have a huge impact on your local currency program’s marketing and adoption. We’ll explain why below.

3 Things to Look for in a Chamber Currency Program

If you want to launch a local currency program, it’s important you look for the following things:

• Online purchasing ability. When people want to buy your local currency you want them to be able to do so immediately, not have to wait until your chamber is open or they can get away to your office. If they have to wait, they may change their mind. Selling them online will help you sell more.
• A tie-in to the chamber. Which sounds better, a third-party cutting your participating members a check every month or you personally bringing your member’s share of the earnings to them? The latter, right? It should because you are showing up with the money on your member’s doorstep. There is no better proof of chamber membership value than that. If, on the other hand, you let another company send them their money, there’s no warm and fuzzy feeling that your member get from the chamber. You’ve put someone in between that relationship.
• The money is yours. If COVID taught us anything, it’s that sometimes life is unpredictable. Knowing that you probably don’t want to partner with a vendor who is holding all your local currency sales money and distributing it for you. Instead, work with someone who has the money going to you so you can disburse it as mentioned above.

Additionally, you’ll want to understand all the costs involved in working with the vendor of your choosing. Do they take a percentage of each sale or do you pay a monthly fee for their software? There are a lot of differences in the programs so make sure you understand how they work. Also, does the program live on your website or do your customers have to go to an obvious third-party site? This can be confusing and distract from the sale if they think that the URL has wrongly directed them off of your site.

Local currency buyers want to know their information is secure. Perform your due diligence to understand where the sale is being made (your site or the vendor’s) and what security precautions are in place to protect the data.

Not sure how to select a good local currency vendor partner? Ask your chamber peers. Find out if the programs they use put them in control of the money and its disbursement and whether they have online sales capabilities. While you want to know their experience with their vendor, you also want to know if that chamber performed its due diligence in auditioning vendors.

Contact us today and we can help you get started on launching a local currency program for your chamber.