‘Time Bank’ Concept of Swapping Services Gains Ground Internationally

The time-banking phenomenon, in which neighborly deeds can be used to earn “time dollars” that are traded for

similar favors, has not been limited to the United States.

More than 300 time banks exchange virtual dollars in 20 countries, according to the Time Dollar Institute, in Washington. New networks in Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, and New Zealand opened last year, and efforts are under way to create time banks in Argentina, Chile, and Puerto Rico.

The time-banking concept has been particularly popular in Britain, where 80 banks currently trade time dollars for volunteer services, and another 33 are in development, numbers that compare favorably with those in the United States.

Just as the concept has spread in the United States, it has proliferated overseas due to the efforts of independent activists, says Edgar Cahn, founder of the time-dollar system and chief executive officer of Time Banks USA, a Washington group that seeks to promote it.

Similar to the movement’s expansion in America, Mr. Cahn says, activists in other countries mimicked the time-dollar model without relying on his organization for guidance. But now the American organization is taking a more active role in promoting the spread of its mission worldwide.

Along with its recent announcement of a plan to significantly expand the number of time banks in the United States, Time Banks USA also began preliminary discussions with Martin Simon, executive director of Time Banks UK, in Gloucester, England, on unifying and expanding the international network of time banks by enforcing training and operational procedures.

“I have a hope that worldwide there will be a system where anybody prepared to contribute the time to help others could have access to a better quality of life and personal development and fulfillment,” says Mr. Cahn.

The Time Dollar Institute, which is the research and policy division of Time Banks USA, is trying to persuade World Bank officials to relieve the burden of debt for developing countries by accepting time dollars as payment. Mr. Cahn presented the idea to the World Bank at a 2003 conference in Washington and continues to lobby for the proposal.

Local Customization

There is little doubt that the worldwide movement gained inspiration from American efforts to promote the time-dollar concept.

Both Mr. Simon and Masako Kubota, founder of Time Dollar Network Japan, heard Mr. Cahn speak before starting their regional banks, which have grown into the two largest national time-bank networks outside the United States. (Ms. Kubota also translated Mr. Cahn’s 2000 book, No More Throw-Away People [Essential Books, $17.95], into Japanese for publication in her country in 2002.) But, Mr. Cahn says, overseas time banks have tailored the concept to local needs.

For example, he says, Israeli banks have developed programs integrating Arab and Jewish participants; Spanish banks focus on aiding women who have endured domestic violence, helping them create a support system after they leave an abusive relationship; and Chinese banks are designed to serve the country’s large elderly population.

The oldest overseas time-bank network is in Japan, where Ms. Kubota founded the first bank in 1999. Today, the nation has more than 50 such banks, Ms. Kubota says.

She says the time-bank idea caught on particularly fast in Japan’s rural villages and towns because it replaces relationships lost when family members migrated to the nation’s cities after World War II.

Bernard Lietaer, an economist who specializes in studying alternative currencies, says that most of the estimated 5,000 communities worldwide that use such currencies are very small networks that are crafted to focus on local needs.

But he also says that attempts like Time Banks USA’s to unify the global time-banking network by enforcing training and operational guidelines can help alternative currencies gain mainstream credibility.

“I think the professionalism of the field is important,” he says. “I’m in favor of people being better trained. But is it indispensable for local currencies to exist? No.”

Before time dollars or other approaches can succeed, people must be persuaded to experiment with it, says Mr. Lietaer. Some countries will catch on faster than others, he says, and the strength of the home economy is usually a strong indicator of the reception local currency can expect.

Often, he notes, people in the poorest countries understand the value of alternative exchange quicker than their richer counterparts. Countries experiencing economic depression, he says, are more likely to adopt alternative currencies because, with their primary currency devalued, residents are looking for other ways to thrive.

A British Boom

In Britain, the time-dollar concept has taken off to such a degree that Time Banks UK is poised to become the largest network of such banks in the world, according to Mr. Simon.

The British network, which he founded in 1998 with David Boyle, the author and activist, has capitalized on a region frustrated with society’s selfishness.

“We’ve been through many years of the individual looking after number one, and people have had enough,” says Mr. Simon. “When we came along and said, ‘Hang on,’ it kind of rang a bell with people.”

The British time bank is unusual among international models because a quarter of its annual budget of $378,900 comes from a grant from the government. Most networks, including Time Banks USA, are supported solely by private donations and foundations.

Government backing, says Mr. Simon, has allowed his group to get off the ground sooner than it would have without the money. The grants helped pay for training of local time-bank managers and staff members and continue to “pay the rent,” he says.

Mr. Simon has been active in early plans to help expand time banks worldwide, working with Time Banks USA to make the network a reality. Mr. Simon will act as the ground-level liaison between the international time banks, translating and disseminating training materials, fielding inquiries, and keeping track of achievement.

He is only waiting, he says, for Time Banks USA to finish organizing its newly merged domestic network. The time-dollar concept, he believes, must be managed well to succeed.

“We want to make sure the time banks have certain quality standards,” he says. “Now, with Time Banks USA, we can start to look out to organize around the world.”