Hawaii Financial Community
Local dollars for social change
Threefold Dollars
The Hawaii Financial Community provides threefold dollars, a local currency that grows local businesses.
Threefold dollars are good for you and your neighborhood.
And they have a “threefold” social purpose too!
The Local Currency Advantage
What’s the Advantage of a Local Currency?
Threefold dollars are only accepted by a few merchants – initially only in the Kona area of Hawaii. So if you are one of these participating merchants, customers will tend to prefer to spend their threefold dollars at your business whenever they can.
This is because people who have threefold dollars will not be able to spend them just anywhere. So they will always be on the lookout to spend – to spend more generously than ordinary US dollars.
As a result, local merchants who accept threefold dollars will have a local currency advantage. They will grow their businesses more quickly compared to merchants who do not accept the local currency.
So by accepting threefold dollars, your business will grow!
And by spending them, you help other local businesses grow!
What are Threefold Dollars?
Threefold dollars have the same value as US dollars. So a price in US dollars can be paid in either currency, or as a mixture of the two currencies.
Threefold dollars are created by exchanging with US dollars. People who exchange US dollars for threefold dollars receive a 1% discount. So with the discount, 100 threefold dollars would cost only 99 US dollars.
When an exchange is made, the US dollars handed over to the Hawaii Financial Community are kept in a reserve account. This reserve account allows the threefold dollars in circulation to be exchanged back again for US dollars upon demand.
People can purchase the right to exchange back to US dollars for a 1% fee. So, after deducting the fee, 100 threefold dollars could be exchanged back again for 99 US dollars.
In this way, local threefold dollars always remain backed by US dollars, and circulate with the same cash value as equivalent US dollars. Having threefold dollars is just as good as having US dollars!
What are Threefold Dollars?
No-Risk Guarantee
What’s At Risk?
No one is ever forced to accept threefold dollars. Everyone has the right to refuse to accept them, or to limit intake of threefold dollars at any time. This is important, to avoid accumulating more threefold dollars than you can spend.
However, even if this does occur – that you find yourself with more threefold dollars than you want – please contact us. We will gladly exchange your threefold dollars back to US dollars for a 1% exchange fee.
We guarantee the value of threefold dollars. At no point are you taking on any risk by accepting them.
How Does it Work?
Threefold dollars circulate among participating grocers, producers, and other businesses.
Anyone who has threefold dollars can buy groceries from the grocer and pay for these using a mixture of threefold dollars and US dollars.
Then, in turn, the grocer spends their threefold dollars when they buy produce from farms and other producers.
Next, the producers can use the threefold dollars they receive to pay their workers or to buy other goods and services from local businesses.
Finally, the people who operate the businesses use their threefold dollars to buy food and other items from the grocer.
In this way, the threefold dollars circulate around. Customers support local businesses, and merchants who accept threefold dollars stimulate other businesses and producers in the neighborhood. Everyone wins!
Threefold Dollars for Local Trade
Trade Network Meetings
How Do I Grow my Business?
Threefold dollars circulate within a network of participating customers and merchants. As this trade network expands, more people have more ways to spend their threefold dollars, so more people are attracted to the network. The trade network grows organically and everyone in the network grows their businesses.
To encourage the growth of this network, community meetings are held from time to time, giving people opportunities to learn more about the threefold dollar system and to meet other like-minded people in the neighborhood.
By mingling and having conversations, people can discover new ways to collaborate and cooperate. Threefold dollars build community by bringing merchants and customers, producers and consumers, investors and workers, closer together.
Check out the schedule of upcoming trade network meetings.
How Do I Get Started?
For a reasonable fee, your name will be included on our list of participating merchants. This will make it easier for people with threefold dollars to find you, so you can grow your business.
Then all you have to do is accept and spend threefold dollars!
Check out the growing list of participating merchants.
Make Yourself Known
Our Social Purpose
What is Social Threefolding?
The name “threefold” expresses the aim of this money system to bring about a future threefold society – a healthier society that is more mutually supportive, fair, and free.
Alternative money is only a first step, aimed at fostering local businesses and building more prosperous communities. Soon we will be able to help people finance what they need to be more productive and successful.
Eventually, we strive to develop a greater consciousness of human rights and promote fair relationships between people. And profit sharing will generate funds in support of education, health care, arts, and other aspects of culture.
For more details, visit our Social Purpose page.
Where Can I Learn More?
For more about this asset-based community money system and our broader social purpose, see Money for a Threefold Society by T. Michael Cox (2024).
And watch this video to learn more about social threefolding.
More Information
