LETSystems Registries

The following information is offered here regarding LETSystems Registries:

• What are LETSystems Registries?
• Registries and multiLETS
• Registration and account recording
• Stewardship of Registries
• Registry LETSystems
• Registry funding and charges

The needs for local currencies are many and varied. LETSystems Registries are designed to provide operational support for the development of multiple currencies to meet these various needs.

The Registry:

• provides facilities for registration and account recording,
• supports a primary community currency through a LETSystem which provides accounts to all those registered,
• enables registrants to associate and form multiple systems (LETSystems or other personal money networks) with a minimum of efffort.

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The Registry design evolved out of the realisation that no one LETSystem will be sufficient to meet the needs of any community. How many LETSystems are needed? How big should they be? What should be the unit of currency? ...there are no universal right answers here, and only time will tell what exacly people will find useful or interesting! LETSystems will thrive and survive only if they do actually fulfil a need in the community.

Use of the Registry design makes it quick and easy for any group of account holders to get together and form a trading system of whatever nature they choose. Anyone who wants to start a new system can do so, announcing the terms of operation, conditions of membership, fees etc.

This is what is termed multiLETS... multiple LETSystems (or other personal money networks) with common but separately run Registry services.

An account holder will be able to trade in as many different systems as they wish, with the convenience of being able to record all of their transactions in one place, and the simplicity of receiving a single statement.

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Registration

The registry issues each new user with a unique ID, just like an email address, which is used in the reporting and recording of transactions. Each account holder chooses their own ID, (subject to it not having been chosen already).

For example, if my name were Harry Clayton, my ID might be hclay@dvr, where dvr is the ID of the Registry - in Dover - where I am registered.

Account Recording

Registries organise and supervise account recording facilities. Your Registry will ensure that your account is maintained properly and that you receive regular statements in much the same way as you do from a bank.

The Registry operational structure was designed around using the Internet as a communications medium.

Accounting procedures are performed by accounting nodes, each node being part of the registry network in a similar way to a bank having branches distributed throughout a city. Each accounting node manages the accounts for a set of LETSystem account-holders using specially developed computer software. In this way the accounting for all account holders registered with a Registry is done by a network of accounting nodes.

As an account holder, you report your trading transactions to your Account Recorder (the person behind the accounting node). He or she will then process your account and send you a statement each month.

Just as anybody may have several bank accounts or credit cards, an account-holder may have accounts in several LETSystems. Unlike banks and credit cards however, all the accounts for a particular user can be managed at just one accounting node.

The account holder's monthly statement will then show all of their trading in all of the LETSystems in which they have accounts.
(Note that this requires all of the LETSystems in which a user has accounts to be supported by a common Registry or network of Registries.)

Account-holders are thus able to trade on any LETSystems that they hold in common even if their accounts are based at different accounting nodes or even different Registries.

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Each Registry has a Steward or several Stewards. The role of the Steward(s) is to maintain the authenticity and integrity of the Registry activities.

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Registries operate on a cost-of-service basis.

A one-off registration fee is charged to all new account holders, to provide a cash float for the start-up and maintenance of Registry services.

It can be used to provide things like ID cards and Information Packs to new users as well as to guarantee the provision of accounting services while the Registry is developing.

Acccount charges are payable entirely in local money (in the currency of the Registry LETSystem). These charges are set to cover the cost of ongoing services. Where there are elements of this service that cannot be provided with local money funding only (such as phone bills, stamps etc) the Registry will need to arrange for "local for cash" exchanges to take place.

Annual charges are not recommended. They are difficult and expensive to collect, encourage people to drop out and may not reflect the cost-of-service principle.

Account recorders are paid for their work in local money only, by arrangement with the Steward(s). The position of Steward is unpaid.

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A more in-depth treatment of the subject of LETSystems Registries can be found in the LETSystem Design Manual

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