Nothing New for Wexford

The Yellowbelly Pound

From the note:

Value: 1 Yellowbelly (yb)

Exchange Rate: "Sold in exchange for IR£1"

Validity: From 1 January 2000 to 11 February 2000

Signature: Ted Howlin, Mayor of Wexford

Purpose: To be spent in participating businesses within the Borough of Wexford during the "One Thousand Hours" millennium event.

Wexford's Local Currency

The idea was to encourage people to shop locally and create a bit of civic excitement around the millennium. Similar local currencies have appeared elsewhere over the years, though Wexford's Yellowbelly was one of the earlier Irish examples.

The Modern B2B Model

The largest and most enduring mutual credit system operating today was established in the wake of the Great Depression.

The WIR Bank (1934): Formed in Switzerland by Werner Zimmermann and Silvio Gesell, WIR allowed businesses to trade during periods of currency scarcity. It remains highly successful today, acting as a macroeconomic stabilizer for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).
Sardex (2009): Sardex is an innovative digital B2B complementary currency and mutual credit circuit founded in Sardinia, Italy, in 2009. It allows local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to trade goods and services without relying on traditional euros, thereby boosting local trade and overcoming liquidity shortages.

Where we are today

For generations, local shops formed the backbone of our towns and villages. They provided employment, kept money circulating locally, and created vibrant main streets where people met, traded, and built community.

The growth of online retail has transformed consumer behaviour.

The result can be seen in many towns: vacant shopfronts, reduced footfall, and increasing pressure on independent retailers.

Technology has brought many benefits, but it has also raised an important question: how can local communities retain more of the value they create?

AI

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how businesses market products, manage logistics, and interact with customers.

The danger is not AI itself. The challenge is ensuring that technological power does not become concentrated in the hands of a small number of global corporations while local economies become increasingly dependent upon them.

CBDCs

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are being explored by central banks around the world, including proposals for a digital euro.

Supporters argue that CBDCs could make payments faster, cheaper, and more secure. Critics, however, raise concerns about the growing centralisation of financial systems and the possibility that economic activity could become increasingly dependent on large institutions and digital infrastructure.

A Local Alternative

WeXmesh is not designed to replace the euro, banks, or online commerce.

Instead, it seeks to strengthen local trade by helping businesses, community groups, and individuals exchange goods and services through a mutual credit network.

In a world increasingly shaped by global platforms, digital currencies, and artificial intelligence, mutual credit offers something different: an economy built by local people, for local people.

It is a simple idea with a long history. By connecting businesses and communities directly, WeXmesh aims to help keep wealth, opportunity, and economic activity rooted in Wexford.

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