Imagine depositing a large sum of money into a bank – would it grow into a fortune? Probably not, but it would earn some interest.
Now, consider timebanking. The core idea of timebanking is to give an hour of service, earn a time credit, and receive an hour of service in return.
Because time credits have no monetary value, earning and spending time credits should be completely run-of-the-mill stuff, right?
Well, not exactly.
We’ve observed at Made Open that it doesn’t play out that way with many timebankers hoarding their time credits instead, as if expecting them to grow in value. But why? Time credits don’t earn interest, why save them?
Take our timebank in Torbay, for example. 33,000 hours have been logged from offers compared to just 750 hours from requests – a 44:1 ratio.
If this is a trend, and I believe it is, it’s hard to keep the give-and-take going without something to stimulate it. Timebanking depends on people feeling comfortable asking for help in return. Without this, adoption will stagnate.
So what’s the problem?
A big problem, I believe, is that many people don’t really understand what timebanking is, which translates into a branding issue.
I listened to a podcast on timebanking last month where a professor from Stanford University stated, “money is a much better measure of value than time”.
Even if that were true (a child seeking a parent’s love might disagree), comparing money to time makes people see timebanking as just “banking time”.
Which simply isn’t true, though the confusion is understandable.
Of course…
Timebanking isn’t a transactional process like traditional banking; it’s relational. And like any good relationship, the real value lies in support and trust being a two-way street.
I believe one possible solution (to the problem of offers outweighing requests) is to create an eco-system like the Japanese timebanking system, Fureai Kippu (ふれあい切符), where people save time credits for their retirement.
Fureai Kippu translates to “Caring Relationship Tickets.” It allows individuals to earn time credits by helping elderly people, which they can either use in the future for their own care or transfer to family members in need.
In other words, there is a strong incentive to earn and spend credits.
However, unless a major government or major institution endorses timebanking at a system level, to tackle systemic issues like ageing or workforce inequality, it’s difficult to get behind an idea that is unlikely to gain momentum.
During one of our many walks along the coastal path in 2023, Kathryn and I conceived Time4Good with the aim of exploring an alternative (yet complementary) solution.
A year later, we launched T4G, with my amazing colleague Geoff stepping in as CEO. Geoff has expanded our original idea and also infused so much energy into T4G that it’s evolved into a far more compelling proposition with Custard the dog and cheeky one-liners! It’s a lot more playful than our other platforms.
Time4Good isn’t timebanking in the traditional sense. In fact, many people wouldn’t think of it as such as it has completely moved away from the notion of time credits and replaced them with Kn (kindness points).
Kn are like experience points (XP) on Duolingo. People earn Kn from positive actions and keep accumulating it to unlock badges, rewards or learning opportunities.
It’s not a currency, it’s a score, with no pre-conditions on what you can earn or spend. As a result, people can give and receive time more freely – no one’s keeping track of their credit / debit score.
While T4G may not be the solution to traditional timebanking, I’d like to think it could help show the need to modernise and stimulate a more balanced give-and-take culture.