The BOBB – An Alternative Medium of Exchange for Communities.

April 13, 2024

by roobs

BOBB Is Welcome Here!

The problem the community faces.

Government and major banks are rapidly moving our communities away from cash transactions, replacing them with electronic payments in one form or another.
Banks are closing branches, ATMS are being removed, and more & more venues are refusing to accept cash.
The Commonwealth bank, Australia’s largest financial institution, is predicting that Australia will be largely cashless by 2026. Large retailers and other major corporations including our mainstream media, support and promote this view.
This is despite many within our community wanting to continue using cash to enjoy the freedom and enduring convenience it offers, and to avoid the limitations and restrictions imposed by digital payments.

Why is this a problem?

Cards and electronic payments for either shopping online or in person at local businesses to buy essential goods and services require two conditions for transactions to be able to occur. These are:

Internet network coverage – So that the transactions can be validated and approved by the merchant and the bank at the point of sale.
Electricity – To power the payment network and supporting infrastructure.

Without these two critical elements digital payments cannot be made, and essential goods cannot be purchased.

During times of natural disasters, power, internet and phone outages, and banking app disruptions, of which there have been many recently, the government’s response was ineffective. (This is why cash is king – Ed)

Our communities need a very fast and effective response but they are being hampered by the failures in the systems we increasingly rely on. These vulnerabilities will become even more critical as we move further down the path to being a completely digital society.

How can we avoid this problem?

As we are moved closer to complete reliance on digital payments and away from cash, it is clear that we will need an emergency non-digital method of payment to be able make purchases in emergencies. This is critical to avoid the risk of our communities coming to a complete standstill during an interruption to essential services.

To address the financial vulnerability that a digital, cash-free society brings, an initiative has been put in place that is fail-safe and will provide a means to continue transacting in our communities, even during service outages.

The proposal is for people to be able to use approved pure silver coins, that have an intrinsic and published value, when necessary to conduct offline transactions. These coins will be known as the BOBB and will provide an Emergency Means of Exchange (EME) that will allow communities to continue to function in times of distress when the systems are down.

The BOBB is a beautiful and distinctively designed silver coin, produced in Australia by Ainslie Bullion, https://ainsliebullion.com.au/ , a highly reputable Brisbane firm specialising in precious metals for over 40 years. The BOBB is available in both One Ounce and Half Ounce sizes, and Ainslie will supply directly, and deliver securely when required.

Having customers use these coins would be equivalent to people presenting a $50 or $20 note to make a purchase. Change would be given either in cash or as a credit (Explained below). Customers could also buy BOBBs back from the business using cash or card.

How to transact using the BOBB.

Local businesses will be invited to be part of this program, and to accept the BOBB from customers as an EME to purchase goods and services when required.
Participating businesses will display a sign on their premises, indicating that they are part of the program, and will accept the BOBB. The sign will read “BOBB Welcome Here” (Any silver coin could, and should be considered a BOBB – Ed)
As the price of silver fluctuates, the exchange value will be set quarterly (ie; every 3 months). At present, the current value of one ounce BOBBs is approx. $50, and the Half BOBB is approx. $27.
Each business will also be supplied with a BOBB Book which is an indexed ledger for customer transactions. When a customer makes a purchase using a BOBB, if change is required, the relevant credit may be written up and signed for in the BOBB Ledger and redeemed on a subsequent purchase. Alternatively, change in cash (where available) can be used to facilitate transactions that are less than the BOBB value.
Businesses may retain the BOBBs that are spent in their store and take advantage of the enduring store of wealth that silver offers, or they may sell them back to customers at the value that has been set for the quarter. This will provide another source of supply into the community for purchases when all else fails.
Providing the community has a sufficient supply of BOBBs, essential items will be able to be purchased in times of crisis when all else fails.

Please see the following link to Ainslie Bullion’s website where you can purchase the BOBB.

1 OZ BOBB – https://ainsliebullion.com.au/Buy/View/Product/Name/1oz-Ainslie-Minted-Silver-Round/ID/540

1/2 OZ BOBB – https://ainsliebullion.com.au/Buy/View/Product/Name/1-2oz-Ainslie-Minted-Silver-Round/ID/508

Ainslie Bullion contact (07) 3221 0500 or info@ainsliebullion.com.au

This initiative is currently being proposed in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, email WGO_ByronBay@protonmail.com to register your interest. (I believe this fantastic initiative could and should be implemented all over Australia – Ed)