• GENERAL QUESTIONS
• ISSUANCE
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• ACCEPTANCE, REDEMPTION
• CRITIQUE

Minuto is a decentralized, interest-free, regional and region-independent currency system that functions by means of self-issued time vouchers and social networking. It combines the aspects of a regional currency and a barter ring. Minuto is also the name of the corresponding currency.

As a complementary currency, Minuto is based on the possibility for everyone to issue time vouchers themselves as a means of payment and relies on self-empowerment and personal responsibility. The qualitative performance in connection with the personal contact is the standard of value.

Idea and concept by: https://minutocash.org/

Between close friends, people have always helped each other without money. This should also remain like that. Minutos therefore work best amongst friends and in the extended circle of friends, provided that mutual services have already been charged and/or paid for (barter ring, regional money or regular money). In other words: Minutos work in social networks where people trust each other. As trust grows, so does the circle of friends.

Minuto is especially suitable for people who

• don’t want to use government money for neighborhood help,
• enjoy bringing their creative ideas to life,
• want to offer homemade items or their support,
• want to get to know people in their region,
• want to support the region’s economic activities,
• have many skills but have lost their job,
• feel that life continues to be active even after reaching retirement age.

Short-term saving over a few weeks or months can make sense for larger purchases. Long-term saving of Minutos does not make sense because the validity of each voucher ends after a few years. As soon as a concept for long-term savings for larger purchases is available, it will be communicated here.

In a performance-oriented society based on the division of labor, the duration of work is insufficient as the sole measure of value. Therefore, the indication of minutes on the vouchers is linked to the terms 'quality' and 'performance'. 60 Minutos are equated with 40 Euros (2025), i.e. a middle value between a highly specialized and a less specialized activity. However, the payment for a service offered will always depend on what value it has for other people. Over time, through supply and demand, appropriate prices will be found. The principle applies: Everything is a matter of negotiation!

This sentence essentially repeats the term “voucher” in the small print and restricts use to those who abide by the Minuto rules, i.e., the players. Cheaters are not players and are not allowed to participate. The word “players” indicates that users should view Minuto as a game and not take it too seriously.

For business use, you need the conversion rate, see How to convert.
It can make sense to accept only a percentage in minuto, so that enough euros are taken in to be able to pay expenses, taxes, etc. Learn more about the business use of Minuto.

The Minuto is designed to optimize neighborly help and the exchange of friendly turns. Sales of this type are usually tax-exempt.

Business owners can also use Minutos. Commercial transactions in Minuto are subject to tax in the same way as in conventional currencies and are paid in them. The recommended conversion rate for accounting purposes is: 60 Minuto = 40 Euros (2025). In some municipalities it is already possible to pay taxes in complementary currencies. Learn more about the taxation of Minuto for business use.

Yes, it is possible. A sign can be placed in the entrance area of the store. (There is a print template for this.) This will indicate the zip code area whose vouchers are usually accepted. However, in the longer term, business owners will only accept Minutos if their suppliers also accept Minutos.

No. Each individual voucher is a certificate. Legally, it is a 'bearer bond'. Computer use could eliminate the individual responsibility assignment as well as reduce social networking.

Yes, because the Minuto files are to be made available in as many places as possible. Minutos are to be issued only decentrally. The central website serves as a contact address for new users, for changes (updates) in the texts and for answering future questions (www.minutocash.org). Whoever wants to develop the Minuto further, please respect the copyright and the copyleft license and give a hint to the administrator of the Minuto website.

Instead of a centralized belief system, the Minuto lives through decentralized self-responsibility. This is unusual for many people. Finding new Minuto exchange partners therefore requires compassion and patience. It can be frightening to realize how small the regional product supply is, because almost everything is delivered from very far away.

In the wallet, 2 separate compartments make sense: for your own Minutos and for Minutos issued by others.

The possibility of making your own means of payment is exceptional and can cause excessive enthusiasm. However, more important than the vouchers are the service offers. This must be pointed out again and again.

Often at the beginning the argument comes that the thing with the guarantors and the effort to create valid Minuto is too complicated. At the first moment it may seem so, however, a distinction must be made between the use and the creation of Minuto vouchers. The creation of new Minuto is somewhat complex, but the use is very simple and not everyone has to create Minuto to participate.

No. The use of vouchers is as voluntary as the acceptance of Minutos as payment for one's own services. More important than issuing are offers in the region. Service providers are paid with vouchers for their services. Through their performance they receive Minutos, which they can spend again with other providers.

Some young people are more capable than many adults in particular areas of expertise, such as computer operation. If, in addition to accepting the vouchers, young people also issue Minutos themselves, it should be noted that the guarantors must always be of legal age.

To be able to pay small amounts one must have enough 1 and 5 Minuto vouchers. It therefore makes sense for each person to issue 10 sheets of vouchers. Each sheet represents 231 Minutos. 10 sheets are therefore 2310 Minutos, equal to 38.5 hours of qualitative work. This corresponds to one working week.

The issuers's stamp print should show the profession and/or activity in addition to the address and/or telephone number. The indication of an Internet address is recommended. The occupation on the stamp acts like an advertisement. As the voucher circulates, the imprint is read. If the stamp does not indicate an occupation, we recommend writing at least 3 service offers on the back of the vouchers. This supports a high acceptance of the Minutos.

Anyone can make the template with a common printer or copier. Copy paper is well suited (80 to 120 grams, since the vouchers are also folded). The paper color should be light, so that stamps and signatures are easily readable.

This corresponds to the traditional way to confirm a contract. The color of the stamp impression soaks into the paper and can be seen on the back of the minuto. Real signatures and stamp impression, ideally in color, are security features. They emphasize the credibility of the Minuto. Copied Minutos are not valid.

The easiest way is to have mutual guarantors within 4 people (2 male, 2 female). This way everyone gets one male and one female guarantor. In case of larger groups (e.g. in the Minuto Game), larger circles can be formed (group size divisible by 4, equal number of men and women, two men and two women standing next to each other). In general, the trust has to decide.

When the template is cut, the horizontal cut goes exactly through these dots. As a result, each voucher has a half dark dot at the top edge. The dots are arranged so that they are on the far left of the 1 and on the far right of the 120, according to the value of the voucher. So you can see dark lines on the top edge of a Minuto bundle and easily find vouchers of the same value.

Minuto is intended as an interpersonal means of regional payment and is a supplement to legal tender. For the time being, many things will continue to be available only against Euro, Pounds, Dollars, Yen, etc., such as gasoline, heating oil, telephone, electricity, gas, new cars, etc. The same applies to major projects such as road construction. However, with each person participating in the Minuto network, the variety of offers and the number of possible uses increases.

Each voucher has a registered validity limit. Newly created ̈Minutos are valid for 5 years (to be precise, until the end of the year of issue plus 5 years). The issuer may repeat the redemption obligation and create new Minuto according to personal needs. The quantity of Minutos in circulation as well as the coverage of the vouchers is in this way individually defined by each person.

No. Similar to the Euro, Minuto vouchers as a medium of exchange can travel from person to person hundreds of times before they are redeemed at the respective issuer. Each person has the freedom to accept or reject the vouchers. However, the issuer of the respective voucher is obligated to redeem it within its period of validity. The issuer can provide any kind of service. The main thing is the satisfaction of the people involved.

www.minuto-regional.de is currently the central portal for offers and requests in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In general, Minuto is a social networking project. Participants meet regularly in their region. For beginners, it is highly recommended to attend these meetings to get to know other participants and to better understand the details of Minuto's output and application.

Minuto is a decentralized and self-responsible concept, so you should actively network locally even without the Internet. Of course, modern means of communication can also be used. A central possibility for offers and requests is currently located at: www.minuto-regional.de

To participate in a Minuto group, you first fill out a form with your own offers. This sheet is then copied and distributed to the other group members. In this way, instead of a central directory, each individual creates his or her own “yellow pages” with preferred exchange partners. Everyone is free to create a list of their own contacts.

You can accept them, charge a surcharge or refuse them:

• Accept, if you are going to make a trip to that region in the foreseeable future or purchase something from there.

• Charge a surcharge (e.g. 10%) if there is a carpool or travel center in your region that offers and exchanges Minutos of different origins, just like with foreign currency. Then you can take these bills to the exchange office and ask for Minutos of your own region. For this service, the exchange office may charge, for example, 5%. - On the other hand, if you are planning a trip, you can ask for Minutos of the vacation region when choosing a ride or buying a travel ticket, and offer time vouchers of your region. In this way, cross-regional networking and compatibility is ensured, while at the same time each individual Minuto voucher tends to the region of origin, thus strengthening it.

• Decline

If the voucher is valid for more than 3 years, the issuer can use the voucher repeatedly. As soon as the validity period is shorter than 3 years, the issuer destroys the voucher after redemption. Due to this rule, participants of the network practically never receive vouchers that are about to expire.

No. Guaranteeing a voucher means having to provide an equivalent service if the issuer and his legal successors (heirs) are unable to provide a service, for example in the event of: Inability to work or earn, “address unknown” or death. The stamp imprint of the guarantor is at the same time also advertising for the offers of the guarantor as well as an expression of social networking and solidarity.

When new ideas are introduced, people often unconsciously want a general solution to all our social problems. Minuto is basically just a means of payment with almost ideal properties that ensures that goods and services can be exchanged fairly and efficiently. How people in need of help are dealt with is basically a different topic.

However, one thing can already be said, since very many of our social problems result from the monopoly position of the current money, in a world with many different means of payment, e.g. like Minuto, many of our problems would not occur at all or they would be less pronounced. Thus, it would be much easier to help people in need, because we would live in more prosperity and would have much more time to help others.

Source: www.minutocash.org (partly altered)

What would be required to counterfeit Minuto vouchers and put them into circulation, how easy would it be, and what could cause it to fail?

In addition to your own design, the following items are required for production:

1. Voucher template
2. Paper, printer/copier, pen, scissors/knife
3. Three stamps – or print them using a printer
4. Three signatures and other details

…and for use:

1. Personal contact
2. Service provider accepts the voucher based on certain criteria

The voucher template can be downloaded free of charge from the internet. All you need is a standard printer/copier and ordinary paper without security features. The voucher template can be obtained anonymously and filled out by hand. Paper, printer ink, and printing are practically free.

Instead of one stamp and two guarantors, as with real Minutos, the forger must obtain three stamps. This incurs some costs and usually requires personal data.

Instead, the counterfeiter could print the address details using a printer/copier. This makes production cheaper than using real stamps, but does not create the aforementioned security feature of the carbon copy – unless the back is printed with a deceptively genuine carbon copy.

Due to the initial personal contact, the buyer/counterfeiter is not anonymous.

If the buyer (counterfeiter) is known to the service provider and the counterfeit is discovered, they lose trust and may be prosecuted, see below.

If the buyer is unknown, they enjoy less trust from the service provider than if they were known, and the latter may therefore refuse the note.

Minuto is a regional currency and a trust network, as mentioned by @Kevin 590xx. Therefore, in addition to validity, it is also relevant for the service provider whether the note indicates that it originates from the region (postal code, address of the alleged voucher creator) and, if applicable, whether the persons named are known to them (as Minuto creators/users/guarantors).

Adding the address of a Minuto creator known in the region increases credibility. However, the smaller and more familiar the circle of Minuto users in a region is, the more difficult it is to put a counterfeit voucher into circulation.

If no stamp is used and a simple printout is made instead, the question arises as to whether and how carefully the respective service provider checks the stamp impression on the back in each specific case.

The probability of a missing security feature and the counterfeit being discovered increases with the frequency of use of a voucher.

In addition, the counterfeiter would have to take care not to leave any fingerprints on the voucher, both during production and use.

The production and use of counterfeit Minutos is a criminal offense (document forgery: DE: § 267 StGB, CH: Art. 251 StGB) and the legal consequences are not insignificant (fines or imprisonment for up to five years). My conclusion:

I consider the production of counterfeit Minuto notes to be quite simple, but there are a number of hurdles and risks for counterfeiters when it comes to using them. These arise in particular from the necessary trust and non-anonymous actions within the regional or local Minuto network.

A counterfeiter who is caught not only loses the trust of their fellow citizens in their region, but may also face legal consequences.

As long as small amounts are exchanged in the Minuto network, counterfeiting is not very attractive.

The question is also what the security of Minuto notes is compared to (cash, credit cards, other vouchers, other regional currencies, Gradido, Bitcoin?). With cash, for example, producing well-made counterfeit money is costly, but using it is relatively easy and lucrative, which is the opposite of Minuto. Counterfeit security must therefore be viewed in relative terms.

Source: Sebastian, https://t.me/s/minuto_regional, 2022

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