Is it OK to have a negative balance?

In a word, yes.

In our timebank, we offer the opportunity for people to earn Time Dollars (TD$) for attending an orientation, filling out an application, and completing their online profile. That means members start out with currency and, we hope, are inspired to jump right in and start trading.


As our user agreement states, we ask that members participate in both giving and receiving services on a regular basis because a healthy economy depends on circulating currency.

On occasion, though, we end up in circumstances where we come up a little short. Maybe we make arrangements for a trade that we think will use 4TD$ but it actually takes 5 hours to get the job done, and we only have 4TD$. Or perhaps we get injured and can't earn TD$ for a time, and we end up spending all we have to get help. However it happens, we can end up with a TD$ balance that is negative.

There is NO PENALTY for this. A timebank isn't like a regular bank. We are not a money-making entity. We do not charge overdraft fees.

Each timebank handles negative balances differently; in Time Trader, the Coordinator may contact you after you reach a -5TD$ balance. This would be a reminder call, perhaps with a few suggestions of how you can earn a few TD$ to move you out of negative territory. But the negative balance is not necessarily viewed as a negative thing in the timebank; in Time Trader, a negative balance is simply viewed as a commitment to the timebank. If you carry a negative balance, the timebank trusts that, since you have benefited from the collective skills and talents of the timebank, that you will share your skills and talents with the timebank and eventually bring your account into balance again.

If you find yourself in a situation where you need more TD$ than you have in your account, please contact the Coordinator. We do have a Community Fund to help people in cases like that, and it is partly filled by donations from the community. So if you have a LOT of TD$, you can donate them to the Community Fund at any time. Use the regular "Record an Exchange" feature in the "Give and Receive" tab in Community Weaver or contact the Coordinator.