A Study on How to Operate or Upgrade a Mobile Community Currency System to Revitalize the Local Economy -Centering on Community Currencies in Seoul and Gyeong-gi Metropolitan Areas-

Small local businesses such as corner shops and street markets have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and declining consumption. A community currency is a local currency that can be used to exchange for one of the local currencies within an online community. Community currencies can be effective not only in supporting small businesses, but also in helping the local economy more vibrant, benefiting consumers in the community. An important goal of Community Currency is to foster a vibrant local economy by building mutually beneficial relationships between local business owners and customers. The purpose of this study was to identify how the existing community currencies of participating SMEs and self-employed in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do metropolitan areas contributed to commercial revitalization by category and to suggest a new or better approach to community currency operation. It also focused on presenting the best solutions for the future direction of mobile community currencies, measures that are better than current currency operations, revitalize the community and develop the economy.