Using BerkShares

How it Works

BerkShares is the community-minded way to buy and shop local.

Everyone is welcome to obtain, spend, collect, and trade BerkShares at any time.

Obtaining BerkShares

BerkShares are obtained by trading in U.S. Dollars at any of our participating banks. BerkShares come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50.

Current participating banks include:

Lee Bank

279 Main Street, Great Barrington
3 Elm Street, Stockbridge
75 Park Street, Lee
450 Pittsfield-Lenox Road, Lenox
75 North Street, Pittsfield

Pittsfield Cooperative Bank

325 Main Street, Great Barrington

Pittsfield Cooperative Bank

325 Main Street, Great Barrington

To exchange BerkShares, please visit a participating bank during normal operating hours and speak with a teller. If you do not have an account at the bank, the teller may request some form of identification to comply with “Know Your Customer” regulations.

EXCHANGE RATE: BerkShares are exchanged on par with U.S. Dollars. For example, $10 can be traded for 10 BerkShares (denoted “B$10”). BerkShares can be traded back for cash at any time for a 1.5% fee.

Spending BerkShares

BerkShares work just like cash! You can spend BerkShares at hundreds of participating businesses throughout the Berkshire region.

Businesses can set their own terms for how they’d like to accept BerkShares, but most adhere to the following practices:

Items cost the same in BerkShares as they do in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated by the business.
BerkShares can be combined with cash to fulfill payments.
There are no BerkShares coins, so change is often given in U.S. coinage.

The community of BerkShares businesses is vibrant and diverse. Whether you’re a local resident, visitor, or businessowner, there are so many ways to spend your BerkShares!

"A good community insures itself by trust, by good faith and good will, by mutual help. A good community, in other words, is a good local economy."

—Wendell Berry