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If you’re a business owner in the Berkshire Region BerkShares exist to support businesses like yours
Thank you for signing up business to accept BerkShares, our region’s local currency. You have joined a group of over 400 businesses in our community who have chosen to accept BerkShares. The BerkShares program is growing—as of today over 10 million BerkShares have left our banks.
Why accept Berkshares? If you’re a business owner in the Berkshire Region BerkShares exist to support businesses like yours. Businesses that accept BerkShares distinguish themselves in the eyes of consumers as locally owned and community-minded.
For many small businesses, the fees from credit card processing are costly, and can add up to tens of thousands in lost revenue every year. And even with newer mobile payment platforms, fees and cash balances benefit a handful of big corporations at the expense of our Main Streets. BerkShares provides a home-grown, more cost-effective alternative. It’s the community-minded way to shop local and pay local.
BerkShares work best—and businesses retain the most income—when people use them again rather than returning them directly to the bank to exchange for federal currency. We encourage you to look at the up-to-date list of participating businesses which can be found online at www.berkshares.org. There you can find places where you may be able to meet business or personal needs by spending BerkShares.
Enclosed are some bookkeeping resources for accepting BerkShares as well as a list of frequently asked questions. We will provide you with BerkShares stickers to display in your front window or on your cash register and an informational booklet. If you would like any additional materials, please let us know.
Please contact us at BerkShares, Inc. with any questions, comments, stories, or concerns you may have. It’s our aim for BerkShares to help your business grow and prosper. Thank you for being a productive member of our local economy.
How participating businesses benefit:
Saving on credit card processing fees: BerkShares encourage local recirculation by design, offering a community-minded alternative to credit and debit card processing, which places an undue burden on small businesses. It’s free to pay in and receive BerkShares, and only a flat 1.5% fee if cashing out to USD.
Increased visibility via digital listing on the website, which draws over 100,000 unique views per year.
Free listing in the BerkShares printed directory, which is distributed to BerkShares exchange banks, at local farmers markets, etc.
Added promotional opportunities in the BerkShares enewsletter, social media, and other communications
National and international press coverage brought to the region by BerkShares
Share this page with business owners in the Berkshire region who would like to accept BerkShares and be featured in our online directory.
If you would like to start accepting BerkShares and be featured in our printed directory, please fill out all applicable fields in the online form below. Information you enter will be added to the BerkShares Directory. Your business information may also appear in future printed materials or in our print advertising. Please mark as ‘private’ any contact information which you would prefer not to make public.
By registering for listing in the BerkShares Directory, a business is agreeing to accept BerkShares for full or partial payment for its goods and services. BerkShares, Inc. reserves the right to edit and/or select entries. Confirmation of the listing will be sent by email and additional materials about BerkShares will be sent by mail.