Investment crowdfunding may get all the attention these days, but there are other ways of support businesses you love—without all the red tape. One of those is Credibles, an app that lets you pre-pay at your favorite restaurant or food purveyor (like Love & Hummus, shown in photo above), and earn edible credits. Think of it as a house tab at your favorite local hang. Founded three years ago, Credibles is going strong, with a growing national presence. We talked with cofounder Arno Hesse, a former banker who is an active leader inSlow Money Northern California, about the future of pre-payments and “community underwriting.”
What’s the idea behind Credibles and how did it get started?
A few years ago, a group of Slow Money investors made a loan to a chicken farm in California. The farmer asked if she could pay back the loan in chicken and eggs. She realized that the economics of repaying in products are better than using cash. And, hey, everybody eats! It was a great idea, but there was really no reliable way to account for such as-you-go credits. That’s why Credibles was born.
Credibles introduces the idea of “edible credits.” Customers can open a tab with their favorite food makers and prepay for their purchases. With the Credibles app, both sides can track how they “eat the credits,” figuratively and literally speaking. The customer doesn’t need a wallet or card—they can just say “put it on my account.”[…]
The full and original article can be viewed on Locavesting.com
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