Time banks are banks in which time is deposited and taken, not money. Therefore, they represent a sort of alternative economy in which time is the currency and has the same value for all.

One hour's work, that is, one hour, regardless of the activity performed.

How time banks work

Time banks are associations that promote free time exchange among members . Each of the members makes available a few hours of their time to give to another member, carrying out a certain activity, based on their skills; for example an hour of private lessons, an hour to repair a PC, an hour to take care of a child, do the cleaning, cook, give swimming lessons and so on.

Exchanges of time and their accounting follow the model of real banks ; each shareholder has his own current account on which the secretariat of the bank marks the credits (the hours given, ie the checks deposited) and the debts (the hours received, ie the checks spent); the hours offered are therefore credited or debited in the bank, to the account of the member, and it may happen that the time made available by a member is reimbursed by a member other than the one who received it.

However, the tie of the tie is in force ; the accounting associates supervise the "current account holders" so that there are no members who try to take advantage of the work of others without giving anything in return.

Exchanges are paid exclusively in terms of hours; it is, however, generally provided for an annual membership fee, the amount of which varies from bank to bank, and which serves to partly self-finance the activity. In addition, reimbursement of expenses can be envisaged if, for example, one makes one's own car available or has to face other out-of-pocket expenses.

Objectives of the time banks

The time banks are based on the principle that if I exchange time I will have more time . One of the main objectives is to promote paid work, especially for women, and are recognized by law 50 of 2000 as a tool to promote equal opportunities . They also aim to promote performance exchanges in order to meet practical needs; but they are not limited to this; they also mean:

• enhancing skills and vocations that would otherwise be unexpressed;
• to foster intercultural and intergenerational communication ;
• to promote social life, especially for people potentially at risk of isolation.

But let's take a practical example of how the time banks can actually help. Let's say that I am about to graduate in medicine, that to write my thesis I need to translate some articles written in English and that I cannot currently afford to pay for this kind of services. In the time bank I could find an English teacher or a translator willing to provide me with the translated texts I need. In my turn, then, I could "give back" the time that was offered to me by putting in place one of my skills; for example, I could make myself available to accompany a pensioner without a license to a medical examination; the pensioner, in turn, could teach how to make tortellini for a young woman who wants to learn art; the young woman could go babysitting at the home of another young woman who has just opened a business and does not yet have the financial means to pay for the care of her children, who, in turn, being an expert of PC, could go to Tizio's house to fix it, etc. etc. ...

How time banks are born

The first bank of the Italian time, the one from which all the others were inspired, was born in Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna in 1995 on the initiative of the mayor (woman) then in office and the committee of equal opportunities .

In reality, however, by the end of the 1980s, some associations with similar objectives had been established in Emilia Romagna. These associations have been promoted above all by women and, in fact, to this day Italian time banks have female tops.