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Gesell money! More than 92 percent of South Korean households have received their emergency disaster relief funds from the government, three weeks after the payouts began. Households were able to choose to receive their share in the form of credit or debit card points, prepaid cards, cash points or gift certificates. The card points, gift certificates and prepaid cards cannot be used online, at large supermarkets or at entertainment venues. Any relief funds not claimed or spent by the Aug. 31 deadline will be regarded as donations to the state.

China is reportedly exploring putting expiration dates on its e-CNY retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), which could force holders to use it up by a certain date. This idea has most recently been explored in a Celo working paper that advocated using expiration dates to increase the "velocity" of money, based on an an unconventional monetary policy instrument known as a Gesell money.

Just as community currencies boomed during the Great Depression, their digital versions are expanding amid the COVID-19 recession. Complex experiments are combining mobile payments with blockchain. In Turkey, Good4Trust, a virtual bazaar for socially and environmentally conscious producers and consumers, is preparing to launch a community currency using blockchain powered by Celo. Brixton, a London neighborhood, has announced the release of a digital version of its Brixton Pound community currency using blockchain from Algorand. According to Celo's Ezechiel Copic, "there's a lot of focus on central bank digital currency [but] local currencies can provide a testing ground for these initiatives."

"In the specific case of a currency engineered for customizable demurrage, pernicious applications come to mind immediately. The extent to which those are realizable, however, pivots upon a degree of theorizing as to how "targetable" the programmed change of purchasing power will be. (Because such a system will ultimately require the elimination of cash to be fully effective, the warnings associated with a closely-related unconventional monetary policy, negative interest rates, apply here as well.)"

Stimulus vouchers aimed to boost Taiwan's economy amid fallout from COVID-19 became available in July. Residents were able to select from four types of vouchers - hard copies, credit card payments, contactless smartcards, or mobile payments. The vouchers must be spent by December 31, 2020. Those favoring hard copies can "purchase" vouchers with a total value of NT$3,000 for NT$1,000. Individuals who prefer one of the three digital forms of vouchers will earn NT$2,000 back by spending NT$3,000. https://3000.gov.tw/EN/

If CBDCs existed, stimulus payments could have been made with the proviso that they would become worthless within a certain period unless spent on food, rent or other targeted needs. Since CBDCs are programmable, this can be done through a multi-token standard, where the stimulus payments would carry an expiry date and strict control on where the stimulus can be spent. Such forms of money exist today, like food stamps in the US or gift cards that expire. Distributing stimulus to the poor who do not have access to stored cash in a time of unemployment ensures that they spend it.

This article makes a case for community (or complementary) currency backed by a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to democratize money creation. The authors show that community currencies can have higher multiplier effects on local expenditure, allow central banks to control circulation velocity, and help countries in currency crises. For example, communities can build smart contracts into their currencies, incentives to "nudge" users toward green services and other pro-social expenditures.

The Thai Prime Minister reportedly announced a 10,000 baht handout of "time stamped" blockchain-based digital money to the 50 million Thais earning less than 70,000 baht per month. It is time stamped in that recipients must begin spending the money within six months on food, nonalcoholic beverages and consumer products bought in stores, and only within their electoral districts.

Back in December 2021, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation launched its ePidtrymka digital payment system to distribute COVID-related stimulus funds to fully-vaccinated Ukraine citizens who are over 18. The card is issued free of charge both online and offline at participating bank branches. The money can be spent on books, gyms, tickets to the cinema, theater, museums, concerts or transportation in the Ukraine, but money had to be used within four months, after which the account is closed. [Hence this is a form of Gessell money as described by Celo's Zeke Copic in a recent paper.] The cards are not reloadable, so they're more like gift cards. However, a few weeks ago the usage restrictions were dropped, and card-to-card transfers were allowed.

Back in December 2021, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation launched its ePidtrymka digital payment system to distribute COVID-related stimulus funds to fully-vaccinated Ukraine citizens who are over 18. The card is issued free of charge both online and offline at participating bank branches. The money can be spent on books, gyms, tickets to the cinema, theater, museums, concerts or transportation in the Ukraine, but money had to be used within four months, after which the account is closed.

Back in December 2021, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation launched its ePidtrymka digital payment system to distribute COVID-related stimulus funds to fully-vaccinated Ukraine citizens who are over 18. The card is issued free of charge both online and offline at participating bank branches. The money can be spent on books, gyms, tickets to the cinema, theater, museums, concerts or transportation in the Ukraine, but money had to be used within four months, after which the account is closed.