It may seem an unusual idea to mow a stranger’s lawn, tot up their tax return or do their weekly shop without any money changing hands. After all, with the rise of services such as Amazon Mechanical Turk and TaskRabbit, which allow anyone to buy other people’s time for nominal amounts, it seems as though any service can be sold for a price. But what if you could trade the good deed you do for your neighbour for something that you need to get done? For example, by mowing a lawn you get a local electrician to come and fix your lights for free.

This is the concept of time banking, a social currency that allows people to trade their skills with each other without the need for any money to change hands. In this system, one person volunteers to work an hour for somebody else and in return they get credited with “time”, which they can “spend” on a service from another volunteer. It’s possible you’ve heard of this concept already.

The idea of exchanging time, rather than money, for labour, is said to date back to 1832. But time banking has recently made a comeback and is using digital platforms to attract members who are interested in trading skill sets and making new connections. We’re really interested in the value of time being exchanged, conversations happening between people, and friendships being fostered.

One of these platforms is Time Republik; founded in Switzerland, it has around 10,000 members worldwide offering skills from graphic design to plumbing. The website allows volunteers to offer their skills and to search for services they may require. Each member is given five hours of “free” credit, after which they accumulate points and a trust rating by trading; they can earn additional credit by inviting others to join the site.

“Most of our users are early adopters and pioneers of the sharing economy,” says co-founder of Time Republik Gabriel Donati. “However, we’re also creating ways for time banking to significantly support underprivileged people including the ‘unbanked’ and the inner city poor.”

The success of peer-to-peer sharing services such as Airbnb and Kickstarter have rekindled faith in the good will of others, with consumers more open to connecting with local individuals rather than immediately turning to established institutions as their service providers. The benefits do seem particularly pertinent in our recession-scarred economies.

Timebanking UK is a nationwide charity that promotes and regulates standards across its membership of over 300 time banks; it runs training, provides resources, hosts a support network and provides a policy framework for its members. Recently, it’s invested in building its social media presence and as a result is attracting highly educated, highly skilled individuals; a new time bank in London is expected to draw a community of around 2,000 people, many of whom could be young professionals.

Time banking doesn’t dismantle or negate the capitalist market, instead it simply offers another operating system as an option. While not intended to replace traditional monetary systems (try paying for the bus with “time” and see what happens), social currencies do have the potential to create a sense of community and foster connections between local people.

“Time banking is more a community-building tool than an economic system," explains Sarah Bird, CEO of Timebanking UK. “Monetary advantages are a by-product – we’re really interested in the value of time being exchanged, conversations happening between people, and friendships being fostered.”

Donati agrees, and says it offers people a system of exchange in parallel to our current ones – something that more people are willing to experiment with in an age of alternative payment methods such as Bitcoin.

“Time banking doesn’t dismantle or negate the capitalist market, instead it simply offers another operating system as an option," says Donati. "Think Windows and iOS; users are more than welcome to continue to use both operating systems concurrently.” Rather than just being a tool for individuals looking to make a difference to those around them, this favour-for-a-favour model is also being borrowed by businesses.

In an effort to accommodate cash-strapped New Yorkers, for example, some gyms across the city are allowing fitness fans to trade work for workouts. At Revolve Fitness in Manhattan, gym goers can volunteer to help clean and tidy the space in return for free fitness classes and a similar arrangement is available at the The Yoga Room in Queens. Bigger brands are also turning to this way of thinking and are supporting communities within their neighbourhoods.

The Ritz-Carlton in Washington DC launched its Do Good, Feel Good package, through which guests were invited to volunteer at the DC Central Kitchen, a community project that helps feed people in low-income and at-risk neighbourhoods. In return, volunteers were offered benefits such as access to local health clubs, specially prepared baked goods and a free breakfast.

“Programmes such as this allow us to help make a difference to the lives of others while providing a unique and meaningful experience for our guests,” says Michele Klarman, public relations co-ordinator at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington DC. “It educates them about the easy, non-monetary ways people can support our community.”

While there are perks for time bank users, the concept is not so much about individual gains but about stimulating active citizenship by encouraging people to contribute to their communities and to pursue socially inclusive goals. In the end, this is simply about regaining trust in one another. It helps that doing good feels good.

Originally printed in Protein Journal #15