WHAT ARE LOCAL DOLLARS? WHY SHOULD I ACCEPT THEM?

Local Dollars are real US dollars that can only be spent at businesses who are merchants on The Local Frequency app.

Local Dollars is a payment method but also a way of connecting with your customers, rewarding their purchases, providing offers, and finding new customers.

Making payments on The Local Frequency app using Local Dollars is being promoted by SIMBA as part of the Live Local INW program. In the near future, you will be able to reward your customers with the built-in loyalty program, and make offers to other users of the app who signed up at other businesses.

HOW DO I ADD LOCAL DOLLARS AS A PAYMENT OPTION?

During the pilot of The Local Frequency app we are only able to support businesses who handle their on-line orders using Shopify or email.  As we expand the pilot and fully launch the app our intent is to broaden this requirement so more local businesses are able to participate.

If you’re accepting on-line orders via Shopify, add Local Dollars as a payment method to your checkout. Follow the instructions outlined in this guide. 

If you’re accepting on-line orders via email, follow a few easy steps outlined in this guide to best communicate with your customers when ordering. 

 Feel free to reach out to info@spokaneindependent.org for further assistance.

HOW DO I MAKE MY CUSTOMERS AWARE OF LOCAL DOLLARS?

There are several ways to spread the word about Local Dollars with your customers, below are a few options:

• Communicate with your customers on your new payment option of Local Dollars as a form of payment on your e-commerce platform
• Include in your customer communications instructions for The Local Frequency app download and sign up
• Guide customers to the Live Local INW website for more information on how they can get involved 

WHAT IF MY CUSTOMER DOESN’T COMPLETE THEIR LOCAL DOLLAR PAYMENT?

If your customer doesn’t complete their Local Dollar payment, the order will remain in a pending state in your ecommerce back end or flagged as unpaid in your ordering process if you use email.

Your business may already have automated reminders set up for incomplete orders. If not, you may have to contact your customer at the email they provided in your checkout to remind them to pay. It is up to your business, but we recommend contacting the customer within 24 hours if payment hasn’t been received.

Below is  example text you can use to communicate with your customers who have not completed the payment process:

‘Dear valued customer, thank you for using The Local Frequency payment option. We have noticed that you haven’t completed the purchase. This is a reminder that you need to go to The Local Frequency app, look up our business, enter the order number and total amount for the online order to complete the purchase. Don’t have the app? You can get it here if you have an Apple device or here if you have an Android device. Feel free to reach out to us or email SIMBA at info@spokaneindependent.org for more assistance.’

WHAT IF I HAVE A PENDING ORDER FOR MORE THAN A FEW DAYS?

Your business may already have automated reminders set up for incomplete orders. If not, you may have to contact your customer at the email they provided in your checkout to remind them to pay. It is up to your business, but we recommend contacting the customer within 24 hours if payment hasn’t been received.

You can use the email template below to send a reminder email to your customer if an order has been pending for a few days:

‘Dear valued customer, thank you for using The Local Frequency payment option. It has been X days since you made a purchase on our website. The purchase is still incomplete. This is a reminder that you need to go to The Local Frequency app, look up our business, enter the order number and total amount for the online order to complete the purchase. Don’t have the app? You can get it here if you have an Apple device or here if you have an Android device. Feel free to reach out to us or email SIMBA at info@spokaneindependent.org for more assistance.’

WHAT IF A CUSTOMER CLAIMS THEY MADE AN ORDER AND I’M NOT AWARE OF IT AS A BUSINESS?

Make sure that you have support@thelocalfrequency.com and hello@thelocalfrequency.com in your email client’s safe sender list. These are the emails from which you may receive communication from The Local Frequency. The Local Frequency App sends both you and the customer a confirmation email for every online transaction that happens through the app.

WHAT IF MY CUSTOMER ENTERS IN THE INCORRECT AMOUNT FOR THEIR ORDER?

Please contact support@thelocalfrequency.com with the customer’s 5 digit Member #, Order Total, Order Date and corrected Order Total and we will modify the transaction to the correct amount and confirm with your customer. All the above information is located within the payment confirmation email you receive from support@protegra.com at the time of purchase.

WHAT IF MY CUSTOMER WANTS A REFUND?

Please email support@thelocalfrequency.com with the Customer’s 5 Digit Member #, Order Total and Order Date and we will reverse the transaction.  All the above information is located within the payment confirmation email you receive from support@protegra.com at the time of purchase.

CAN MY CUSTOMER MAKE A PARTIAL PAYMENT FOR THEIR ONLINE ORDER IN LOCAL DOLLARS?

No. Only accept Local Dollars as payment in full. The Local Frequency app currently does not support partial payments. 

HOW DO CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT MY BUSINESS IS ACCEPTING PAYMENTS USING THE LOCAL FREQUENCY APP?

Customers can discover that your business accepts Local Dollars through The Local Frequency app by filtering our directory for ‘Local Frequency Businesses‘, by visiting the ‘Businesses’ tab on the app and seeing businesses that say *Accepts Local Dollars*, by seeing table tents at businesses that accept Local Dollars in-store, or by word of mouth.

HOW DO CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT MY BUSINESS IS PARTICIPATING IN THE LOCAL FREQUENCY PILOT?

SIMBA is partnering with the North Monroe Business District to entice consumers to get the app, load, and spend Local Dollars on The Local Frequency app. The first 140 customers will get $50 for every $100 loaded onto the app, while funds last.

Additionally, our Live Local INW directory lists all businesses participating in the pilot and accepting Local Dollars. This listing is also a  link on the The Local Frequency mobile app pilot consumer landing page.

HOW DO CUSTOMERS ACCESS THE LOAD OFFER?

Once a customer downloads the app, creates a profile and chooses Live Local INW as the region users are immediately notified of the load offer in a pop up that says: 

‘Limited time offer! Load at least $100 and get an extra $50 in free local dollars while funds last!’

The load offer will be automatically applied such that once a customer loads $100 or more on the app, they immediately get an extra $50.