The Bristol Pound is a complementary currency which is intended to be used as well as sterling, rather than replace it, with businesses taking part in the scheme on a voluntary basis.

Mark Burton, who is in charge of research and strategy for the Bristol Pound said the scheme was designed to create a "feel good factor" about the local area and its businesses.

"We want to make people pleased to be Bristolian at the same time as supporting local independent traders," he said.

Although similar projects have failed in the past, Burton said the scale of Bristol makes it the perfect place for the scheme to flourish.

"It's a big enough city with enough places to spend the money. So we're confident the project will be financially sustainable without having to rely on volunteers," he said.

But some local printers have raised concerns about the scheme and whether it is a viable alternative to sterling. Mike Hughes, managing director of Latcham Direct, said his company wouldn't be able to spend the currency.

"I want to support the community and I wish the scheme all the best but if the past is anything to go by I suspect it'll just fizzle out," he said.

Hughes added that it would be impossible for his company to take part. "Our clients are spread all over the country and we don't really serve the local market so it wouldn't work for us," he said.

The Bristol Pounds are being printed by Orion Secure Print Systems, based in Derbyshire, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by local print business owners.

Peter Wise, director of Minuteman Press, in Bristol, said: "They're not really acting in the public interest if the single biggest investment they have made is in a company from outside Bristol. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a local company Bristol that could have done the job."

But Ciaran Mundy, one of the scheme's directors, said no companies in Bristol were suitable for the job. "If there was a local printer who could have done it, they would have been our first choice. But there were only two or three secure printers in the country that met our requirements," he explained.

Wise also said introducing an unfamiliar currency increased the chances of fraud. "They haven't sent out any copies of the notes to us yet. We want to help local business so we're taking a brave step by accepting them but we don't really know if they're real or not."

Mundy said necessary measures had been taken to avoid fraudulent money being circulated. "We have sent a trader pack to the companies taking part in the scheme, with diagrams of the notes so they know exactly what to expect," he said.

The scheme is also offering financial incentives to encourage people to start exchanging sterling for the new currency. People buying the printed pounds will receive a 5% bonus.