Consumers who purchased goods from participating merchants which were partially produced in Alberta would earn a "bonus" in their account of up to three per cent, the full bonus (in the form of transfer vouchers) was earned if one-third of a consumers aggregate monthly purchases were "Alberta-made". The one-third Alberta-made program was generally ineffective in increasing domestic market demand as it was easy for consumers to meet the low threshold over the period of one month, in response the threshold on Alberta-made products was raised to one-half in February 1941. Transfer vouchers could also be used for payments to the provincial government, including taxes, license fees, and other provincial debts. The transfer voucher system worked considerably better than the previous attempt to issue a citizen's dividend in the form of prosperity certificates in 1936. The Treasury Branches proved popular amongst Albertans, resulting in the government establishing 22 branches and 270 branch agencies by June 1939. The Treasury Branches were first authorized to provide loans in 1941 to be approved under a centralized "loan committee" overseen by the Treasury Branches Superintendent. Expanding into lending services was necessary to gain a stronger presence in retail areas, as many merchants who operate with the Treasury Branches also maintained a separate account at another bank to ensure access to credit. The only services provided up to 1943 were term savings accounts at 1.5 to 3 per cent interest, and the sale of automobile, hunting and fishing licences. Furthermore, the government charged consumers a two per cent penalty on cash withdrawals to continue to incentivize Albertans to use non-negotiable transfer vouchers to ensure capital did not flow out of the branches. Merchants were provided a means to withdraw a certain amount of cash without being charged a penalty in order to replace goods sold for vouchers. A formula was developed to determine the "basic rate", the amount of cash the merchant could withdraw without penalty by taking the merchant's annual profit margin as a per cent and subtracting that from 100 per cent (i.e. 10% margin less 100% means 90% of the balance is available to be withdrawn without penalty). The calculation basic rate system was deemed cumbersome and replaced in February 1941 with a centralized list compiled by the Department of Industries and Labor, based on the type of products and services sold and the location of the business. By early 1942 there were