In Switzerland, Reka checks have for decades been a firmly established means of payment for vacation, recreation and travel. The checks can be bought at employers, employers' associations or at Coop supermarkets with a discount of 3 to 20 percent, and redeemed at about 8800 points of acceptance. The Swiss travel fund Reka was founded as a non-profit organization in 1939. Initially, it only operated as an agency for inexpensive vacations. In the 1960s, however, Reka started to acquire its own vacation homes and to build whole vacation villages. This enabled families with low incomes to vacation at low costs. In cases of hardship, Reka even offers holidays free of charge. This is financed with Reka's commercial activities (Reka checks and Reka vacations), and with private donations.