Historically, soldiers serving overseas had been paid in local currency rather than in their "home" currency, most cash drawn by soldiers would go directly into the local economy, and in a damaged economy the effects of a hard currency such as the £ circulating freely alongside weaker local currencies could be severely problematic, risking severe inflation. There were other problems as well; once £ were circulating in a combat region, the opposing side could freely use its own stocks of £ as currency, or acquire stocks for use elsewhere to support their war effort. The high purchasing power of the £ and its easy transference back to Britain also posed a significant incentive to the black marketers.