Bartercard Private LTD. is an operator of a
barter trading exchange. Bartercard enables businesses to exchange goods and services without using cash or cash equivalents or a direct swap. Bartercard is a trading platform enabling businesses to exchange goods and services. These transactions are recorded electronically, with ‘Trade Dollars’ substituting New Zealand currency. Each
trade dollar is equivalent to one New Zealand Dollar.
Founding
Bartercard was founded in 1991 on the
Gold Coast, Australia by Wayne Sharpe, Brian Hall, and Andrew Federowsky. Bartercard has a presence in eight countries (
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, and
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
) where 75 offices service approximately 34,000 cardholders worldwide who collectively barter-trade over $600 each year. In 2007, Bartercard Australia was sold in a
management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
.
Description
Members earn Bartercard Trade Dollars / Pounds for the goods and services they sell, and this value is recorded electronically in the member’s account database or goes towards repaying the credit that the member may have used.
For calculating taxation liability, the Australian
Taxation
A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...
Office (ATO) treats one Bartercard
Trade Dollar the same way that it treats one Australian Dollar.
Evaluation
Bartercard is not based on barter but on local currency. The trade is limited and mainly serves to attract new customers, increase sales, and offer networking opportunities.
[Dawn Birch and Peter W.Liesch (July 1998) Moneyless Business Exchange: Practitioners’ Attitudes to Business-to-Business Barter in Australia. Industrial Marketing Management, Volume 27, Issue 4, Pages 329-340]
References
{{Reflist
Service companies of Australia
Payment systems
1991 establishments in Australia