New technology for age-old trade

BARTERCARD (Cyprus) Ltd announced the establishment in Cyprus of the Bartercard network on Tuesday, a network based on the historical trading system of bartering.

Bartercard is the largest business-to-business trade exchange in the world and spans over 16 countries with more than 100 offices and 2000 staff. It fosters an environment where Bartercard members can transact between them in a cashless manner whilst reaping the benefits of bartering, without the usual challenges of one-to-one barter.

The Cyprus branch was incorporated in February 2004 as the exclusive distributor of the Bartercard Network in Cyprus.

“Since its inception in 1991 in Australia, Bartercard has been experiencing spectacular exponential growth both in terms of memberships as well as trade volume. The trend continues and about three countries are added to the Bartercard network every year,” according to the press release. Today, the company boasts 70,000 members, who, among them, account for the global Bartercard trade volume of about US $2 billion annually.
Bartercard has implemented its trade exchange philosophy and strategy by taking an idea from the past (bartering) and capitalising on today’s technology so that the system can provide its member businesses the benefits of barter, which include interest-free line of credit, improvement of cashflow and reduced costs of purchasing by using your own product, instead of cash.

In the first two months of its operation, around 200 business people have begun using their Bartercard, said the statement. The local branch estimates this number will grow to 1,000 in the first year of operation. By that time, the company expects its members to have collectively transacted three million pounds.

The company makes its profit by charging a small service fee every time a transaction takes place within the network.

For those who are unsure how this ancient trading system works today, here’s an example: Kyriacos is a personal computer supplier who takes his clients out to dinner. The dinner costs £500. Kyriacos prefers to give Georgios the restaurant owner a computer worth £500, instead of paying cash. Georgios though, does not want a computer, and therefore gets a voucher worth £500 from Kyriacos. He can then use this voucher worth, 500 ‘trade pounds’, within the Bartercard network to buy any product or service from any business, which is a Bartercard member.

For further information, email [email protected] or call 22-446270.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.