Cashless transactions

What brings the concept into the modern age, says Nick Barac from BBX's Melbourne office, is the fact that BBX successfully listed on the ASX in August 2005, to become the only publicly listed barter exchange manager in the world (listed on a main board). With more than 6000 member businesses in Australia and New Zealand, the global BBX membership runs to more than 300,000.

"It is a membership-based trading program whose primary role is to generate new business for all types of businesses and to show business owners how to offset many current cash expenses by utilising the downtime or idle inventory in their business," says Barac.

The company also offers mortgage broking, including leasing, business finance and general loans in both cash and trade dollars, as well as financial planning through their latest initiative, BBX Financial Advisors, insurance services through BBX Insurance and property services through BBX Real Estate.

The trade exchange uses its own currency (BBX dollars), which has the same value as Australian currency, to assign value to the transactions that take place between member businesses. In essence, the exchange acts as the third-party record keeper, similar to a bank - providing a sophisticated bartering market where thousands of "cashless" transactions take place - and a growing number of local businesses are seeing the benefits.

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