Bartercard IPO Update - IRTA Announces Contingent Contract with BPS Technology
The International Reciprocal Trade Association recently released an announcement regarding a contingent contract with
Bartercard parent company BPS Technology and the following are the key points from IRTA’s release. During the past
seventeen years the barter software industry has grown, providing barter exchanges a large choice of software platforms
to choose from, many of which provide their own version of inter-exchange currencies. These inter-exchange currencies,
in effect, compete with IRTA’s subsidiary UC (Universal Clearinghouse, Inc.), thereby further splintering the industry,
which is counter to its original goal of providing a true universal trading currency to unify the industry. Throughout
this time, UC released their barter software platform from various software companies and in the last four years they
explored creating their own software and examined other cooperative arrangements with existing software companies.
In the judgment of the IRTA Global Board of Directors, the existing Bartercard software, combined with the financial
resources resulting from a successful IPO through BPS Technology, would be in a position to provide the best opportunity
for UC to utilise and recommend a highly advanced technology solution to the industry. Furthermore, the strict
governance standards requirements of a separate and independent publicly listed company would ensure that members’ data
would always be protected.
As a result, the IRTA Global Board of Directors approved moving forward with a contingent contract with BPS Technology
for an initial five year term, with two potential additional five year terms, but only if both parties elected to
continue for the extra five-year terms. The agreement would become effective only if and when the BPS Technology IPO was
successfully completed by August 31, 2014.
To this end, the BPS/IRTA/UC software initiative is still a work in progress, and because the contract is of a
contingent nature and does not commence without a successful IPO, IRTA and UC were waiting to receive evidence of a
successful IPO before making any announcements about the project. IRTA and UC have been advised by BPS that the
Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has approved its prospectus, having met and passed all the strict
legal and accounting requirements that comes with a listing, and the Bartercard IPO is now effectively open. As per the agreement with BPS Technology, IRTA and UC will continue to recommend and endorse
the BPS software as long as BPS continues to modernize and improve the software consistent with technological changes in
the industry.
For further information about Bartercard IPO please go to http://www.bartercard.co.nz/
ENDS