Bartercard IPO Update

Bartercard IPO Update

The IRTA (International Reciprocal Trade Association) have recently released an announcement regarding a contingent contract with the Bartercard parent company BPS Technology. Because of the nature of the contract and the fact it could not begin without a successful Bartercard IPO, the IRTA and UC (Universal Clearinghouse, In.) were waiting to receive evidence of a successful IPO before making any announcements about the project. The barter software industry has grown significantly during the past 17 years, providing barter exchanges a large choice of software platforms to choose from, many providing their own version of inter-exchange currencies. Counter to its original goal of providing true universal trading currency to unify the industry, these inter-exchange currencies are essentially competing with the IRTA’s subsidiary UC, further fracturing the industry. UC released their barter software platform from various software companies throughout the 17 years and in the last four years they explored creating their own software, as well as examining other arrangements with existing software companies.

Combined with the financial resources from a successful Bartercard IPO through BPS Technology, the existing Bartercard software would be in the position to provide the best opportunity for UC to make use of and recommend a highly advanced technology solution for the industry. This has been judged by the IRTA Global Board of Directors. The strict governance requirements of separate and independent publicly listed companies ensure that members’ data will always be protected.

As such, the IRTA Global Board of Directors approved a contingent contract with BPS Technology for an initial five year term, with the potential for two additional five year terms, but only if both parties elected to continue for the extra terms. The agreement would only become effective if the BPS Technology IPO was successfully completed by August 31, 2014.

The IRTA and UC have been advised by BPS that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) have approved the prospectus. It meets and passes all the strict legal and accounting requirements that come with such 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 promote the BPS software, as long as BPS continues to modernise and improve the software to remain consistent with all technological changes in the industry.

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