New Zealand Software Company Takes Barter Mainstream
XO Limited (www.barter-software.com) announced the official release of its range of software solutions for the barter,
counter-trade and alternative currency industries.
The new software system allows barter and alternate currency providers to offer self-branded EFTPOS, SMS, Phone,
Internet and E- Commerce banking facilities to their members at virtually no additional cost.
Added to its list of unique features the company has also developed a unique online trading platform to enable end-users
the ability to offer goods and services to others utilizing the system, with transactions settled in barter currency.
Barter, the oldest form of commerce, is today a multi-billion dollar industry with the UNDP estimating that some 50% of
all production and transactions still take place outside official money-based GNP- measured sectors of the world's
economies.
In 2004 IRTA estimated that approximately $8.52 Billion Dollars was transacted through reciprocal barter companies and
other statistics show that approximately 85% of all Fortune 500 companies utilize barter to enhance their market-share
and improve cash flow.
Founded in 2002, XO has grown to be the worlds largest developers of barter software with a team of 18 full-time
development staff. In addition to its end-user facing functionality its systems provide full administrative access to
exchange operators, enabling them to manage customer accounts, with the additional ability of being able to export data
directly to Microsoft and third-party applications.
The XO developed software tracks barter transactions between multiple parties and across multiple countries and
currencies. As part of its transaction processing service it attaches a quantifiable, measurable and exchangeable
currency which is equivalent to the countries national currency, unless otherwise specified.
"Essentially an exchange operator can manage their own accounts, approve/edit/modify their members accounts, issue trade
reports, have multiple resellers/commission agents, produce their own printed directory, issue EFTPOS cards, conduct
mail-merges and send statements to their customers with ease." Says Daniel Evans, Chief Information Officer of the
company.
The company charges no setup fees and only a small ongoing fee per transaction (typically less than a ½ a percent) and
manages the infrastructure, hardware and software development at its own cost.
For non-profit barter green-dollar, LETS or community run exchanges the company provides its services totally free of
charge, a move that is aimed at helping to proliferate the idea of alternate currencies as a viable method of enhancing
community wealth.
Interested parties can access a demo of the system at: http://demo. xolimited.com or http://60.234.66.147/index.html
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About XO Limited Founded in 2002, XO is the worlds premier barter and counter-trade systems developer. It offers a
neutral Internet based platform that enables traders to trade with one another using a "virtual" currency through
electronic and traditional means. XO's systems are designed to enable barter exchange operators to reduce their costs
whilst increasing their overall trade volumes. Some of the key functionalities of their trading platform includes: a
universal currency, Internet banking, TXT/SMS banking, internet trading, IVR (telephone) banking, EFTPOS (electronic
point of sale) cards and direct interfaces with traditional banking methods. Additionally, the XO software systems are
written to enable the barter exchange operator direct access to their customer base via the Internet, with data able to
be accessed and downloaded into common Microsoft and third party applications. It is understood that the company
operates the largest team of software developers specializing in barter exchange systems anywhere in the world.