Today, Ozone Barter can claim to be World’s first organized reciprocal trade exchange. 

What is a reciprocal trade exchange? Reciprocal trading is essentially a sophisticated form of barter trade where companies buy or sell products or services without exchanging money or currency.  The difference between barter and this system is that barter requires a double coincidence of needs, but that isn’t necessary in reciprocal trading.  It can be  collected in the form of trade credits that can result in a later sale. 

The US corporate barter industry is growing at an annual rate of 8 per cent and rakes in close to $16 billion every year.  Almost 65 percent of all Fortune 500 companies use this service. 

With more than 20 offices across the world the exchange is managed by professionals who monitor its activities and market it. 

So, how does it work? In simple terms, the company managing the exchange (in this case Ozone Barter),  will register companies as members, allot a credit rating and then allow them to trade on the exchange.  Companies can buy or sell products or services without having to adhere to the normal 15, 30 or 45 day credit period.  The company will gather trade credit points for every purchase or sale that is made. 

A study points out that in Switzerland, for instance, cashless trading has been going on since 1948.  The WIR Bank, the  largest reciprocal trade exchange in the country  has a turnover of 1,833 million francs from 1.1 million francs in 1948.  Also the number of members has increased to 82,487 in 1999 from 814 in 1948. Cashless  trading in USA is around 70 years old. Governed by the IRTA, around 2,50,000 companies engage in reciprocal trading in the US and this results in sales  worth $16 billion every year.  Yet, reciprocal trading accounts for just 0.02 per cent of the total share of trading in the US.