About Trade Exchanges

A commercial trade exchange is an organization that manages the trading activities of its members. Typically, a trade exchange is owned and operated by a company recognized by the Government as a third-party record keeping organization similar to an accounting firm.

According to Tom McDowell, Executive Director of the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) there are approximately 400 trade exchanges in Canada and the United States handling some $4 billion per year in trade credit transactions. And according to Robert Meyer, Publisher of Barter News magazine, about 450,000 companies currently do business through trade exchanges.

As bank credit tightens around the world, and especially throughout Canada and the United States, commercial trade exchanges are experiencing record growth:
On November 13, 2008, Steve White, CEO of ITEX Corporation, reported in The New York Times that enrolment in the ITEX Trade Exchange jumped 36% in October alone.
On November 11, 2008, Steve Bolles, Pres. of Merchants Barter Exchange, said in BusinessWeek that membership tripled this year. He also said "Just eighteen months ago, when we would go and talk to someone about signing up, they would say 'we don't need to talk to you.' Now everybody gives us an appointment."

There are serious advantages to doing business in trade credit. Learn about the benefits.