Much before currency came into existence, the Barter system was prevalent where people used to exchange goods for their own needs. In those times, it was the only means of transaction and conducting business in an era where currency was still to come into existence. Slowly and steadily Barter is once again generating interest among Indians while it is already a prominent industry in many parts of the world. Notably, in America itself the digital Barter system has been in existence since last 30 years whose current business worth is of 14 billion dollars. Not just that, in the USA 350 digital Barter platforms are available for exchanging goods in a much more professional and organised manner.
Even though in India the modern Barter system is in the nascent stage and presently it is not organised as in many parts of the world, it is still worth ₹5000 crore industry in India. Outside the country, there are roughly around 500 digital Barter exchanges through which people easily exchange multiple goods and products with each other as per their requirements. Slowly and steadily Bater is igniting interest among Indians too but it is yet to gain substantial prominence as a means of exchange in terms of required products. With BXI one too many deals can be done and give what you have and take what ever you need from the digital barter market place for which you don’t have to spend cash and you only pay through various products.
‘Pay By Products’ is the apt slogan coined by BXI which also emphasizes the need to ‘Give What You Have, Take What You Need’. Notably, various kinds of brands, organizations, individuals, retail, MSME corporates, media entities are heavily active in the Barter market as and when they need.
Despite its hurdles and challenges, Barter seems to be an exacting space where multiple deals are being struck on a regular basis. There are many agencies available now to facilitate such Barter deals. Barter Exchange Of India (BXI) is one such prominent platform in India which is facilitating Barter deals for multiple companies and organizations in an organised and effective way. In the last 3 to 4 years, over 10 crore worth of deal has been executed through BXI and over one lakh worth of products were delivered across the country in approximately 150 cities across India.
Not just as offline business, Barter can be conducted in many formats but like global markets, digital Barter market place in India too is emerging strongly where brands can simply register their companies on their own, list their inventories, products and goods they have and start exchanging them with what they want in exchange to what they want to give away through their platforms.
So BXI is a community of efficient organizations and companies which come together on a common platform and then they buy, sell or exchange useful products as Barter with the help of Barter coins. Barter coin is nothing but book keeping in accountancy. One barter coin is equal to one INR. It is ideally important to have book keeping in accountancy with Barter coins just to know how much you have sold on the platform and how much you have earned through the platform. The balance in your wallet of Barter coins is the currency you have on the BXI platform and you can make your purchases as per the availability of those coins.
We can understand this with the help of a small example. If you sell one pen worth ₹100 rupees, in exchange you will get 100 Barter coins and if the GST is 18%, the same percentage of money you will receive in INR. This way 100 Barter coins you earn on the platform, you buy anything from the platform which is listed over there, and so you can basically burn the Barter coins.
They have integrated various platforms as payment gateway partners to pay the GST on the products exchanged. It’s a legitimate and legal business and RBI consider this business legal only the GST component needs to be paid in INR as per GST laws and slabs (not just 18%).
In India as people are slowly getting attracted towards Barter, it has entered a new space which means the oldest form of transaction has now started to gain attention in the country in the form of an organised Barter system where its benefits can be availed through various online platforms.
Notably, in India Barter is active in various categories and plays a key role in a couple of areas. It not only helps you save cash flow but it also allows you to network with the owners of various business houses and helps you get additional business by leveraging Barter as an opportunity.
But the Barter system also has its own limitations as it is a model of double co-incidence where people need to have products of exact or similar values to be exchanged with each other or else the purpose of Barter remains unfulfilled. The major challenge is the value ecosystem which means that if today you have a particular product of ₹10 and the other person has a product value of ₹100 in exchange, here the Barter system fails. The other issue is when you tend to deal in Barter and the particular product might be available for exchange but you might not need that product today and may require it at the later stage of your daily life. So it means that double co-incidence is not possible every time and that’s the reason that the growth of the Barter industry in India is not as rapid as it should have been.
Barter Exchange Of India (BXI) was established 3 years back i.e. 6th January, 2021. The Management, many Board members and founders of BXI includes highly qualified professionals graduated from Top Business Schools around the world. Ideally 10 types of business companies trade on BXI which are registered after a thorough KYC check. Companies should be at least 3 years old with a good turnover of at least 5 crores a year, must be regularly paying GST and the companies shouldn’t be entangled in any kind of legal cases. If the company doesn’t pass through the KYC scrutiny, they are not allowed to do transactions through the BXI platform.
BXI is a B2B market place where companies, organizations and brands avail the facilities provided by BXI platforms, register their companies after choosing subscription plans: one is basic plan of standard ₹5000 and another is an advance plan of ₹25000. On the BXI market place there are currently 10 categories of businesses which are very active which includes media, airlines, hotels, electronics, consumer durable, office supplies, apparel textiles, lifestyle, mobility, FMCG and events.
Talking about the growing influence of Barter Exchange Of India (BXI), Viral Thakkar, CEO of BXI, said, “The Barter market is slowly and steadily growing and the current trends shows that the future of Barter trade in India is very bright. The barter system is now more organised and has a innovative edge with BXI. More and more companies and organisations are showing a lot of interest in Barter and using BXI as a platform for their exchange related deals. We are providing all the technical expertise and support for the smooth barter deals which have now become our hallmark”.
