The Mission

The Mission of The Barter Association National Currency (The BANC) shall be to serve the members of the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) and the barter industry, by providing a credible medium of exchange and an efficient accounting system that will enhance intercity bartering activity between reciprocal trading partners. The BANC shall strive to create a stable barter currency that will promote trading and goodwill among its members.

The Fiscal Philosophy

The BANC shall operate as a zero(0) balance accounting system. The sum total of all positive and negative accounts shall equal zero (0) at all times.

The BANC, itself, shall work from the NATE general operating account within the system. However, neither NATE nor The BANC shall have a credit line and must operate from a positive trade balance status at all times.

The Management

A Board of five (5) governors shall manage The BANC. The board of governors shall consist of the President of the Association and four (4) governors nominated by the President and approved by the NATE board of directors.

The BANC board of governors will meet a minimum of once per year at the NATE annual convention to review current policies and to make necessary policy changes.

The chairman of the board of governors of The BANC, with assistance from the NATE executive director, will be responsible for the overall operations of The BANC, including the implementation of all BANC policies.

The Administration

The NATE board of directors may contract with individuals or businesses to administrate and broker trade among BANC members. The duties of these positions will be determined by the BANC board of governors and approved by the NATE board of directors.

The administrator or broker may or may not be a participant in The BANC. If they do become a participant, they shall not have a credit line and their accounts shall be regularly monitored by the board of governors.

The administrator or broker may be asked, as necessary, to attend the meeting of the board of governors. They shall provide the board of governors with such information, as it deems necessary to effectively manage The BANC.

Membership in The BANC

BANC membership is open only to businesses and individuals, which are members of the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE).

Independent trade exchanges, corporate barter companies, media brokers and other businesses, which are members of NATE, are eligible to join The BANC. However, corporate barter companies, media brokers and other business entities who are fee-paying clients of an existing BANC member may not join The BANC. In addition, all other businesses which are not members of NATE are excluded from BANC membership.

To be accepted for membership in The BANC, applicants must sign and agree to the terms of The BANC membership agreement. In addition they must provide all requested credit information.

All BANC members shall supply The BANC with a valid credit card.

Upon approval, The BANC administrator will input the new member's information into The BANC computer system.

The Fee Structure

The BANC offers the following fee option for independent trade exchanges:

• $50 cash and $25 trade monthly, one-quarter of one percent (¼%) in cash on purchases, one-quarter of one percent (¼%) in trade on sales.

Corporate barter companies, media brokers and all other members of The BANC shall pay $50 cash and $25 trade monthly, one percent (1%) in cash on purchases and one percent (1%) in trade on sales.

Interest Charges:

All members who borrow from The BANC (use their credit lines) will be charged interest at a rate of one-half of one percent (½%), in trade per month, on the outstanding negative balance in the account.

The board of governors, with approval of the NATE board of directors, may change the interest rate from time to time in order to maintain the fiscal integrity of The BANC.

Payment of BANC fees:

All members shall be billed electronically at the beginning of the month. Members may submit payment by check until the 15th of the month. On the 16th of the month (or the next business day thereafter) The BANC administrator shall charge the member's credit card for all fees due.

Late fees:

All members whose fees are not paid in the month due shall be charged a late payment fee of $10 cash and shall automatically have their credit line (if they have one) reduced by twenty percent (20%) for a period of not less than one year. These penalties shall reoccur each month that the fees are not paid on time.

Any member who does not have, or does not wish to put up a credit card, must post a deposit of $250 cash with the National Association of Trade Exchanges and receive special approval by The BANC board of governors and the NATE board of directors. Such deposit shall not be considered as payment of fees and shall not be used as such unless member defaults on their account.

Conducting On Going Business Through The BANC When Funds Are Not Immediately Available

The BANC will accommodate its members by setting up additional transfer accounts whereby (up to) another thirty percent (30%) of a debtor member's new sales can go toward paying off its debt with other creditor exchanges. These accounts must be agreed on by both the buying and the selling member and shall have no effect on any other agreements with The BANC.

The purpose of these accounts is to allow members to continue to do business with each other through The BANC, even when the funds are not available, and to not have to open or reopen direct reciprocal accounts.

The debtor member is limited to three (3) accounts, with a minimum of ten percent (10%) of their new sales going to each account. This is in addition to any amount of the member's new sales going toward prior reciprocal accounts.

The total amount of a member's new sales that may be committed to paying off previous debt is fifty-five percent (55%). That leaves the member with forty-five percent (45%) of their new sales to continue purchasing the things they need for their members.

Debtor members may not reduce the percentage they have agreed to pay a creditor member in order to set up an account with another member, without the written approval of the first member.

The creditor member may not increase the percentage they are receiving without the written consent of the debtor member.

Participating members may increase or decrease the balance in these accounts by mutual agreement (trading) between the parties. This will allow members to continue doing business with each other on an ongoing basis, through The BANC.

A creditor may have as many of these accounts as they deem reasonable in order to continue to do buisness with other BANC members.

There will be a one-time charge of $10 cash to each party to set up these accounts.

All transactions in these accounts shall be commissionable to The BANC.

Both parties agree that all transactions between them shall be processed through The BANC for as long as either party has an outstanding balance with The BANC.

The National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) and The BANC, assume no liability or responsibility to any participating member for uncollected funds from debtor members or for errors or omissions that may occur in the handling and processing of these transactions. BANC members enter into this program on a voluntary basis with the understanding that there are risks involved.

The BANC Credit Policy

Credit, when and if extended by The BANC to the member, is at the discretion of The BANC board of governors under guidelines provided by the NATE board of directors.

The NATE board of directors or The BANC board of governors may withdraw any member's credit line at any time, with or without cause.

The total amount of credit in circulation within The BANC shall not be more than $50,000 per member, nor less than $25,000 per member. The NATE board of directors may change the minimum and maximum figures by a two-thirds majority vote.

The BANC shall maintain a "bad debt" reserve of at least five percent (5%) of the total credit available to the members.

All BANC members with, or requesting a credit line, agree to allow NATE to run a personal credit report on them. This information shall be relayed to the board in the following manner. Excellent for those members with an excellent credit report, good for those members with a good credit report, average and poor. The rating shall be determined using the credit reporting agency's scoring system. Members may receive additional credit by placing approved collateral with the association. The board of governors shall determine acceptable collateral and the value of such collateral.

BANC members who fail to pay their cash fees or association dues, on time, or who have their credit cards rejected (other than expiration dates or other clerical mistakes) will immediately lose at least twenty percent (20%) of their credit line (for each occurrence).

Credit line shall be set by the board of directors at the beginning of each calendar year (after reviewing the trading, payment and credit information available) and may be reviewed at any board meeting held during the year.

In the event the bad debt debt reserve is sufficient to cover the five percent (5%) requirement, the proceeds from interest charges shall go into the NATE general operating fund.

Exclusive Listing Rights

A BANC member making an offer from a particular client will be given an exclusive right to list that client through The BANC. A competitor BANC member may not promote the same client unless the original member either approves it, has his account frozen, or allows all offers from that client to expire.