Gems are often discovered, through relationships that time and distance don’t tarnish. I am talking about business gems because that is how I discovered Recipco Holdings, located on the upper level of Level39.

Recipco allows corporations to trade unused capacity by using:

• ECO: an unconventional currency (Enterprise-backed Credit Obligation)

• Recipco Capacity Exchange: a global marketplace

• Recipco Clear: a clearing facility backed by investment grade member companies

I am flying high in Level 39, not at 35,000 feet but yet at a level that gives me the pleasure to savor global trade. This is non-monetary trade and yet not barter.

Counterparty risk has been shifted to a clearing entity that is backed by member organizations that have proven high levels of creditworthiness.

Recipco’s vision is innovative because it is a huge generalization from the existing capacity trading mechanisms. What exists already is barter, which is inherently not standardized and entails counterparty risk. More importantly, what exists is focused in a few particular markets (i.e. energy and shipping) and exchanges are strictly INTRA-market (within a market). So, for example, trading electricity at different dates; or physical gas delivery etc.

Recipco is offering an efficient mechanism to trade for example, travel unused capacity for telecom unused capacity; energy unused capacity or IT unused capacity. Plus, a marketplace (currency and clearing) that mitigates the disadvantages of barter exchanges.

Excerpt from Recipco site.

In other words, widely consumed goods and services from large corporations can be exchanged to unlock value and offer multiple other benefits. The Recipco concept operates globally and INTER-market.

The measurable ways to realize the extra value of such multi-party trades can be captured in various financial performance measures, in improving competitive advantages and enhancing operating efficiency. Recipco has also developed the relevant accounting treatment for such non-monetary transactions.

ECO trading through Recipco Clear literally means unlocking the value of an un-accounted “asset”. Trade partners are investment grade corporations, governments and agencies. Multinational corporations are the natural candidates to engage in such activities; between multinationals, or across their supply chains; between sovereigns; in private and public sector collaborations. Extra value can be created in capacity exchanges between high-margin businesses (typically, involved in low liquidity products and with not much cash available) and businesses in highly liquid, commoditized products (typically, with low margins but with lots of cash).

The value of the ECO currency is based on trade flow. As the volume of transactions builds, it will be naturally approximated with the value of conventional currencies (a basket of reserve currencies). In addition, it will be more stable than sovereign conventional credits, non-inflationary, and an alternative way to traditional financing.

Recipco has leveraged its stakeholder network of world-class change-makers, and has already engaged hundreds of leading multinational corporations. James Fierro, its founder and CEO, is a passionate visionary who believes that Recipco is close to booking the first multiparty corporate trade.

Recipco has already received formal support from the UK and Chinese governments. It has also spearheaded a core United Nations initiative, under the banner of the Beyond Money Forum, which is a collaborative platform that engages government, private sector and development organizations that together seek to create social change through commerce and economic innovation.

Recipco is currently undergoing a private second financing round to raise $20mil in order to expand globally. We are delighted to be the first in the FinTech sector to review their product and services. Recipco is not operating in one of the hyper-growth B2B segments that become instantly copied all over the world. However, they clearly belong to the companies that Chris Skinner has coined as Reformers because they offer services that create a value exchange without banks involved.