Barter is a system of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral,
and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed
countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces
money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, such as
when the currency may be either unstable or simply unavailable for conducting commerce. |