Imagine a group of local businesses agreeing to trade with each other using IOUs instead of cash — you fix my plumbing, I supply your office furniture, and everyone's accounts balance out at the end. A company in Sardinia called Sardex has been running exactly this kind of system since 2009, but on one central server. INTERLACE built a prototype that moves this onto a private blockchain, so the system can grow beyond one region without relying on a single point of failure. Think of it as upgrading from a single shared spreadsheet to a secure, distributed ledger that multiple trading circles can plug into.
Many local SMEs struggle with cash flow constraints and late payments, which limits their ability to trade with each other and keeps economic value from circulating within regions. Traditional banking solutions involve interest costs and complex credit checks that small businesses often cannot afford. There is no widely available, trustworthy infrastructure that lets groups of businesses trade using mutual credit without relying on a single centralized platform that could become a bottleneck.
The project built a decentralized ledger architecture demonstrator for B2B mutual credit, delivering both a first implementation (at month 9) and a final demonstrator. The system uses a private blockchain with a 160-bit address space and the Open Transaction protocol to move Sardex's proven mutual credit model from a centralized server toward a scalable, multi-circuit distributed architecture.
If you are a regional development agency looking to boost local SME trade and keep money circulating in your area — this project developed a blockchain-based mutual credit platform that enables cashless B2B trading among local businesses. The system has been proven in Sardinia since 2009 and the decentralized architecture allows scaling to multiple trading circuits across regions.
If you are a fintech company building B2B trade credit or barter exchange platforms — this project developed a decentralized ledger architecture using private blockchain and the Open Transaction protocol that moves beyond centralized servers. The demonstrator supports multiple notary nodes, meaning your platform can scale across geographies while maintaining cryptographic trust.
If you are managing an SME cluster where members struggle with cash flow and late payments — this project built a zero-interest mutual credit system where businesses monetize their spare capacity by trading services directly. The platform has been operating successfully in Sardinia since 2009, and the new architecture allows connecting multiple circuits under one secure system.
The project data does not include specific deployment costs or licensing fees. INTERLACE was a Coordination and Support Action with 4 partners across 4 countries. The underlying Sardex system has been operating since 2009, so there is an established operational model, but pricing would need to be discussed directly with the coordinator.
That was precisely the point of INTERLACE. The architecture uses the Open Transaction protocol with multiple notary nodes and a private blockchain with a 160-bit address space, designed to scale from one central server to multiple interconnected trading circuits. The final demonstrator implementation validated this multi-circuit approach.
The project built on the open-source CoreASIM output from the FP7 BIOMICS project and uses the Open Transaction protocol. The coordinator Sardex SPA holds operational know-how from running their commercial credit system since 2009. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the consortium.
The Sardex mutual credit system has been operating legally in Italy since 2009, and the project notes that credits are taxable. However, blockchain-based financial systems face evolving regulatory requirements across EU member states. Compliance for new deployments would depend on the specific jurisdiction.
The project delivered both a first demonstrator at month 9 and a final demonstrator implementation. However, this was a Coordination and Support Action running from 2017 to 2018, focused on proving the decentralized architecture concept. The underlying Sardex credit system is fully operational and proven over years of real-world use.
Based on available project data, integration specifics were not detailed in the deliverables. The system uses a private blockchain persistence layer and the Open Transaction protocol, which are standards-based. Integration with existing business software would likely require custom development work.
The INTERLACE consortium is compact — 4 partners from 4 countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, UK) with a 25% industry ratio. The single industry partner, Sardex SPA from Italy, is the coordinator and brings proven commercial experience running a B2B mutual credit system since 2009. The 3 university partners provide the computational and cryptographic research backbone, including work derived from the earlier FP7 BIOMICS project. For a business considering this technology, the key advantage is that the coordinator is not just a researcher but an operating fintech company with years of real-world transaction data and trust-building experience in local SME communities.
Sardex SPA (Italy) — the coordinator operates the commercial Sardex mutual credit platform and led the decentralized architecture development
Want to explore deploying a mutual credit system for your business network? SciTransfer can connect you with the INTERLACE team and help evaluate fit for your region or industry cluster.
