Latest news from the team

Recorded May 2025. Interview edited for clarity and length. In this conversation, Tom Woodroof (Local Loop Merseyside) speaks with Tomaž Fleischman, Principal Scientist and Co-Founder of Cycles Protocol, and long‑time researcher of multilateral trade credit set‑off (often called Loop Clearing). We discuss how Slovenia’s decades‑old clearing infrastructure works, what it means for businesses on the ground, and why community‑owned versions such as Local Loop Merseyside matter. …

Credit Clearing and the Missing Middle, Part 3 Clearing thrives when businesses outgrow the coins in their purse. In this instalment we move from mediaeval market fairs, as explored in the previous article, to purpose-built clearing institutions. From the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609 to the London bankers huddled in a Lombard-Street tavern in 1770, the idea was the same: share the maths, spare the money. …

Impact Data Metrics to empower fintech start-up Local Loop Merseyside’s cashflow mission IMPACT Data Metrics (IDM), the research and data analytics innovator, has struck a ground-breaking commercial agreement with ambitious fintech company Mutual Credit Services (MCS). The partnership–IDM’s first in the business finance sector, will see MCS, a socially-focused company, integrating IDM’s unique and proprietary Business Occupiers dataset into its innovative Local Loop Merseyside (LLM) platform. …

Credit Clearing and the Missing Middle, Part 2 The History of Clearing Clearing, at its core, is about paying as many debts as possible with the minimum use of cash, resulting in more efficient trade at lower risk. While this sophistication may sound modern, versions of the practice can be traced back centuries. …