trustshare

Founded in 2020 by Nick Fulton and Joe Harlow, trustshare is a London-based financial technology company designed to facilitate secure transactions for online marketplaces. The venture was established as a remote-first business during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. CEO Nick Fulton's career has been consistently focused on marketplaces, providing him with a deep understanding of the payment challenges these platforms face, which directly informed the creation of trustshare.

The company offers a comprehensive fintech layer for marketplaces through a single, unified API. This service is particularly aimed at B2B marketplaces, online classifieds, and trade directories, enabling them to integrate secure payment solutions with just a few lines of code. trustshare's core offering is a white-label escrow infrastructure that addresses the issue of trust in high-value online transactions. The business model is designed to handle the complexities of marketplace payments, an area where platforms are often not regulated to hold customer funds directly. Revenue is generated through transaction fees, which range from 0.625% to 0.975% for each party, with a minimum fee applied.

trustshare's platform works by having a buyer pay into a dedicated, transaction-specific account. The seller is then notified that the funds have been secured, prompting them to deliver the product or service. Once the buyer receives and is satisfied with their purchase, they authorize the release of the funds to the seller. This process is supported by identity verification services, including KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) checks. A key feature is the use of Open Banking technology, which allows for near-instantaneous fund transfers, a significant improvement over traditional methods that can take several days. The system supports payments in over 180 countries and more than 30 currencies. For transactions not conducted on a website, trustshare provides payment links and QR codes. In 2023, the company partnered with Two to offer instant credit lines of up to €250,000 for business buyers at checkout.

The company's potential was recognized early on, securing an angel investment from notable figures like Alex Chesterman, the founder of Cazoo, and James Hind, the CEO of Carwow. This was followed by a significant Seed funding round of $3.2 million on September 1, 2021, led by Nauta Capital. This capital was earmarked for product development, team expansion, and opening a US office.

Keywords: escrow API, marketplace payments, fintech layer, B2B payments, online escrow, Open Banking payments, cross-border payments, secure transactions, payment infrastructure, fintech for marketplaces, high-value transactions, white-label escrow, payment gateway, trade finance, credit checkout, KYC/AML compliance, digital payments, remote transactions, unified payment API, financial technology