Cork-based Trustap announced that it has added €5.08 million in funding led by TX Ventures, a fintech venture capital fund focusing on Europe. Co-investors in the round include SeedX, Partners Resolute, Aperture and existing shareholders MiddleGame Ventures, ACT VC, Atlantic Bridge & FurthrVC.
Trustap enables marketplaces to run their transactions from end-to-end by becoming the merchant of record and managing payments, logistics and customer support on their behalf, significantly increasing margins and overall revenues. One of the key features is escrow-style payment, which helps buyers and sellers transact in full trust on the platforms.
Trustap CEO Conor Lyden explained how this fundraise will help the company moving forward: “We’re delighted to have closed this round and it’s great to have added new investors to our cap table who bring with them a wealth of experience in our core markets”.
“Our plan is to invest in our GTM to ensure we make the most of some of the recent partnerships we have established. We’ll also look at adding further product features to cater for the wide range of use cases we deal with across both C2C and B2B marketplaces,” added Lyden
Some of Trustap’s customers to date include market leading platforms in Europe, the US & Asia including Mudah in Malaysia, Preloved in the UK and Student Seats in the US. The company has partnerships in 27 countries in total and the products bought and sold on these marketplaces vary from smaller value items like electronics and tickets, all the way up to larger value items like vehicles and luxury goods.
Users of these platforms can pay & ship to each other safely and the marketplaces themselves can offer these secure transactions without having to do any of the technical heavy lifting on their end. In the past week, the company closed a multi-market deal with a clothing marketplace that adds another 5 countries from Central Eastern Europe to the tally.
Trustap have also confirmed that they have appointed the former COO of European Markets at Adevinta, Ovidiu Solomonov as Chairman of the Board. Adevinta is one of the world’s largest online classifieds groups, operating 25+ digital marketplaces across Europe and beyond.
Krzysztof Bialkowski, Managing Partner of TX Ventures, commented: “Our view is that within the near-mid term, marketplaces will have to offer trusted payment solutions otherwise they will miss out on new business. Trustap, by providing escrow-like payment options and by lifting the operational burden off the shoulders of marketplaces, offer just that. The product is immensely scalable which is proven by the global presence of clients and the numerous categories Trustap facilitates among buyers and sellers. The easy-to-implement solution, the underlying trends in the marketplace industry and the execution-driven team will play a pivotal role for Trustap to become the leading infrastructure provider for trusted payments around the globe. It is a special addition to our fintech portfolio.”