http://www.journalism.co.uk/66/articles/536202.php
Posted: 26/10/09
“TrustedFriend.com can be used for payment of any transaction between individuals or companies, in person or over the internet.
Delivering services before they have been paid for is risky for sellers and service-providers, and paying for goods before they arrive is risky for buyers. Bridging this gap for the first time, TrustedFriend.com is a fully-secure FSA-registered third-party service designed to safeguard both parties during their transaction and to help them resolve any disputes easily and cheaply.
TrustedFriend.com works as an automated website for buyers and sellers of goods and services to agree their transaction terms, securely make and receive guaranteed payment when and only when transaction terms are fulfilled, and quickly resolve disputes. The buyer’s money is held in a client bank account administered by TrustedFriend.com as a neutral third-party/escrow holder, with interest accruing to the buyer or seller.
With TrustedFriend.com, sellers are guaranteed full payment as soon as they provide the agreed goods or services without the risk of non-payment or the hassle of chasing debts, and buyers are guaranteed to receive what they paid for or get their money back.
The operator of TrustedFriend.com is one of the first money-remitters to be registered with the Financial Services Authority as a ‘Payment Institution’ under the new Payment Services Regulations 2009, which come into force EU-wide on 1st November 2009, and give statutory protection to client money held by TrustedFriend.com. Existing payment service providers, such as Western Union and Paypal, have a year to comply with these new registration requirements but, as a new Payment Institution, TrustedFriend.com is compliant from day one.
TrustedFriend.com founder Andrew Kaye says: “This legislation means that the money we hold on behalf of clients, while they are waiting for goods and services to be delivered as promised, is now tightly safeguarded by law. Our customers also choose their own referee to use in case of a dispute, rather than relying on the payment service to decide who is at fault in a dispute. This payment system is designed as a virtually-local trusted friend for the global village, and will change the way people transact in the UK.”
With a per-transaction cost of just £2.99 for buyers and sellers, TrustedFriend.com is a cost-effective solution for consumers and small businesses transacting with people they don’t know.”
Interesting approach to dispute resolution…
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Trusted Friend is an interesting development.
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