Tradesafe com

About Tradesafe com

Based in Sandton, South Africa, TradeSafe operates as a digital escrow service provider, offering a secure payment framework for a variety of transactions. The company was founded in 2013 by Jethro O'Brien, whose personal experience with online fraud served as the catalyst for the venture after he was scammed while purchasing car parts online. This event led to the creation of a platform designed to mitigate risks for both buyers and sellers in online and offline transactions.

TradeSafe's core business revolves around holding a buyer's funds in a secure trust account, managed with oversight from Standard Bank, until the seller has delivered the goods or services as promised. Payment is released to the seller only after the buyer confirms they are satisfied with the transaction. This model directly addresses the risk of non-payment for sellers and the risk of not receiving the promised goods for buyers. The service is utilized across a wide range of sectors, including e-commerce, vehicle sales, freelance services, property rentals, and commodity trades. Revenue is generated by facilitating these secure transactions.

The company launched its standalone platform in early 2015 and also developed an Application Program Interface (API), allowing other businesses to integrate TradeSafe's escrow functionality into their own systems. This API was a significant milestone, positioning the company in the market. In August 2020, TradeSafe secured an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round led by Standard Bank, a major financial institution that also provides oversight for the escrow accounts. The platform supports transactions with features like milestone payments and provides transparency through notifications to all parties involved. It handles both domestic deals within South Africa and cross-border transactions on the African continent and internationally.