Mercurion is all about crossing simultaneously, when buying goods from or selling goods to a counterparty abroad. Transactions will only be cleared when both parties have delivered on their obligations; meaning, buyer has paid and seller has made sure the goods have arrived at the agreed place of delivery.
The aim is to avoid credit exposure altogether. Credit insurance is a product that aims to reimburse the supplier afterwards if the buyer fails to pay. The claims process usually entails a waiting period, which can last up to 180 days, which can have a serious impact on liquidity.
In addition, insurers will set credit limits for each and every buyer, often constraining the volume of protected business that can be done with a particular supplier.
No, it is simply a platform where the transaction parties can register and start trading. The platform charges a percentage of the value of the trade that is used to cover the settlement service and IT maintenance. Buyer and seller can determine how the costs are shared.
An digital settlement service is used in situations (such as the sale and purchase of assets) where funds need to be held by an independent and trusted third party in a secure bank account on behalf of the parties to the transaction until their contractual obligations to each other have been fulfilled.
We charge a service fee for providing the settlement service for each transaction performed on the Mercurion Trade Services platform. There are no other fees charged by the Settlement Agent.
Yes, our settlement service can also be used as replacement for (bank) guarantees and is more efficient
It provides security for settling the purchase and sale of goods without involving banks, saving both time and money.
The payment service provider is Vistra Escrow and Payment Services B.V. registered in the Netherlands and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank.
It is licensed under the European Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2). This PSD2 license allows Vistra to legally operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP), offering escrow and settlement services both in the Netherlands and globally. The Dutch Central Bank oversees Vistra’s operations, ensuring regulatory compliance and client protection. Vistra provides tailor-made escrow and settlement solutions for complex financial transactions (e.g., M&A, real estate, litigation). It operates in over 45 jurisdictions with a center of excellence in Amsterdam. Assets are held in ringfenced third-party escrow accounts, offering transparency and protection.
Please refer to the following site for further information on Vistra:
www.vistra.com
Vistra is a licensed PSD2 payment provider and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank. It operate across 50+ markets in 100+ offices throughout the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, employing more than 9,000 experts
KYC, AML and sanctions checks are performed in compliance with PSD2 regulations and secure escrow accounts are maintained with leading AA-rated banks.
There are strict internal controls in place to ensure that funds are only released based on agreed parameters and by authorised approvers.
We endeavour to complete the onboarding process within 2 working days, subject to a complete set of supporting information being provided by the parties involved.
Through the Mercurion Trade Services platform the parties will need to submit company details and other know-your-client (KYC) information such as the composition of each company’s board (who are the directors?) and documentation relating to the source(s) of funds for the transaction. The information will be reviewed by Vistra as part of due diligence checks to ensure compliance with sanctions and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
When the transaction is completed, within two working days the funds will be transferred to the receiving parties.
The funds will be returned to the buyer.
The funds will be returned to the buyer and the insurance company will be made aware of the situation. (Assuming the cargo was insured)
The proof of delivery will be uploaded to the platform; this document will contain the evidence that the goods have arrived. Without a proof of delivery the funds will not be released.
Yes, unlike with a Letter of Credit, the dates aren’t critical and canbe changed as long as both parties agree through the platform
Yes the transaction agreement can be amended, but both parties have to agree to any amendmentment by approving the changes through the platform.
All data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 bit LUKS encryption. A backup of all storage data is created daily.
The platform on which the services are hosted has SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and PCI-DSS certifications.
All passwords are encrypted when stored, so the attacker does not have direct access to your account in the event of a data breach. In case of a data breach we will notify the Data Protection Authority (DPA) within 72 hours and take precautionary measures.