Utrust aims to distinguish itself from the competition and overcome the volatility and lack of consumer protection which are some of the biggest factors preventing user adoption of cryptocurrencies. Utrust tries to do this by merging the best features of traditional payment gateways with the security of blockchain technology.
Background and team
Sanja Kon is the CEO of Utrust with an extensive track record working as the Head of Marketplaces and Large Enterprises at PayPal. She also has previous experience working as the European Partner of Development at eBay. Coming from PayPal, she has a full understanding of the eCommerce ecosystem and how to handle merchant partners. This positions Utrust at a very strategic position in terms so cryptocurrency payment adoption.
What is Utrust?
Utrust is a digital payment platform built on the blockchain. It combines the features of the traditional online payment system and blockchain technology to offer the best of both worlds. One that offers an affordable payment system that secures transactions between buyers and sellers from the point of payment until they receive the products.
The platform also streamlines the exchange between merchants and consumers by making payments simpler. There is no need to bear huge operational costs or conversion fees anymore just to establish a cryptocurrency payment gateway. This makes the option of accepting and making cryptocurrency payments within everyone’s reach.
Utrust goes further by promising real-time business-to-consumer transactions without having both parties suffer from the volatility of cryptocurrencies. After all, there is nothing scarier than transacting in cryptocurrencies only to later find out that the payment you accepted significantly changed in value.
The Utrust platform supports different digital currencies and its native token, $UTK. Users can make payments for goods and services without any exchange rate fee if they are paid in UTK.
UTK is backed by the platform. Each time a transaction happens, a small percentage of the fees are converted into UTK and burned. This decreases the total supply of UTK, causing its value to rise. The more transactions, the higher the token value becomes.
Others believe that Utrust might just be the alternative to PayPal because PayPal can be expensive and at times, inconvenient to use. Here is how they do it.
How Does Utrust Work?
Perhaps one of the biggest problems in transacting in cryptocurrency is that at any given time, the price of a particular coin may change drastically. Or, a transaction that was already finalized might turn out to be disadvantageous for the buyer but cannot be reversed anymore.
Here is how Utrust combined the traditional buyer protection system with blockchain technology:
- The transaction begins with buyers looking for merchants accepting cryptocurrencies. Through the merchant’s website, they can see if they have integrated Utrust with their payment system. Buyers can also use the Utrust wallet on their mobile phones to store, send and buy products and transactions will be processed instantly.
- The buyer is charged a total payment fee that covers a 1% commission and conversion fee. This is what Utrust carries to convert cryptos into fiat currencies in real-time with the best conversion rates.
- When the buyer completes the purchase of a product, the fiat money they pay will be converted and held in escrow. It will only be released after a prescribed holding period.
- Should there be no disputes in the transaction, the payment is released from escrow.
- The seller receives the payment in fiat currency, which he can withdraw, or convert to another cryptocurrency.
What is the holding period? Utrust’s Performance-Based Criteria
The holding period in point 3 above refers to the time period before the merchant receives the actual payment for the product sold. Utrust determines the length of the holding period depending on the reputation of the merchant in the marketplace.
The purpose of the holding period is to ensure that the products each customer buys are received in a condition agreed upon before each transaction. If the transaction is all well and good, the amount held in escrow is released.
For successful transactions or those that are dispute-free, the merchant earns good reputation ratings. But the more disputes they experience in their transactions, the lower their rating becomes. And the lower their reputation rating is, the longer their payment holding period is.
UTrust’s Third-party Mediation
Utrust’s third-party mediation in transactions takes the form of establishing a safe communication platform for everyone involved. Through a messaging system, buyers and sellers can easily discuss their concerns with a particular product if they need to. And if a conflict arises, Utrust has impartial mediators who can resolve arising disputes and decide whether to refund a buyer or release payments to the merchant.
What Problems Is Utrust Trying to Solve?
Cryptocurrency Volatility
The reason why some merchants do not accept payments made in cryptocurrency is because of high transaction fees and volatility. This makes crypto transactions less feasible and much riskier for merchants and buyers.
Consumer Protection
Consumer protection is the process where the merchants can interact with the seller before a transaction is actually finalized. If a product received seems to be faulty, it must be settled accordingly before each transaction is closed. But this is not the case with most payment gateways. Blockchain’s immutability makes it difficult for merchants and buyers to reverse problematic transactions because of the nature of blockchain transactions.
Advantages of Utrust
Immediate Conversion From Crypto to Fiat
Sellers have the option to accept the fiat currency of their choice for payments. To protect sellers from market volatility, funds are immediately converted into fiat currency whenever customers pay in cryptocurrency.
The seller then receives the payment and is offered the option to withdraw it in his bank account, store it in their wallet, or convert it into another cryptocurrency.
Buyer Protection System
Apart from addressing market volatility, Utrust also took steps in protecting consumers from scams by acting as a third-party mediator between transactions. Every purchase is protected from the point of payment to delivery.
Utrust has a blockchain-powered buyer protection system that creates a safe and secure environment for payment transactions between customers and merchants. This is done via Utrust holding the funds and releasing them to the seller on performance-based criteria.
And because transactions are recorded on the blockchain, they are irreversible and final. This eliminates the possibility of fraud from buyers, chargebacks, and other financial losses arising from failed transactions.
While there are a lot of other payment gateways available in the cryptocurrency space, Utrust is the first to provide consumer protection and third party mediation, unlike other blockchain payment gateways.
Partners
Utrust has already on-boarded several businesses such as S.L.Benfica, PRW Jewlery, Phone House, iperfumes.com, Bleu Jour, Whow, Alternative Airlines, Woocommerce, Morefrom and Elrond, among others.
Conclusion
We can get the best out of technology and innovation by putting together the best features of traditional innovations and blockchain technology. UTrust did exactly that when it meshed together the traditional process of consumer protection and the advanced infrastructure brought by blockchain.
If we are looking at increasing the adoption rate for cryptocurrencies, this is the way to go. Utrust addresses the risk of price volatility that scares merchants from accepting them as payment transactions and offers a solution to the problem of fraudulent payments.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.