A Letter Of Credit, Without The Bank
Document-checked escrow and shipment financing for orders banks won't touch.
Testnet pilot: trades settle in test USDC on Base Sepolia, so no real money moves yet.
Held in escrow, released against documentsSpecimen
25,000.00USDCLocked
Locked on Day 2 of the specimen trade and released only after the inspection report, the shipping documents and the buyer's confirmation checked out.
Every release is tied to verified documents, a signed inspection report and buyer confirmation
- Escrow contract
- 0x5f2e…9a4c
- Network
- Base Sepolia, test USDC
Specimen trade
TR-0417
- Seller
- Tile maker, Morbi, India
- Buyer
- Importer, Lagos, Nigeria
- Goods
- Porcelain floor tiles, 2,800 m²
- HS code
- 6907.21
- Amount
- 25,000.00 USDC
- Incoterm
- FOB Mundra
- Port of discharge
- Apapa, Lagos
- Ship by
- Day 14
- Inspection
- Pre-shipment, quantity and grade
- Confirmation window
- 10 days after arrival
Neither side wants to move first
The buyer won't pay until the goods ship. The seller won't ship until the money is real. And a bank letter of credit is too slow and too expensive for a $25,000 order.
- LC minimums and fees price small traders out
- Document-heavy bank processes take weeks
- Collateral requirements tie up the capital you need to grow
LC-grade protection at SMB speed
How a protected trade moves
Every step is stamped on one trade record, with the day it happened and a reference both companies can check. This specimen follows porcelain tiles from Mundra to Lagos from signed terms to settlement.
LockedA coloured stamp means money was locked, advanced, settled or frozen.
SignedAn ink stamp means paperwork was signed, inspected or checked.
TR-0417. Specimen trade with illustrative figures. It is not a customer's trade.
Day 1
SignedBoth companies sign one set of terms
Goods, HS code, quantity, amount, Incoterm, ship-by date, inspection standard and confirmation window go into a single terms record, and both sides sign it. Change any term and the record changes, so both would have to sign again.
Terms recorda91c…07de
Day 2
LockedThe buyer locks the full order value
Funding opens only once both signatures are on the record. The buyer deposits 25,000.00 test USDC from a whitelisted company wallet into the trade's escrow contract, and the seller sees the money locked before anything is loaded.
Escrow contract0x5f2e…9a4c
Day 9
PassedAn inspector checks the goods before loading
The assigned inspector records quantity, a spec checklist and photos, then signs a pass or a fail. A fail stops the shipment and any early payment.
Inspection report44be…d1f0
Day 13
ShippedShipping documents are matched to the terms
The seller uploads the commercial invoice, bill of lading and export declaration. Amount, quantity, consignee and port are checked against the signed terms, and the trade is stamped Shipped only when every check matches.
Document setd0a1…3c87
Day 13
AdvancedThe seller draws early payment
With the goods on the water, this tier 1 seller takes 10,000.00 USDC from the lender vault, paid to the seller's whitelisted wallet. The amount follows the seller's tier and always stays below the money already locked.
Advance2e77…b915
Day 47
ConfirmedThe buyer confirms delivery in Lagos
The buyer checks the containers on arrival and confirms. If the confirmation window closes with no dispute, the trade confirms itself.
Confirmation8c03…5e6a
Day 47
SettledThe escrow pays everyone out
The escrow repays the lender vault its advance plus fee, pays the seller the balance and closes the trade. Settlement runs once, so a repeated confirmation can never pay twice.
Settlementf61d…20b4
If the goods arrive wrong
Inside the confirmation window the buyer can raise a dispute with evidence. The escrow freezes, an arbiter decides to release, refund or split, and the contract pays out exactly that decision. A lost dispute drops the seller one tier.
Early payment grows with your record
Every seller starts at tier 0, with no early payment. Three clean trades move you to tier 1, and each tier raises the share of the locked amount you can draw once the goods ship. A lost dispute drops you one tier.
Tier 0
Every new seller
0%No early payment
Tier 1
After three clean trades
40%Up to 10,000.00
Tier 2
More clean trades
60%Up to 15,000.00
Tier 3
A longer clean record
80%Up to 20,000.00
Bars show each tier's share of the specimen's 25,000.00 USDC escrow; the ink tick is the locked amount. The actual advance is the lowest of your tier share, the escrow minus a retention, and your exposure cap, so it always stays below the money already locked.
Money moves only when the documents match
Each shipping document is read and checked against the signed terms. A mismatch in amount, quantity, consignee or port flags the document and holds the shipment, and any early payment, until it is fixed.
| Checked field | Signed terms | Commercial invoice | Bill of lading | Export declaration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | 25,000.00 USDC | Matches | Not stated on this document | Matches |
| Quantity | 2,800 m² | Matches | Matches | Matches |
| Consignee | Importer, Lagos | Matches | Matches | Matches |
| Port of discharge | Apapa, Lagos | Matches | Matches | Matches |
ShippedEvery field matches on every document that states it, so the specimen trade is stamped Shipped.
Before your first trade
- Is this real money yet?
- No. TradeRail is in a testnet pilot. Every trade settles in test USDC on Base Sepolia and company checks run against a provider sandbox, so you can take a trade from signed terms to settlement without moving real funds.
- What if the goods arrive wrong?
- Raise a dispute with evidence inside the confirmation window. The escrow freezes, an arbiter decides to release, refund or split, and the contract pays out exactly that decision.
- How is this different from a letter of credit?
- Both release money against documents. Here the buyer locks the order value in an escrow contract instead of applying to a bank, the documents are checked against the signed terms, and a seller with a clean record can draw early payment once the goods ship.
- Who can see the escrow?
- Either company, or its bank, can open the trade's public escrow page to check the state, the locked amount, the contract address and the history. Company verification details never appear there.
- What do we need to start?
- A company account, your legal name, country, registry number, role and directors for verification, and a payout wallet address that is whitelisted for your trades.
- What does it cost?
- Your first trade is free. After that, TradeRail Business is $199 a month per company. Early payments carry a fee, split between the lender vault, the first-loss pool and TradeRail.
Your next order is too small for an LC and too large to risk
Your first trade is free, from signed terms to settlement.
After that, TradeRail Business is $199 a month per company.
Testnet pilot: trades settle in test USDC on Base Sepolia, so no real money moves yet.