LiquidTrust: A New Era of Cross-Border Payment Protection for Small Business w/ Saujin Yi - AZ TRT S06 EP11 (273) 6-29-2025

 

LiquidTrust: A New Era of Cross-Border Payment Protection for Small Business w/ Saujin Yi

- AZ TRT S06 EP11 (273) 6-29-2025    

 

What We Learned This Week

·         SMBs Face Major Risk in Cross-Border Payments Small businesses are exposed to significant risk when dealing with international suppliers, lacking the same protections that consumers receive.

·         Traditional Bank Wires Are Outdated for Global SMB Transactions Bank wires, SWIFT networks, and intermediary banks remain the default but are slow, costly, and offer limited recourse if something goes wrong.

·         Digitized Escrow Can Level the Playing Field A modernized escrow system, like Liquid Trust, can serve as a trusted middle layer in transactions, enabling secure, conditional fund releases.

·         Banks Are Adopting Fintech Tools for SMB Clients Liquid Trust is expanding by partnering with banks, offering them technology to better serve small businesses with secure payment processing.

·         A Major Gap Exists for SMB Payment Protections There's a growing opportunity to provide insurance-style protections, dispute resolution, and cash flow tools for smaller, international transactions.

 

Guest: Saujin Yi, Founder - LiquidTrust

LKIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saujin/

Tech entrepreneur, investor, and advisor focused on fintech, future of work, and backing women/minorities. Personal mission is to create a #newplayingfield.

Saujin Yi has been talking to founders and bankers who are watching a payment crisis unfold in real time— small business owners wiring full payments to overseas suppliers, only to have their goods withheld or renegotiated because tariffs shifted mid-transaction. These aren’t hypothetical’s. Inventory is being held hostage, and most of these businesses have no recourse.

Saujin is the founder of LiquidTrust, a fintech platform helping SMBs protect themselves. She talks about:

·  The tariff whiplash hitting cross-border supply chains

·  Why small businesses are exposed to all the payment risk

·  How new tools like LiquidTrust's Micro Escrow Pay are helping level the playing field

With LiquidTrust, small businesses can wire to 175 countries with built-in counterparty verification, or opt for a holding account that only releases funds when terms are met. It's a timely conversation and offering that I think SMBs would benefit from learning about.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liquidtrust/

https://www.liquidtrust.io/

43% of US SMBs make global payments but 75% are unsatisfied with their current options. LiquidTrust is an innovative global pay solution tailored for the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses that also safeguards their transactions from fraud and loss.

We offer 2 global payment methods:

1) Direct Pay - Fast global payments to 175 countries within 1-2 days. Safer than traditional wires, with counterparty verification for enhanced security.

2) Pay by Trust ("micro-escrows") - Escrow-like protection against fraud and loss. Offers peace of mind without complexity and high costs of traditional escrows.

 Of the $6.9T US import/export payment volume, 2/3 goes unprotected because current payment protection products like letters of credit are too complex and expensive. 9 out of 10 SMB owners constantly worry about fraud and loss because non-payment or non-delivery would be devastating to business survival.

We partner with banks to make our self-serve, white-label solution available to their current and potential customers and capture the $9B+ revenue opportunity and related deposits.

LiquidTrust builds on the foundation established by Liquid (est. 2019), evolving to meet new opportunities.

 

  Notes: Segment 1: Solving Cross-Border Payment Risk for SMBs

In early 2025, small businesses began feeling the pressure of rising tariffs and payment complications with overseas vendors. For many SMBs, cross-border transactions are a daily reality—but the tools available to them haven’t kept pace with the global nature of modern commerce.

The Traditional Payment Model

Historically, payments to overseas partners have relied on the banking system as the intermediary. This means:

·         Transactions typically occur via international wire transfers.

·         These wires use the SWIFT network, involving multiple intermediate banks.

·         Funds are converted between currencies, often with unpredictable fees or delays.

While this may work for large enterprises, small businesses often bear more risk in these transactions, lacking sufficient tools for protection or recourse. Many SMBs today operate a “borderless” business model—based in the U.S. but with 50% or more of their partnerships overseas.

The Need for Simplicity and Trust

Small businesses need a solution that is:

·         Reliable for both sides of the transaction

·         Simple to use without requiring financial expertise

·         Built on trust, with built-in mechanisms to reduce risk

Liquid Trust introduces a new payment model for SMBs—simplifying cross-border payments through a system built around "micro escrow."

 

Segment 2:

Micro Escrow: Modern Protection for Small Deals

Much like real estate uses escrow accounts to protect both buyers and sellers, Liquid Trust applies the same principle to small business payments.

Traditionally, escrow has only been available for large deals. Liquid Trust brings this to small transactions by digitizing the process. Here's how it works:

·         A buyer can invite and verify a vendor into the platform.

·         Funds are held in escrow, not released until pre-set conditions are met.

·         A built-in dispute resolution and arbitration system ensures fairness.

·         The process is as simple as a "Buy Now, Pay Later" model.

This transforms the transaction dynamics. Instead of the buyer taking on 100% of the risk with a wire or upfront deposit, both parties share risk more equitably—improving trust, satisfaction, and cash flow for SMBs.

The Bigger Problem: Why Change the System?

In the traditional system, there are “winners” and “losers”:

·         Winners: Vendors who receive payment up front with little risk.

·         Losers: Buyers who send money and hope everything works out.

But smart SMBs realize that keeping vendors happy is also good business. Building long-term trust and smoother cash flow on both sides of a deal can elevate all partners.

There's a clear gap in the market: SMBs have no access to tools like consumer credit protections, and banks often don’t want to get involved in smaller payments like a $20,000 invoice. It’s not profitable for them.

Liquid Trust fills this gap.

 

Segment 3:

Bank Partnerships: Scaling Trust and Access

Initially, Liquid Trust served SMBs directly. But a strategic pivot is now enabling banks, attorneys, and accountants to offer Liquid Trust’s technology to their small business clients.

Why banks?

·         They are already trusted advisors for SMBs.

·         They need better digital tools to serve modern business clients.

·         They lack solutions for smaller, international transactions.

With this new model, banks integrate Liquid Trust into their ecosystem, giving small businesses access to tools they never had before: protections, conditional payments, and streamlined digital processing.

The Vision Behind Liquid Trust

Liquid Trust was founded by an engineer with a background in finance and technology startups. Originally designed as an accounts payable solution, the platform pivoted after identifying massive friction and risk in global SMB payments.

Key insights:

·         SMBs struggle with payment protections across borders.

·         Legal recourse is impractical—lawsuits are expensive and hard to enforce internationally.

·         Many vendors are in regions where you simply can’t “go knock on the door.”

Liquid Trust, now evolving under the name Escrow Pay, has raised a seed round and is expanding into:

·         Financial institutions and banks

·         Online marketplaces

·         Business-to-business platforms

The future of SMB payments lies in trust, transparency, and built-in protections—all delivered through easy-to-use financial technology.

 

 

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