Cork fintech Trustap raises $5.5m led by TX Ventures

Founded by Conor Lyden in 2017, the former Start-up of the Week aims to become a market leader in trusted transactions across the globe.

Irish fintech Trustap has raised $5.5m in a Series A funding round led by TX Ventures.

In an announcement today (9 July), the Cork start-up founded by Conor Lyden said that its latest round was backed by new investors SeedX, Partners Resolute, Aperture. Other existing backers include MiddleGame Ventures, ACT VC, Atlantic Bridge & FurthrVC.

Trustap has developed a marketplace transaction platform that aims to give buyers and sellers confidence when engaging in an online or face-to-face transaction with someone they don’t know in an escrow-style payment.

Lyden developed the initial concept for Trustap while studying at University College Cork. He went on to participate in the university’s graduate business incubator, Ignite, and officially founded the company in 2017.

The former SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week has customers across Europe, Asia and the US. Some notable customers include Mudah in Malaysia, Preloved in the UK and Student Seats in the US.

With partnerships in 27 countries, Trustap sees a range of products bought and sold in these marketplaces: from electronics and tickets to luxury goods and even vehicles.

“We’re delighted to have closed this round and it’s great to have added new investors to our cap table who bring with them a wealth of experience in our core markets,” Lyden said.

“Our plan is to invest in our GTM [go-to-market] to ensure we make the most of some of the recent partnerships we have established. We’ll also look at adding further product features to cater for the wide range of use cases we deal with across both C2C and B2B marketplaces.”

Trustap raised $3.4m in a seed funding round MiddleGame Ventures in April 2022. The round was backed by Act Venture Capital and Atlantic Bridge, and followed initial funding from early backers such Liam Casey, who was also an early investor in Stripe.

Krzysztof Bialkowski, managing partner of TX Ventures, said that marketplaces will have to offer trusted payment solutions “within the near-mid-term” to avoid missing out on new business.

“Trustap, by providing escrow-like payment options and by lifting the operational burden off the shoulders of marketplaces, offer just that. The product is immensely scalable which is proven by the global presence of clients and the numerous categories Trustap facilitates among buyers and sellers.”

Just last week, Trustap closed a multi-market deal with an undisclosed clothing marketplace that adds another five countries from Central and Eastern Europe to its clientele.

The start-up also recently appointed Ovidiu Solomonov, former COO of European Markets at online classifieds group Adevinta, as chair of its board.

“We have ambitious plans to become the market leader in trusted transactions worldwide, ensuring all users on Trustap-powered marketplaces can transact safely and efficiently,” Lyden added.

“Our initial focus is on continuing to partner with the marketplaces that have the biggest market share in our supported geographies whilst aiming to cater for the longer tail of the market in the medium term.”

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