Where are the funds held and what is the Trustap Vault?

A guide to the Trustap Vault: where your funds are held during a transaction, how they move from buyer to seller, and when they're released.

The Trustap Vault is a secure virtual safe that holds the buyer's funds for the duration of a transaction. The buyer never pays the seller directly — instead, the payment sits in the Vault until the item has been received and inspected, protecting both sides if a dispute arises.

Because the funds are held independently of both parties, neither the buyer nor the seller is ever fully exposed. The seller has confirmation that the payment already exists and is committed to the transaction before they hand over the item. The buyer keeps the reassurance that the money hasn't reached the seller yet, so there's still a way to flag a problem if the item doesn't arrive as expected.

All funds held in the Vault are processed through Stripe, one of the world's most secure payment infrastructures, so the money itself is never in Trustap's own accounts — it's held in a segregated, regulated manner until it's released. The Vault only ever does one of three things with a payment: release it to the seller once the transaction completes successfully, refund it to the buyer if a dispute is resolved in their favour, or split it between both parties when a dispute finds shared fault.

Learn more: How is Trustap regulated?

How the Vault works

Regardless of how the item is delivered, every transaction follows the same core flow:

1

Buyer sends payment to the Vault

The buyer sends the agreed price to the Trustap Vault, where it's held securely rather than paid to the seller directly.

2

Item is delivered or handed over

The seller sends or hands over the item, and the buyer receives it.

3

Complaint period begins

The buyer has a set period to inspect the item and raise any issue through our complaint process. If a complaint is raised, the funds remain protected by Trustap until the issue is resolved. 

4

Funds are released to the seller

Once the complaint period has elapsed with no issue raised, the Vault releases the full amount to the seller. 

What is the complaint period?

It's a set period of time after the item is received or handed over, during which the buyer can inspect it and raise a complaint if there's an issue. If no complaint is raised before it ends, the funds are released to the seller.

Step-by-step guides

For a detailed walkthrough of the transaction process, see the guide that matches your role:

• Step-by-step transaction guide for buyers
• Step-by-step transaction guide for sellers

  

Need help? Contact our Support Team