Understanding LiquidTrust's Principal Guarantee
In our ongoing commitment to transparency and empowering you with choices, we've introduced the Principal Guarantee option for Payees making a withdrawal in USD to a bank account outside the U.S. This feature was previously referred to as our "Transfer Guarantee."
The Principal Guarantee ensures that your payment arrives at your bank without additional intermediary or correspondent bank fees being deducted. This option is available for a fee of $10 USD, which will be taken by LiquidTrust at the time of your withdrawal.
You will now see this option presented to you when you are about to withdraw funds in USD to a non-U.S. bank account:
Why should I select this option?
Without the Principal Guarantee, we cannot ensure that your payment will arrive in full without intermediary or correspondent bank fees being applied.
When we send money to you, our banking partners work with other banks in the global payment network to route your funds to your destination bank. If the banks involved have a direct relationship, fees may be minimal or non-existent. However, in many cases, your payment may need to travel through several intermediary banks before it reaches your account. Each of these banks, including potentially our partners' banks or your receiving bank, may deduct their own fees from your payment. This can result in you receiving less money than expected.
While some banks may recommend specific intermediary paths, these routes are often not publicly known and can change over time. These unpredicted bank fees could potentially reach up to $75 USD, which LiquidTrust does not receive and cannot refund to you.
More information about Intermediary or Correspondent bank fees.
What does the LiquidTrust Principal Guarantee do?
The LiquidTrust Principal Guarantee acts like an insurance policy for your payment. By selecting this option, we ensure that our banking partners absorb or manage any extra bank fees that might otherwise be deducted from your withdrawal by intermediary banks. This guarantees that the exact USD principal amount you withdraw from LiquidTrust is the amount that arrives at your receiving bank.
Why is this happening now?
Our operational costs for facilitating these complex international transactions have increased. Providing the Principal Guarantee also involves a cost to us. Rather than universally raising all fees, we believe it's fairer to offer you the choice to opt for this guarantee based on your specific needs and past experiences with your bank's fees. This allows you to decide if the peace of mind and guaranteed principal amount are worth the $10 USD fee.
What other options do I have?
LiquidTrust offers flexible payout options to suit your preferences:
- Receive Funds in Local Currency (Always $0 Fee): If you have a bank account in a country where we support foreign currency exchange into your local currency (or if you have a secondary currency that is widely accepted, such as the Euro), you can add a payment method to your account in that different currency. Transfers in local foreign currency through LiquidTrust are always $0. The exact exchange rate will be displayed to you in your Wallet before you confirm, so you know precisely how much you can expect to receive.
- Open a U.S. Bank Account (Potentially Lower Fees): Another option is to open a bank account in the United States. This can include a virtual U.S. account through services like Wise or Payoneer, which allow you to receive USD as if you were located in the country. You can then withdraw your funds from these accounts to your local bank later. This option may carry a small LiquidTrust fee depending on your location, but it will never be subject to additional intermediary bank fees from the payment network.
What happens if I still encounter fees?
We want to make this work for you. Should your payment end up with bank fees even with the Principal Guarantee option selected, contact us with a copy of your bank statement showing what you received and we will refund you the difference.