Global buyers, sourcing around the world
Every tranche gated on proof, not a promise.
You commit the whole order up front, then release it to the seller one tranche at a time, each cleared only when its milestone is backed by evidence and you approve it. Nothing reaches the seller until its milestone is met, so you never wire $120,000 against a promise. Payment execution launches with a licensed provider; the release gate runs today.
- Platform fee
- 1.5%→0.9%with a new seller → once you've completed $50,000 with them
- 7
- Trade corridors covered
At least $25 per payout, never more than $3,000 an order, charged as each tranche is released. The seller pays nothing and receives every tranche in full. Conversion at the mid-market rate adds 0.35%–1.9% by currency.
Shenzhen Hengtai Precision MouldOne commitment in, three releases out
The buyer commits the whole order once. Each tranche is then released to the seller against a document both sides agreed on before the order started. Payment execution goes live with a licensed provider at launch.
- Tranche 130%
Deposit
Released on: Signed PO
Funds the seller's materials purchase, which is what a deposit was always for.
- Tranche 240%
Post-QC
Released on: Inspection report
The largest tranche, behind the only document written by somebody with no stake in the answer.
- Tranche 330%
Dispatch
Released on: Bill of lading
Released when the goods are on a vessel rather than on a floor.
30/40/30 is a common starting point, not a rule. A first order with an unproven seller often holds 20% until delivery is confirmed; a repeat order may need only two tranches. What 30/70 really costs you works through the alternatives.
How milestone payouts work
Four steps, and the money only moves at the fourth.
Agree the tranches
Split the order into milestones and state what evidence releases each one. Start from a template or write your own.
Set the release gate
At launch the buyer commits the full order value up front through a licensed payment provider. That provider is not engaged yet, so funding is not live today. What runs now is the gate itself: each tranche is bound to its milestone, and nothing can be released before its evidence is in.
Evidence each milestone
Documents both sides already produce. Nothing here asks a seller to do anything new. Every file is hashed on receipt, so what is produced in a dispute months later is provably what was submitted.
- A signed purchase order
- Proves the seller accepted the specification and the dates, which is not the same as having discussed them.
- A third-party inspection report
- Written by an inspector the buyer names, against an agreed AQL, not by the seller about itself.
- A bill of lading
- Proves the goods are on a vessel rather than on a floor, and a freight forwarder can confirm it independently.
Release, or hold
The buyer approves and that tranche is cleared to release. If something is wrong, either side raises a dispute and every remaining release is frozen until it is resolved.
Control, evidence, and a record
- You gate each tranche
- Each tranche is bound to the evidence you chose and released only on your approval. Tranchio records that decision and never holds your funds; moving the money is a licensed provider's job, which goes live at launch.
- Every file is hashed on arrival
- What is produced in a dispute months later is provably the file that was submitted, not a version edited afterwards.
- Both parties see the same record
- Every state change is written to an audit trail with the actor, the time and the reason. Neither side has a version the other cannot read.
- Only evidenced tranches are released
- If an order stops, only the tranches you evidenced and approved are ever cleared to pay. The rest is never released.
The same $120,000 order, four ways to pay
Most orders paid by wire arrive as agreed. The difference is what you can prove and control on the ones that do not.
| The question | Bank wire (T/T) | Letter of credit | Marketplace assurance | Tranchio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When does payment reach the seller? | 30% now, the balance on a document copy — on your say-so. | When documents match the terms the banks check. | On the platform's rules, or after it decides a dispute. | One tranche at a time, each when its milestone is evidenced and you approve it. |
| What gates the payment? | Nothing. A wire is a wire. | Conforming documents — banks check paper, not goods. | The platform's rules, for orders placed on it. | Third-party evidence you name in advance, such as an inspection report or a bill of lading, then verified. |
| Who decides a dispute? | No one. A settled wire is final. | The bank, on the documents alone. | The marketplace — about its own suppliers. | A neutral third party, on the evidence, with a written finding both sides see. |
| What can you prove afterwards? | A bank statement. | The document set the bank held. | Whatever the platform shows you. | A hashed, tamper-evident record of every document and decision, exportable as one file. |
| Are the funds held or guaranteed? | No. | Yes — the bank guarantees payment. | Yes — the marketplace holds the funds. | No — Tranchio never custodies funds. At launch a licensed provider moves the money; Tranchio only gates and instructs each payout. |
| Where does it work? | Anywhere. | Anywhere, but rarely worth it below ~US$100,000. | Only orders placed on the marketplace, with its suppliers. | Any supplier, sourced anywhere — including payout to mainland China. |
| Cost and speed | A wire fee and the FX spread. Instant, and irreversible. | 0.75–1.5% plus bank fees; weeks to arrange. | Bundled into the marketplace. | 1.5% new / 0.9% established, on release, plus mid-market conversion with a published fee. Live in days, from ~US$5,000. |
Tranchio's payment execution goes live with a licensed payment provider at launch — none is engaged yet, and no funds move through the platform today. The release gate, evidence capture, hashing and shared audit trail described here run now.
How your corridor settles
All corridors →Funding once and paying out in tranches is the same idea everywhere. What changes is the rail the money moves on, the currency the seller can receive, and the document a bank will accept. Every page below carries facts that are only true of that corridor. If we cannot write those, it does not get a page.
Who this is for
Industrial components
Hong Kong buyers placing repeat tooling orders with Guangdong factories
Consumer hardware
First production runs with suppliers found at trade shows
Trading companies
Hong Kong intermediaries settling across the Shenzhen border
Tranchio is new, and we are onboarding the first orders by hand. If that is interesting rather than off-putting, you will be dealing directly with the people who built it, and the terms of a first order are still a conversation rather than a form. More about the company.
Guides for importers
All guides →Common questions
How is this different from Alibaba Trade Assurance?
Trade Assurance only covers orders placed through Alibaba, with sellers found on Alibaba. Tranchio works with any seller you already have, including factories you found at a trade show or through a sourcing agent, and lets you define your own milestone structure and evidence requirements rather than accepting a fixed template.
When does the money reach the seller?
One tranche at a time, at launch. Tranchio binds each tranche to its milestone and, when the evidence is in and you approve it, records the release of that tranche. A licensed payment provider moves the money on that instruction; none is engaged yet, so payouts are not live today. Nothing a milestone has not met is ever released.
What happens if the seller misses a milestone?
A tranche whose milestone has not been met is never cleared to pay. Either party can raise a dispute, which freezes further releases while it is resolved. If the contract is cancelled, the unreleased balance is simply never paid. Only tranches that were evidenced and approved are ever released.
What is a typical milestone structure?
A common split for manufacturing orders is 30 percent on signed purchase order, 40 percent after third-party pre-shipment inspection passes, and 30 percent on proof of dispatch. For a first order with an unproven seller, holding 20 percent until delivery is confirmed gives the buyer a stronger position that most sellers will still accept.
Can I use Tranchio for my first order with a new seller?
That is the case it exists for. A first order is when neither side has a reason to trust the other: the buyer will not send a deposit to an unknown company, and the seller will not cut tooling on a promise. Funding the full order up front resolves both objections at once. The seller can see the money is real before starting, and the buyer keeps every unreleased tranche.
How much does it cost?
1.5% of the order with a new seller, 0.9% once you have completed $50,000 of orders with them — at least $25 per payout, never more than $3,000 an order, funded with the order and earned as each payout is released. Conversion is at the mid-market rate plus a published fee for the seller's currency. The seller pays nothing and receives every tranche in full. Everything is shown before you fund.
Unfamiliar with a term? The glossary defines 12 trade terms, from Incoterms to CNAPS codes.
Tell us about your next order
Access is by invitation while we are working with a small number of importers. Tell us what you are shipping and who you are shipping it with, and we will tell you honestly whether Tranchio helps.
If the answer is no, because your corridor is not one we can settle in yet or because your relationship with your seller does not need it, we would rather say so than take you through onboarding.