International Trading Fraud Prevention - www.sterling-bond.com

EscrowSecure - A Safe Way to Trade[A new and unique solution to international trading fraud and the problems of cashflow for British industry.Has your business ever lost a million on a transaction when the customer couldn't pay up? Or not received the money from an Italian shipyardwhen you've just built half an ocean liner for them?The greatest fear of any business, whether trader or customer, in any distant selling relationship is trust. Without trust you cannot have an effective deal, and without trust many opportunities for a good deal can be lost. This is especially so when dealing with new customers in high risk territories such as Africa, Eastern Europe, the Internet.Michael Bond, business consultant and director, formerly based at Manchester University, has formed a new company, Sterling-Bond (www.sterling-bond.com) that has solved this issue; and has begun attracting favourable comment from leading financial sources throughout the UK. The results of his new transaction model for the business tobusiness trading sector include solutions to the issues of non-payment, late payment and trading fraud, whether in the domestic market or dealingwith high risk international customers and territories.At the heart of his solution is an escrow merchant account facility available to traders and their customers. In this his company acts as a safe and neutral trusted third party standing between the trader and customer to ensure an atmosphere of trust. The service - EscrowSecure - acts to hold payment from a customer on behalf of both parties until the supplier has met the order to the customer's satisfaction.From the trader's point of view the cash is in the bank and it's safe to release the consignment. From the customer's point of view the trader doesn't get paid until satisfactory delivery of the order, otherwise the money is returned, with interest.Apart from traders themselves the service is of interest to other finance businesses. Bond has targeted his service at invoice discounting, factoring and trade finance firms in joint partnerships to offer his added security to the high risk transactions they're asked to handle but can't with present mechanisms. From their point of view this enables them to deal with higher risk clients, new business and new or higher risk territories they wouldn't currently trust.There are many other mechanisms for this kind of security. So what's the big deal? Again - CASH IS IN THE BANK! You can have letters of credit, promissory notes, insurance, government guarantees, but there's noting quite so nice as a great big steaming pile of cash waiting for you.There is one very special benefit for this service: no unreliable company, buyer or sellor, will ever use it, so it's a good way to test the honesty and reliability of both parties - this service sorts the men from the boys!BACKGROUNDEscrowSecure is a new service to major traders, especially exporters and importers, but also anyone engaged in any kind of distant trade where there is a continued need to ensure that the customer is good for the money and reassure him that the trader is good for the goods.The service is now being launched by a new company Sterling-Bond (http://www.sterling-bond.com) to offer this new form of escrow-basedmerchant account directly to business and through a growing network of national agents.Sterling-Bond has been established by Michael Bond, former consultant, finance and business manager, following the earlier development of aprototype service when based at Manchester University's Incubation Centre until November 2001. Following his experience there Michael, 43, set out to launch a professional service to the major business to business sector in the UK.From his own researches and comments received over the last few months, the service will have a tremendous influence on the way businesses conducttheir transactions in any form of distant selling. It has the potential to prevent many kinds of trading fraud and Michael has every confidence that EscrowSecure will become the definitive means of creating trust in new trading relationships.---------------------------------------CONTACTFor further information call:Michael BondAddr: Unit 4-38, Houldsworth Mill Business & Arts Centre, Houldsworth St, Reddish, STOCKPORT, Cheshire, SK5 6DA, UKurl:www.sterling-bond.com