By The LiquidTrust team 

LiquidTrust is a payments innovation company serving FIs, B2B platforms and SMBs globally.

LiquidTrust™ Wins Datos Impact Award for Innovation in Bank Payment Protection

Banks face growing challenges in helping small and midsize business (SMB) clients trade globally. Cross-border payments are still too slow, opaque, and risky — eroding SMB confidence and bank fee income.

Now, that trust gap is closing. LiquidTrust™ was named a Silver Medalist in the 2025 Datos Impact Awards for its flagship solution, Protected Pay powered by our patent-pending Micro Escrow™ technology.

This recognition highlights how LiquidTrust™ helps banks deliver safer, compliant payment experiences while unlocking new growth opportunities.

Read the full press release here →

Recognizing Innovation That Builds Trust

Presented annually by Datos Insights, the Datos Impact Awards spotlight financial institutions and fintech partners advancing innovation in commercial banking and payments.

Protected Pay was selected in the Best Innovation for Product Development category for embedding payment protection and automated verification directly into bank payment flows.

Already live with a top 10 North American bank, Protected Pay gives SMB clients peace of mind when paying or collecting across borders — while helping banks reduce fraud exposure and compliance friction.

How Protected Pay Works

Protected Pay transforms how banks manage high-risk or cross-border transactions:

1. Verify counterparties — Automated Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Business (KYB), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks confirm both parties before funds move.

2. Hold funds safely — Payments are stored in a regulated, subledgered account until verified milestones are met.

3. Release with confidence — Once delivery or performance is confirmed, funds are automatically disbursed, creating a complete audit trail.

Banks can integrate Protected Pay via API or white-label interface, gaining escrow-grade protection without new licensing or manual reviews.

Micro Escrow™ — a transaction-level trust mechanism developed by LiquidTrust™ that embeds conditional fund control and compliance verification into each payment. It enables secure, milestone-based settlement across borders.

What the Recognition Means for Banks

Receiving the Datos Impact Award validates the growing need for built-in payment protection in the commercial banking ecosystem.

“Winning a Datos Impact Award underscores how urgent it is to build trust directly into business payments,” said Saujin Yi, Founder & CEO of LiquidTrust. “Protected Pay gives financial institutions and platforms a new way to protect SMB clients in global trade — combining counterparty verification with milestone-based payments.”

For banks, the impact is tangible:

• Reduce compliance workload and false positives

• Retain deposits through protected accounts

• Increase non-interest income via protection fees

• Restore SMB confidence in global trade

The Bigger Picture: Turning Compliance into Growth

LiquidTrust™ continues to partner with forward-thinking banks to make trust a core part of every transaction.
By automating verification and fund control, Protected Pay helps risk teams stay compliant while relationship managers focus on client growth.

Future updates will extend analytics, sanctions screening, and global payout capabilities — empowering banks to scale safely across 200+ countries.

Internal Link:
Official Datos Impact Award Press Release →