Cross-border online payments provider Payoneer has added escrow payments to its services after completing its acquisition of Armor Payments.
Silicon-Valley based Armor Payments is a licensed business-to-business payment provider offering escrow-as-a-service.
Payoneer will now offer buyers and sellers the option to eliminate risk and uncertainty on high-value B-to-B payments through the escrow payments service, the company said in a March 15 press release.
By combining Armor's security with Payoneer's multi-currency cross-border payments, Payoneer says it is addressing a huge B-to-B market of transactions between $500 and $1 million for which credit cards or letters of credit are not suitable.
"The payments infrastructure for businesses has hardly changed in the past 30 years and it's time that businesses are given the same high level of trust, security and ease of use that consumers have been enjoying all this time," Scott Galit, CEO of New York-based Payoneer, said in the release.
"The escrow solution of Armor Payments fills in a critical missing link for B-to-B transactions, and moves beyond payments to address the trust gap that often exists between trading partners," Galit added.
Without an escrow account, businesses could potentially seek another payment solution that could expose them to unnecessary risk, or miss opportunities for larger transactions by simply not taking them, Galit said.
Armor Payments acts as a trusted third-party intermediary between buyers and sellers, holding funds in secure escrow accounts until both parties are satisfied that the delivery of goods or services has been completed.
The software solution allows B2B marketplaces to integrate an application interface and offer secure payments that protect their buyers and sellers.
Scott Reynolds, co-founder and CEO of Armor Payments, said joining Payoneer was a "natural step" for his company.
"It will open up our solutions to the huge and underserved international B-to-B market," Reynolds said in the release.
Armor Payments staff will join Payoneer's office in California and the company will maintain Armor's development center in North Carolina.
Last month, Payoneer established cross-border, commission-based payments for Stockholm-based digital marketing company
Payoneer has also positioned itself to serve the growing global e-commerce market in Asia, particularly in
