Membership Terms

1.Eligibility

Applicants must be independently owned freight forwarders or NVOCCs with a verifiable company registration, at least two years of trading history, and three trade references from companies that have shipped with them. Carriers, brokers and software vendors may be listed as Vendors and are not Members.

The Operator verifies registration, screens principals and the company against sanctions lists, and contacts references directly. Approval is at the Operator’s discretion and may be withheld without reason. Verified listing is free; paid tiers are Member and Elite.

2.Companies, branches and seats

Membership is granted to a legal entity, not an office. Branch offices are sub-profiles of the parent at no additional fee, share the parent’s TrustScore and protection limit, and count once toward market caps.

Member includes 5 user seats and Elite 15. Additional seats are US$25 per seat per month. Seats are for employees of the Member only; sharing credentials is grounds for suspension.

3.Market caps and waitlists

Each market cluster admits at most 5 Member and 2 Elite companies. When a market is full, approved applicants are placed on a waitlist and can see their position. Seats are released on non-renewal, expulsion, or a cap increase approved by the Elite Council. Verified listing is never capped.

4.Fees, term and refunds

Annual fees are US$2,900 (Member) and US$5,900 (Elite), billed in advance for a 12-month term. Specialty add-ons are US$1,200 each per year. There is no lock-in beyond the current term and no automatic multi-year commitment.

A Member may cancel within the first 60 days of a term for a pro-rata refund of the unused period. After 60 days fees are non-refundable, except where the Operator terminates membership without cause.

Escrow fees are 0.6% of each settlement, capped at US$250, charged to the payer on release, and waived for Elite. Deposits and withdrawals are free.

5.TrustScore

Every company carries a TrustScore from 0 to 1,000 computed nightly from six components with published weights: verification 25%, payment behaviour 30%, responsiveness 15%, dispute record 15%, tenure and activity 10%, peer endorsements 5%. The score is derived only from behaviour recorded on the platform.

Members may not solicit, purchase or trade endorsements. Endorsements may only be given between companies that have completed at least one shipment together on the platform.

6.Conduct

Members must respond to RFQs they are invited to within the stated window or decline; must invoice through the platform for any deal awarded on it; must not use counterparty data obtained from the Network to approach that counterparty’s customers; and must comply with the Code of Conduct.

Breaches may result in a warning, suspension, or expulsion. Suspensions and expulsions are listed on the public Risk Register with the reason code.

7.TIME Pay escrow

Funds deposited to TIME Pay are held in a segregated client account and are not the Operator’s property. A settlement funded into escrow is released to the payee when the payer confirms proof of delivery, when the auto-release window (14 days after POD) elapses without a dispute, or when a dispute ruling directs it.

The Operator does not extend credit and does not guarantee payment outside the escrow balance actually funded.

8.Protection Plan

The Protection Plan is a member-funded pool, not an insurance policy. Coverage limits are US$75,000 per company per year for Member and US$150,000 for Elite, from a pool the Operator maintains at a minimum of US$2.5 million. Exclusions, filing windows and the claims process are stated on the Protection page and are incorporated here.

Claims paid, denied and days-to-ruling are published on the Network Health page in aggregate.

9.Disputes

Disputes between Members regarding a platform shipment are ruled by the Operator’s mediation panel from the platform record, with a written ruling by day 21 of the claim and payment of upheld claims from the pool by day 28. Rulings are binding within the Network. A Member who does not comply with a ruling within 30 days is suspended. Either party may pursue arbitration or the courts; the Network’s rulings do not waive legal rights.

10.Data

The Operator processes Member data as described in the Privacy Policy. Aggregate, anonymised deal data (lane, mode, price bands, transit times) is used to produce the benchmarks shown to Members. No Member’s individual quotes or invoices are shown to another Member without their involvement in the deal.

11.Termination

Either party may end membership at the end of the current term with notice. The Operator may suspend or terminate for breach with immediate effect. On termination, open escrow settlements are completed under these terms and the Member’s public profile is retired.

12.Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Operator is incorporated, which will be stated here before commercial launch. Elite Members elect an Elite Council which is consulted on changes to caps, fees and protection limits; changes take effect at the start of a Member’s next term.