Tokyo-based Vlightup Inc. has officially launched a next-generation trade finance payment platform built on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The platform, secured by the company's proprietary TRUSTAUTHY technology, is designed to replace the traditional letter of credit (LC) settlement process, cutting transaction times from several days down to seconds or a few minutes.
The platform addresses a long-standing pain point in trade finance: the slow and fragile payment execution layer. While digital documents improved workflow, payment settlements could still be delayed for days due to document discrepancies, processing bottlenecks, or market-driven payment refusals. Vlightup's solution redesigns the settlement execution itself using a mathematically verifiable multi-party consensus mechanism integrated with XRPL's native escrow function.
Key parties in a transaction—importer, exporter, issuing bank, and purchasing bank—each hold signature authority, preventing any single entity from unilaterally blocking or redirecting funds. Payment triggers are linked directly to shipping documents and logistics Oracle data. When pre-agreed conditions are met, funds are released automatically without third-party intervention.
The platform features a geographical authentication layer called GeoAuth, which cross-checks the physical location of signers to prevent unauthorized key use, even after theft. For adoption, Vlightup employed a bolt-on architecture, allowing banks and trading companies to integrate the new settlement layer without discarding existing SWIFT integrations or core systems.
Vlightup is initially targeting mid-sized trading companies, air freight operators, and regional banks. Future plans include stablecoin payment integration, API connections to port and customs systems, and a micro-release system for staged payments to improve working capital for exporters. The company is led by CEO Yoshio Minamoto and is headquartered in Tokyo.
