Whether you are a buyer looking to purchase products to power your production line, or a supplier looking to land your next new customer, Transaction Assurance allows you to finalize deals with confidence.
What is Transaction Assurance?
Transaction Assurance protects both Buyers purchasing products and services from Thomas Registered/Verified Suppliers or Xometry Partners and Thomas Registered/Verified Suppliers /Xometry Partners selling to Buyers on the Thomasnet.com platform. Buyers may dispute payments made through the Industrial Buying Engine™ due to issues with an order placed with a Thomas Registered or Verified Supplier or a Xometry Partner within twenty-one (21) days from the delivery date or intended delivery date. Suppliers automatically get Net 30 payment terms directly from Thomas on every quote purchased through the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™, eliminating the need to negotiate terms with each buyer and removing the risk of collecting payment for the order.
How do I activate Transaction Assurance when I purchase products and services through the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™?
Transaction Assurance is activated for Buyers when you:
- Place your order through the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™ with a Thomas Registered or Thomas Verified Supplier, or a Xometry Partner: Select and purchase from Thomas Registered/Thomas Verified suppliers or Xometry Partners to automatically activate Transaction Assurance on your purchase. These businesses have been validated by Thomas and Xometry as Premium Suppliers that are ready to support your business. These suppliers are easy to identify, just look for one of these badges on the left-hand side of the search results:
or
.
- Pay through the secure system on the Industrial Buying Engine™: When you pay online through the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™’s secure payment platform, your order is protected by Transaction Assurance. The basis of protection is the online order from the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™ coupled with the Supplier being an approved and badged Thomas Registered/Thomas Verified Supplier or Xometry Partners. Transaction Assurance is only applicable when both of these criteria are met.
- Inspect the shipment for accuracy and quality: Thomas Registered /Verified Suppliers/Xometry Partners aim to deliver Buyers the best quality service. If you do not receive the products, the products you receive are not what you ordered, or the products are not up to the agreed-upon quality level, Buyers may dispute payments made within twenty-one (21) days from the delivery date or intended delivery date. If, upon review and investigation, Thomas determines that a refund of fees paid is appropriate, a refund amount shall be processed within 30 days of Thomas determining a refund is appropriate.
How do I protect my business when I sell products or services through the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™?
Transaction Assurance is activated for Suppliers when you:
- Establish your business as a Thomas Registered Supplier, Thomas Verified Supplier, or become a Xometry Partner: Setup your business as a Thomas Registered or Thomas Verified supplier by working with Thomas to validate your location, business information, and products/services provided directly by your business (not through a 3rd party). Once established as a Thomas Registered or Thomas Verified Supplier, your business will be eligible to display the appropriate badge for your validation level. This badge is a signal to buyers that your business has been reviewed by Thomas and is prepared to support new opportunities. You may also sign up to become a Xometry Partner which will additionally allow you to receive quotes from buyers through the Xometry Marketplace.
- Respond to requests for quotes through the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™: When you receive a request for a quote from a Buyer, submit your project quote through the Industrial Buying Engine™. The Buyer can then review the details of your quote and decide to purchase through the secure payment platform in the Industrial Industrial Buying Engine™.
- Complete the transaction through the secure system on the Industrial Buying Engine™: The Buyer can select their preferred method of payment to complete the purchase using the secure payment system in the Industrial Buying Engine™. As part of Transaction Assurance, no matter what option the buyer chooses to provide payment, your payment terms are automatically set to Net 30 upon notification of the fulfillment of the order. Thomas is responsible to collect from the Buyer based on their selected or pre-negotiated terms with Thomas - removing the risk of non-payment for your business.
Is Transaction Assurance free for Buyers?
Transaction assurance is free for buyers. It is activated automatically when a Buyer places an order from a Thomas Registered/Verified Supplier/Xometry Partner and pays through the Industrial Buying Engine on Thomasnet.com. Transaction Assurance does not cover orders and purchases from Non-Thomas Registered/Verified Suppliers/Xometry Partners on the platform.
Do Suppliers pay a fee for Transaction Assurance?
Thomas Registered/Verified Suppliers/Xometry Partners do not pay a transaction fee to use the Industrial Buying Engine or to gain the Net-30 terms of Transaction Assurance, this is included in the existing Thomas Program (it is displayed as 0% in the system). Claimed Thomas Suppliers pay a transaction fee of 4.5% to facilitate the automatic Net 30 payment, removal of the financial risk of the transaction, and elimination of collection efforts that Transaction Assurance provides. There are no other required transaction fees.
Can a Supplier get paid faster than Net 30?
Yes, Thomas Registered/Verified Suppliers/Xometry Partners can leverage FastPay Financial Services to get paid as fast as Net 3. If a Supplier opts to utilize the FastPay service between the 1st and 14th day of shipping the order, the buyer pays a 4% expediting fee. If the Buyer opts to use the Fast Pay service between the 15th and 29th day of shipping the order the buyer pays a 2% expediting fee. These services are optional for Thomas Registered/Verified Suppliers/Xometry Partners.
When should a Buyer dispute a payment?
Buyers may dispute payments made due to issues with an order within twenty-one (21) days from the delivery date or intended delivery date. If, upon review and investigation, Thomas determines that a refund of fees paid is appropriate, a refund amount shall be processed within 30 days of Thomas determining a refund is appropriate.
A Buyer disputed a payment. What happens now?
Thomas may perform any of the following to investigate the dispute as part of Transaction Assurance: review the original order details and messaging communications, contact the buyer to discuss the dissatisfaction, contact the Supplier to review the concerns, review the shipping information, and may require further documentation from either party including quote documentation, pictures, CAD files, prints, and more. After reviewing the details of the transaction, Thomas will provide final review findings and any action taken to both the Buyer and Supplier.
How will a Buyer receive a refund or credit?
If appropriate, Thomas will approve a refund or credit against the mode of payment the Buyer used for the transaction within 30 days of Thomas determining a refund is appropriate.
Does a buyer need to send the products back to the Supplier when applying for a refund?
If there is a dispute on payment, Thomas will provide instructions for returning products.
What happens if a Supplier is found to be at fault in the Transaction Assurance review process?
If Thomas determines that a Thomas Registered/Verified Supplier/Xometry Partner is at fault in a transaction dispute, the Supplier may have their Net 30 payment canceled or be required to refund any payments made by Thomas. If a Thomas Registered/Verified Supplier/Xometry Partner is found to be willfully negligent or purposefully deceptive in their dealings with Buyers or has repeated transaction disputes, they may be delisted and permanently banned from the Thomasnet.com platform, and may be subject to legal action.
What happens if a Buyer abuses the Transaction Assurance process?
Buyers may not misuse the dispute terms or process of Transaction Assurance. If Thomas determines that a Buyer is abusing the Transaction Assurance terms or processes this may result in a range of actions, including the loss of Transaction Assurance coverage, issuing warnings to Buyers, blocking Buyers from disputing transactions, account suspension, and legal action.
Where can I get more information about Transaction Assurance?
For the complete Transaction Assurance Terms of Service, visit this page.