Frequently asked questions
Quick answers
Start with what TumiTrust is — then open the section that matches how you use the platform. For deeper product detail, see Get started, the Glossary, or the Trust platform API.
General
What is TumiTrust?
TumiTrust is Portable Trust Infrastructure (PTI) in production — the reference implementation that turns verified real-world activity into structured, portable trust signals for authorized decisions.
Organizations already create trust through employment, lending relationships, transactions, certifications, operations, and community life. TumiTrust helps that trust travel — with purpose, consent, and explainability — instead of staying locked inside one system.
Overview: Why PTI · PTI introduction · Product overview
What is Portable Trust Infrastructure (PTI)?
PTI is the category: infrastructure for moving trust signals across ecosystems. Identity, payments, and credit each answer important questions. They do not answer how verified trust moves between institutions when a decision is on the line. That is what PTI is for.
TumiTrust runs PTI in production. The open specification defines the category for anyone building a compatible platform.
What problem does TumiTrust solve?
Trust often stops at the organization that earned it. A bank may know repayment history; an employer may know work history; a cooperative may know member reliability — but that proof rarely moves when the next decision needs it.
TumiTrust is the layer that lets verified information be exchanged in the right context, so people and organizations repeat less verification and decide with clearer evidence.
Is TumiTrust a credit bureau or credit scoring platform?
No.
We do not replace credit bureaus, identity systems, or your existing risk stack. PTI complements them with context-scoped, explainable trust signals you can use alongside processes you already run.
We do not originate loans, hold deposits, or decide for you. Institutions make their own decisions.
Who uses TumiTrust?
Three roles on the same network:
- Institutions and verifiers — run authorized trust lookups and (where relevant) issue badges
- Partners (trust producers) — send verified activity through connectors
- Individuals — build a portable Trust CV with consent controls
Typical sectors: financial institutions, employers, insurers, marketplaces, cooperatives, NGOs, governments, education providers, and infrastructure partners.
For institutions · For partners · For individuals
Does TumiTrust replace our existing systems?
No. Your HR, banking, ERP, CRM, or identity systems stay the source of truth. TumiTrust is the trust layer that makes verified information usable across authorized workflows — via hub, API, reports, and partner integrations.
Are organizations sharing their data with TumiTrust?
We are not built around collecting or owning organizational data lakes. Organizations stay in control. Signals move when there is an authorized purpose, permissions, and a clear integration path.
Why not build this in-house?
You can build internal verification. Interoperability is harder. PTI is the network layer for trusted information — similar to how payment networks let different institutions transact without each rebuilding the rails.
How do organizations get value?
Less repeated verification, clearer decisions on thin files, optional screening beside trust workflows, better partner integrations, and new trust-enabled services — without ripping out systems you already run.
Can individuals benefit?
Yes. People need portable ways to prove employment, credentials, and trusted relationships. TumiTrust supports that with a Trust CV, community validation, and visibility controls. See For individuals.
How do I get started?
Pick one workflow — employment verification, lending support, merchant onboarding, credentials, partner ingest, or screening — then expand contexts on the same platform.
Get started · Register · hi@tumitrust.com
Is TumiTrust available in my country?
We focus on emerging markets where web and app releases are published. Connectors, languages, and institution programs vary by market — tumitrust.com shows what is live where you are.
How much does it cost?
Individuals: Building a profile, community validation, and Trust CV sharing are free in usual consumer flows.
Trust lookups / reports: The structured report debits credits from whoever runs it — an organization in the hub or API, or a member in the app where lookups are offered.
Institutions: Report credits and API capacity are per contract — see billing in your institution hub.
Partners: Usage for ingest and compute is metered (Trust Compute Units) — Partner billing.
For individuals (web & mobile)
Do I need the mobile app?
No. Web and mobile share the same platform ideas. Get started · For individuals
How do I sign up?
- Open tumitrust.com or install from the App Store / Google Play where listed
- Sign up with the options shown (often email)
- Complete the profile and identity steps marked required
- Strengthen with connectors or badges when you are ready
- Share your Trust CV when asked for proof; run a lookup only when you need someone else’s report (credits apply)
Can I use TumiTrust if I'm unbanked?
Yes. Many people start with endorsements, badges, and optional connectors — no traditional bank account is required to build a profile. TumiTrust does not replace a bank; it helps you show credibility you already have.
What documents do I need?
Typically a national ID or passport, your sign-in identifier, and a profile photo. Employment letters, tenancy agreements, or connector summaries are optional — only when you choose to add them.
How long does verification take?
Identity is often minutes (sometimes up to about a day if review is needed). Connectors usually finish minutes after the provider flow. Badges depend on the institution — same day to a few days is common. Your trust profile refreshes after new inputs land.
Trust profiles & contexts
TumiTrust is not a credit bureau or a single-purpose scoring app. A trust profile holds portable, multi-context proof. Where the product shows numeric indicators, they are decision-support for that context — used alongside your existing processes, not as a bureau-style credit score.
What is a trust profile?
Portable proof built from community validation, institution badges, partner-linked activity, and platform rules. You may see an overall indicator and per-context rows (employment, rental, lending, merchant, and others). Field names for integrators are in the API reference.
What is a Trust CV?
The portable profile you share — link or QR — within your visibility settings. It is how you present your story without starting from zero every time. A Trust CV is not the same as a formal institution trust report.
What are trust contexts?
Life-area scopes on the PTI map so one slice (for example rent) is not silently mixed with unrelated commerce. Full table: Documented trust contexts · Glossary
How long to build a strong profile?
You can start the same day with identity, a few endorsements, and optional connectors. We do not promise a fixed timeline or numeric outcome in public docs — your app and any report you generate show where you stand.
Can indicators change over time?
Yes. Indicators move as endorsements, badges, connectors, and integrity reviews change. TumiTrust does not service your loan or lease — talk to the institution you owe first for contract issues.
How often is a trust profile updated?
After meaningful inputs — new endorsement, badge, connector refresh, or partner-linked activity. Many changes appear within minutes; heavier processing may take up to about an hour. Pull-to-refresh or reopen the app if something seems slow.
Community validation & endorsements
How do endorsements work?
Someone in your network vouches for you — often per context (lending, rental, and so on), with optional strength or message. Endorsements from credible, active profiles usually read stronger.
Who can endorse me?
Anyone on the platform; quality beats quantity. People who know you directly and have established profiles carry more weight.
Can I request endorsements?
Yes — send a simple link from the app. Common sources: colleagues, landlords, merchants, community members.
What if an endorsement is false?
Abuse detection and review may remove bad endorsements and affect accounts involved. Contact hi@tumitrust.com if something looks wrong.
Badges & verification
What are badges?
Institution-backed verification on your profile — employment, tenancy, insurance, education, merchant history, and similar where supported.
How do I get a badge?
Request through the platform → the institution confirms → the badge appears (instant for integrated institutions; otherwise often one to two days).
Do badges expire?
Influence can decay over time so old verification is not treated like yesterday’s news. Renewals refresh the signal where the institution supports them.
Can badges be revoked?
Yes — when a relationship ends, an institution reports misconduct, fraud is confirmed, or you request removal.
What is a verifier institution?
Organizations that issue badges and run credential or employment verification — not only passive report consumers. For institutions
Trust lookups & reports
What is the difference between Trust CV and a trust lookup?
| Path | Typical cost | What they get |
|---|---|---|
| Trust CV (you share) | Free in usual flows | Your profile link/QR within visibility settings |
| Trust lookup | Runner’s credits | Structured trust report + time-limited access (often PDF) |
Glossary: trust lookup · Glossary: Trust CV
How do I verify a report someone showed me?
Reports include a Report ID and often a QR or verification URL on tumitrust.com. Scan or enter the ID to confirm status and metadata.
How long is a lookup report valid?
Access is time-limited — the app shows the window. After expiry the runner needs a new lookup (credits apply).
Can I see who ran a lookup on me?
Where exposed, in-app activity or notifications may show lookup-related events. That differs from Trust CV shares you initiate.
What is in a trust report?
Typically a headline summary, per-context indicators, an explain summary, badges, network summaries, and signals authorized for that report — not a raw dump of every private message or transaction. Exact fields depend on tier, contexts requested, and your plan.
For institutions & verifiers
What does an institution account do?
Trust consumers run Lookup Studio flows: search subjects, generate context-scoped reports, download PDFs, and integrate via API. For institutions
How do report credits work?
Institutions purchase report credits (and API capacity) per contract. Each successful generate debits per product rules — see billing in your hub.
Can we integrate without the hub UI?
Yes — Trust platform API: search, generate, poll, intelligence, webhooks.
What contexts can we request on a report?
Any contexts[] your plan allows from the documented context IDs. Unknown slugs return 400.
What is a verifier vs a report consumer?
Consumers run lookups. Verifiers also issue badges and operate verification queues. Same tenant model; role chosen at onboarding.
Do we need webhooks or TCU?
Only if you also register as a trust producer. Pure consumers use credits on reports, not partner metering. For partners
Screening
What is TumiTrust Screening?
A hosted TumiTrust product for sanctions, PEP, and UN Security Council list checks — with hub workflows, partner embeds, and Compliance Center audit. It is not part of the open PTI specification. Guide: Screening services.
Is Screening the same as a trust report?
No. Screening answers whether someone appears on lists you care about. Trust reports describe portable trust across contexts. Use Screening alone for KYC-style checks, or together with risk-assessment lookups.
Can we embed Screening in our own app?
Yes — screening embed and partner API keys (widgets scope). See Screening services and the Trust platform API.
For partners (trust producers)
What is a trust producer?
An organization that feeds trust signals into TumiTrust — commerce, lending, telco, utilities — via webhook, API, or CSV. You get Pulse, Partner Operations, and usage metering. For partners
What is TCU?
Trust Compute Units — the postpaid meter for partner ingest and recompute work, with per-context breakdown. Partner billing · Glossary: TCU
How do we send events?
- Complete partner onboarding and enable trust contexts
- Configure a connector (webhook URL, credentials, event catalog)
- Send events with the correct
context_idandevent_type - Confirm in Pulse / Insight Studio
Connector configuration · CSV upload
One partner ID or many?
One partner ID per organization, many contexts on one connector — unless your contract requires otherwise.
What is hybrid hub mode?
Same tenant produces and consumes — producer widgets (Pulse, usage) plus consumer lookup tools. Glossary: hub mode
What is PTI-ID?
Portable subject key (pti_…) linking your platform’s entity ids to trust outcomes. Glossary: PTI-ID
Optional connectors & data
Why connect mobile money or similar?
In supported regions, optional connectors can summarize patterns that strengthen a thin file — only if you turn them on. TumiTrust does not lend; connectors are one signal among endorsements and badges.
Is connector data secure?
Encrypted in transit and at rest; used for authorized trust indicators and report fields — not sold for unrelated advertising. Enterprise questionnaires: hi@tumitrust.com.
Can I disconnect data sources?
Yes where the product exposes controls. Removing sources changes how indicators are calculated — plan before an important share or lookup.
Privacy & security
Who can see my trust profile?
You control visibility.
- Trust CV shares: recipients see your profile within your visibility settings
- Trust lookups: individuals or organizations with credits and product entitlements may run a lookup under platform rules and applicable law — different from casually browsing search
- Partners: see what your ingest contract allows — not a free browse of everyone’s full history
Can an employer see my full financial history?
Not by default. Recipients see context-scoped indicators and summaries authorized for that workflow or report — not unlimited access to your device or every transaction everywhere.
How does TumiTrust make money?
Institutions and partners pay for lookups, reports, and metered ingest. Individuals may buy lookup credits where offered. We do not sell personal data to unrelated advertisers.
What if I suspect fraud?
hi@tumitrust.com or in-app support where enabled. We investigate, freeze accounts when needed, and restore correct outcomes when abuse is confirmed.
API & integrations
Does TumiTrust have an API?
Yes — REST under /api/v1/, OpenAPI at tumitrust.com/api/docs/. Start: Trust platform API.
Sandbox for testing?
Sandbox API keys and daily generate budgets are in API & trust signals in your hub. See sandbox and live API keys.
Webhooks for report completion?
Yes — register HTTPS endpoints with session JWT; verify HMAC on deliveries. Reports themselves use X-API-Key. Webhooks section
Can partners embed trust indicators?
Merchant explain / embed / widget flows use /api/v1/pti/explain/… — separate from institution trust-reports lookups. OpenAPI: tumitrust.com/api/docs/.
Reliability
Does “works on my phone” mean the platform handles everyone at once?
Not by itself. Decision-time infrastructure must stay usable under load. Flows should complete on slower networks and during busy periods — see Glossary: busy-time reliability.
Support
How do I contact support?
- Help center: tumitrust.com/help/
- Email: hi@tumitrust.com
- Institutions (signed in): Support ticket portal
- In-app: support chat where enabled for your region
Where to learn more?
- Documentation home
- Glossary
- For individuals · For institutions · For partners
- Screening services
- Site FAQ: tumitrust.com/faq/
Still have questions?
Start at the Help center or email hi@tumitrust.com — or explore: