How escrow works — the full guide

Overview

NaijaMart Escrow lets two people agree on a deal for anything — a product, a service, freelance work, a deposit — and have the money held safely in between. The payer's money only reaches the payee once delivery is proven; if something goes wrong, either side can raise it and a neutral arbitrator decides. It works for deals made anywhere on NaijaMart and for deals that aren't listed on the platform at all — you can create a custom escrow for any product or service, even one that doesn't exist as a listing.

Starting an escrow

Click Start an Escrow from the home page, the header, or your dashboard. You'll go through five short steps:

1. 1

   1. Parties

   Give the engagement a title and description, set the total amount, and identify the other party — by their existing NaijaMart account, or by email/phone if they aren't on NaijaMart yet.

2. 2

   2. Terms

   Decide who pays the escrow fee: you, the other party, or split between you.

3. 3

   3. Arbitrator

   Choose NaijaMart's own arbitration (the default, always available) or name your own arbitrator if you've already agreed on one together.

4. 4

   4. Milestones

   Break the total into stages that match how the work will actually happen — a deposit, a midpoint, a final payment, or just one milestone for the whole amount. The amounts must add up exactly to the total you set in step 1.

5. 5

   5. Review

   Check everything, then submit. You'll get a shareable link to send the other party.

Accepting an invitation

When you receive an escrow link, you can see the terms straight away — title, amount, and who's involved — without needing an account. To actually accept, you'll need to log in (or create an account if you're new). Once logged in, click Accept — this signs you to the engagement's terms. Both the payer and the payee need to accept before milestones can move forward; each side accepts separately, so no one can sign on the other's behalf.

How milestones work

Every milestone moves through the same stages, and both of you can always see exactly where it stands:

1. 1

   Proposed

   The milestone exists but neither side has agreed to it yet.

2. 2

   Agreed

   Both payer and payee have agreed — funding can now begin.

3. 3

   Funded

   The payer has paid in and the money is held securely.

4. 4

   Delivery claimed

   The payee has submitted proof of delivery (see the delivery section below).

5. 5

   Delivered

   The payer has confirmed receipt — the release window starts now.

6. 6

   Released / Complete

   Funds have moved to the payee. This milestone is done.

Funding a milestone

Once both sides have agreed, the payer funds the milestone. Clicking Fund This Milestone opens a dedicated bank account — created just for this milestone — showing the bank name, account number, account name, and the exact amount to transfer, with a countdown until the account expires.

1. 1

   Transfer the exact amount

   From your own bank account, to the account shown. This account exists only for this one payment.

2. 2

   Confirmation is automatic

   You don't need to do anything else — the page checks for your payment on its own and updates the moment it's confirmed.

3. 3

   If the account expires

   No money is taken. Simply fund the milestone again to get a fresh account.

Delivery — the two-step handshake

Delivery is proven by both sides, deliberately, so neither person's word alone can move money:

1. 1

   Step 1 — the payee submits proof

   A photo of the item or parcel, plus an optional tracking number and courier name. This does not release any money by itself.

2. 2

   Step 2 — the payer confirms with a code

   Every milestone has its own delivery code, visible only to the payer. Entering the correct code confirms delivery and starts the release window. A wrong code is rejected — nothing advances.

Releasing funds

Once delivery is confirmed, the payer clicks Release Funds. The money goes straight to the payee's verified bank account — the same account their identity was verified against. There's no manual bank-details form at release time; this closes off a common scam where someone tries to redirect a payout to a different account at the last minute.

What happens if someone goes silent

Two separate windows protect both sides from the other going quiet:

1. 1

   Delivery deadline

   If the payee never submits delivery proof within the agreed window, the milestone is escalated to arbitration automatically — the payer isn't left waiting indefinitely.

2. 2

   Acknowledgement window

   Once delivery is proven, the payer has a set window to review and either confirm or dispute. If that window passes with no response, funds are released to the payee automatically — a payer can't withhold payment indefinitely by simply not responding.

Disputes & arbitration

Either party can open a dispute on a milestone at any point before it's released — from the detail page, click Open Dispute and describe what's wrong.

1. 1

   The milestone freezes

   No further action — funding, delivery, or release — can happen on that milestone while it's disputed. Everything else in the engagement continues normally.

2. 2

   An arbitrator reviews

   NaijaMart's arbitration team (or your own named arbitrator, if you chose one) reviews the evidence from both sides.

3. 3

   A binding decision is made

   The arbitrator can release the full amount to the payee, refund the full amount to the payer, or split it between both — whatever's fair given the evidence. This decision is final.

You can track any dispute you're part of from My Disputes in your account menu.

Fees

Escrow charges a small fee for holding and moving funds securely — shown clearly before you fund anything, never added silently afterward. When you set up an escrow, you choose whether the payer, the payee, or both split the fee. If a dispute goes to arbitration, an arbitration fee (also agreed up front) applies and is only charged if arbitration is actually used.

Payouts & verification

To receive money through escrow, you need a verified bank account on your NaijaMart profile — this is what keeps payouts safe. Funds are only ever paid to the account that was verified as belonging to you; there's no way to redirect a payout to a different account at the point of release. If you ever need to change your payout account, you'll need to complete verification again for the new one — this is deliberate, so a payout destination can never be swapped quietly.

Your dashboard & disputes

My Dashboard shows every escrow you're part of, as either payer or payee, with filters for active, disputed, and completed engagements. My Disputes shows only the ones with an open dispute, so you can keep track of anything awaiting a decision. Both are reachable from your account menu and the footer on every escrow page.

Frequently asked questions