Escrow Payment Explained

Escrow is like a referee in a transaction. Instead of you handing money directly to a vendor, you hand it to an independent third party. That third party only releases the money when both sides have fulfilled their part of the deal.

In online shopping, escrow means: you pay, but the vendor doesn't receive the money until you confirm you got your order in good condition. If something goes wrong, the escrow service refunds you.

1. Order placed: You pay for an item on PBridge. Your money goes into a secure account at Flutterwave (a CBN-licensed payment processor) — NOT to the vendor.

2. Funds held: PBridge tracks the order. The vendor sees the order is paid, but they don't receive any money yet. This motivates them to ship quickly and accurately.

3. Delivery: The vendor ships your order. You track it through your PBridge account.

4. Inspection window: You have 7 days from delivery to inspect the item. If it matches the listing, click Confirm Received. Payment releases.

5. Auto-release: If you don't respond after 7 days and there's no dispute, payment auto-releases to the vendor. This protects vendors from buyers who simply stop responding.

If your order has a problem (wrong item, damaged, counterfeit, never arrived), raise a dispute through your order page within 7 days of delivery.

The escrow is immediately paused. The vendor cannot withdraw the money. Our team reviews the dispute within 48 hours and makes a decision. If you're right, you get a full refund. If the vendor is right, the funds release to them.

Most disputes are resolved within 48 hours. Complex cases involving counterfeit verification may take up to 5 business days.

Pay-on-delivery only works for the moment of handover. You can inspect the item briefly and refuse if it's wrong. But if you discover a problem hours later (counterfeit electronics that fail after charging, fake perfume that smells wrong, damaged item under packaging), you have no protection.

Escrow gives you 7 days to inspect. You can take an iPhone home, charge it, set up Face ID, verify the serial number with Apple — and if anything is wrong, you're refunded. That's why high-value purchases are safer with escrow than with pay-on-delivery.

Yes. Escrow funds are held at Flutterwave, a Central Bank of Nigeria licensed payment processor with full regulatory compliance. The funds are segregated — they are not PBridge's operating capital and are not used for business operations.

Even in the unlikely event of business disruption, escrow funds remain held at Flutterwave under regulatory oversight, separate from any business issues.

We don't treat escrow as a premium feature or a special service for high-value orders. Every single transaction on PBridge — from a ₦5,000 phone case to a ₦5,000,000 generator — goes through SafeHold™ Escrow.

This is the foundation of trust on the platform. Both buyers and vendors benefit: buyers know they're protected, and vendors who deliver well earn quickly and consistently.