Escrow in Nigeria,
done right

Escrow is a secure way to pay where a trusted third party holds your money until both sides of a deal are satisfied. Instead of paying a seller directly and hoping they deliver, your funds sit safely in an escrow account. The money is only released to the seller once you confirm the service or product was delivered as agreed. It protects buyers from paying for nothing, and protects sellers by proving the buyer has real, committed funds.

On TrustAm, when you book a service or buy a product, your payment goes into a secure escrow account rather than straight to the seller. The escrow is held in partnership with Rubies Microfinance Bank, a CBN-licensed microfinance bank. The seller can see the money is secured and starts the work. Once the job is delivered and you confirm you are happy, the funds are released from escrow to the seller. If something goes wrong, you can open a dispute and TrustAm reviews the evidence before releasing or refunding.

Yes. Escrow funds are held with Rubies Microfinance Bank, which is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). TrustAm does not hold your deposits directly — the money sits in a regulated financial institution until it is released. All payments are processed through CBN-licensed payment providers, and every transaction is protected by PIN authorisation.

Buyers pay no extra escrow fee — the price you see is the price you pay. TrustAm charges the seller a small 5% service fee only when a job is completed successfully, so sellers keep 95% of every payment. There are no hidden charges for using escrow protection.

Because your money is held in escrow and never released automatically, you are protected. If a seller fails to deliver the agreed service or product, you open a dispute. TrustAm reviews evidence from both sides, usually within 24–48 hours, and if the dispute is resolved in your favour, your money is refunded from escrow. You never lose funds for a job that was not delivered.

You can use TrustAm escrow for any deal where trust matters: booking service providers (hairdressers, makeup artists, caterers, tailors, mechanics, cleaners, event planners and more), buying products from marketplace sellers, or paying for freelance and gig work. Escrow is ideal any time you are dealing with someone you have not worked with before.

With a normal bank transfer, your money leaves your account and goes straight to the seller — if they disappear or under-deliver, recovering it is hard. With escrow, the money is held by a neutral, regulated third party and is only released when you confirm delivery. It removes the "pay first and pray" risk that comes with direct transfers to strangers online.

Funds are released from escrow to the seller only after you confirm the service or product was delivered as agreed. For milestone-based jobs, money can be released in stages as each milestone is completed. If you take no action after delivery, an auto-release window applies so honest sellers still get paid on time.