Safely
Escrow, wallets & mediation — built for African trade

Pay strangers like friends.

Safely holds the buyer’s money until the seller delivers. No cash meet-ups, no paying up front and hoping, no chasing invoices. Just deals that close.

Start a protected deal See how it works

Free to sign up · 5% only when a deal completes · USD wallet included

Held in escrow · this quarter

FundedReleasedDisputed

$284,910

JulAugSepOct
Which deals need my action?

Trusted for deals in

Vehicle salesFreelance workElectronicsProperty depositsCross-border supplyMoney clubs

How escrow works

Five steps. Nobody has to go first.

Every Safely deal follows the same clear path, and both sides can see exactly where the money is at every moment.

  1. 01

    Agree the deal

    Buyer or seller opens an escrow with the item, price, delivery date and inspection period. The other side accepts the terms in one tap.

  2. 02

    Buyer funds escrow

    The buyer pays into Safely by card, bank transfer or wallet balance. The seller sees the money is secured — but cannot touch it yet.

  3. 03

    Seller delivers

    The seller ships, hands over or completes the work and marks it delivered. Tracking numbers, photos and documents attach to the deal.

  4. 04

    Buyer inspects

    The buyer checks what arrived during the agreed inspection window. Happy? Approve. Something wrong? Raise a dispute and the money stays put.

  5. 05

    Money is released

    On approval, or when the inspection window lapses with no dispute, funds move to the seller’s wallet, ready to withdraw.

Read the full walkthrough

$0

paid up front to strangers

5%

flat fee, only on completed deals

24h

target time to first mediator response

100%

of held funds recorded in our ledger

Features

Everything a deal needs, in one place.

From a single phone sale to a six-month construction contract, Safely gives both sides the same view of the money and the same set of rules.

Escrow for any deal

One-off purchases, services, vehicles or property deposits — set the terms once and let Safely hold the money in the middle.

Milestone payments

Split large jobs into stages. Each milestone is funded up front and released only when that stage is signed off.

USD wallet

Receive releases, refunds and deposits into a dollar wallet. Withdraw to bank or mobile money, or reuse the balance on your next deal.

Dispute mediation

If something goes wrong, a trained mediator reviews the evidence from both sides and decides how the held funds are split.

Money clubs

Run a savings club or group purchase with contributions held safely until the payout date the group agreed on.

Deal chat & evidence

Every message, photo and document lives on the deal itself — so there is one record if anyone ever needs to check.

Status alerts

Email and in-app notifications at every step: funded, shipped, delivered, approved, released. Nobody is left guessing.

Verified accounts

Identity checks and account-status monitoring mean you know the person on the other side is who they say they are.

Use cases

Built for the deals people actually do.

Wherever money and trust meet, there is a way to use Safely.

Online marketplaces

Protect buyers on classifieds and social-commerce sales where you have never met the seller.

Learn more

Freelancers & agencies

Get paid for design, development and writing work — with the client’s money secured before you start.

Learn more

Vehicles

Buy or sell a car without carrying cash: funds release once the papers and keys change hands.

Learn more

Property

Hold deposits for stands, rentals and building work until the agreed conditions are met.

Learn more

Import & export

Pay suppliers in another country with confidence — release on proof of shipment or arrival.

Learn more

Business to business

Stock orders, equipment and contracts between companies, with milestones and invoices built in.

Learn more

Security & compliance

Your money is held, not handed over.

Funds protection

Escrow money sits in a separate client account and is only moved by the rules both parties agreed to.

HeldReleased
How we protect funds

Segregated client funds

Money held in escrow is kept apart from Safely’s operating money and is only moved by the rules of your deal.

Strong sign-in

Encrypted sessions, short-lived access tokens and account-recovery checks protect every login.

Fraud monitoring

Behaviour analysis flags unusual patterns, and our team can pause a transaction before money moves.

Full audit ledger

Every cent is recorded in a double-entry ledger, so balances can always be reconciled and explained.

Pricing

Simple, and only when it works.

Personal

5%

per completed deal

  • Free account & USD wallet
  • Buyer, seller or split fee
  • Dispute mediation included

Business

From 3.5%

with monthly volume

  • Milestones & bulk deals
  • Team members & roles
  • Reports and statements

Platforms

Custom

API & marketplace escrow

  • Embed escrow in your checkout
  • Webhooks for every status
  • Dedicated onboarding
Compare plans and fees

What people say

Deals that used to need a handshake and a prayer.

“I sell cars to buyers in Bulawayo and the diaspora. Safely means neither of us has to trust a stranger with thousands in cash.”
Vehicle dealer, Harare
“Clients used to ask for the full site build before paying a cent. Now every milestone is funded before we write code.”
Web agency owner, Bulawayo
“We paid a new supplier in South Africa through escrow. They saw the money was there, we saw the goods arrive. Simple.”
Hardware retailer, Mutare

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Can’t find what you need? The help centre covers funding, disputes and withdrawals in detail, or contact our team.

Escrow means a neutral third party holds the payment while a deal is completed. The buyer knows the seller cannot disappear with the money; the seller knows the buyer has actually paid. Safely releases the funds only when the agreed conditions are met.

Your next deal can be the safe one.

Open a free account in two minutes. You only pay when a deal completes.

Create a free account Talk to our team