How escrowed payment works

"Your money is protected" is a sentence everyone writes. Here is what it covers at Peercel, in the order things actually happen.

1. The agreement

Sender and traveller have agreed on a price. At this point nothing has moved: the listing is reserved, the traveller has set aside the matching capacity in their luggage, and the sender has a window in which to pay.

2. The payment

The sender pays by card, bank transfer or mobile money depending on their country. The money leaves their account — but it does not reach the traveller. It is held by Peercel, in an intermediate state we call escrow.

The traveller gets a notification: the delivery is funded. That is the signal that authorises the meeting. Before it, nobody travels anywhere.

3. Pick-up

At the meeting, the traveller inspects the contents of the parcel. If it matches the description, they display their pick-up code and the sender enters it. This direction is deliberate: whoever receives the parcel holds the code, whoever gives it away enters it. Neither can validate the step alone.

The funds still have not moved.

4. Delivery

On arrival, the recipient receives a delivery code by SMS. They give it to the traveller at handover, who enters it in the app. That is the proof of delivery — and the only event that unlocks the funds.

5. Release

The agreed amount is then credited to the traveller's balance, less the service fee, whose amount was shown before acceptance. The traveller then withdraws the funds by mobile money or bank transfer.

And when it goes wrong

At any point between pick-up and release, either party can open a dispute. Escrowed funds then stay frozen: they move to neither side until the case has been reviewed. Our team examines the evidence provided by both parties, then decides on a full refund, a partial refund, or release.

That is what escrow is for: it does not make problems impossible, it makes sure the money is still there when they happen.