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EscrowLive

Hold the money until both sides agree.

Two-party agreements with staged release that both sides approve.

Talk to us about escrowAPI reference →
Illustrative
Why it matters

What it changes for you.

Most online trade between strangers falls apart at the same moment: who pays first. The buyer won't send ₦250,000 to someone they met on Instagram, and the seller won't ship a phone before the money arrives. So the deal moves to cash, or doesn't happen at all.

Escrow puts the money somewhere both sides can see it, and neither side can take it. The buyer pays into an agreement. The seller sees the funds are there, delivers, and marks the stage delivered. The buyer releases with their PIN. If they can't agree, your operators decide, and the money goes all to one side.

It runs on the same ledger as everything else on Bridge, so held funds sit in their own account, every state change is a posted entry, and every change reaches you as a signed webhook.

How it works

Step by step.

  1. Open an agreement

    Name the buyer and the seller, the amount, what it's for and a deliver-by date. Split it into stages if the deal is big.

  2. The buyer pays in

    On any collection rail. The money lands in the agreement's own ledger account, visible to both sides and spendable by neither.

  3. The seller delivers

    They mark the stage delivered, against what the agreement said that stage would cover.

  4. Release, stage by stage

    The buyer approves with their PIN and that stage's money moves to the seller. The next stage stays held.

  5. Or resolve a dispute

    Either side can raise one. Your operators look at it and release everything to the seller or refund everything to the buyer.

What you can switch on

Built in, not bolted on.

Stages for big deals

Rent in two parts, a generator on delivery and on installation, a project by milestone. Each stage has its own amount and its own approval.

Both sides see the money

The seller can check the funds are really there before they ship, which is the point. Neither side can move them alone.

Released when both sides agree

A stage moves only when both sides approve it: the seller by marking it delivered, the buyer with their own PIN. Your app never makes that decision for them.

Disputes go to people

No timer and no algorithm settles a dispute. Your operators decide, with the agreement's whole history in front of them.

Fees shown before paying in

Your fee, on your tariff from the pricing engine, appears on the quote before the buyer commits.

Every change is an event

Opened, funded, released, disputed and refunded each arrive as a signed webhook you can replay.

  • Open an agreement between a buyer and a seller, with an amount and a deliver-by date
  • Split it into stages, each with its own amount, for rent, projects and big purchases
  • Funds are held in their own ledger account, visible to both sides
  • The seller marks delivery; the buyer releases with their PIN
  • Disputes go to your operators, who release to one side or refund the other
  • Every state change is sent to you as a signed webhook
Use cases

How businesses use it.

Illustrative businesses, not customers. Figures are made up to show the flow.

A phone marketplace in Lagos · Marketplaces

Phones and gadgets between strangers

Buyers find sellers through the marketplace's listings but pay outside it, by transfer to a personal account. When a phone never arrives, the buyer blames the marketplace and leaves. The marketplace earns nothing on deals that move to cash.

  1. Every listing gets a 'Pay safely' button that opens an escrow agreement
  2. The buyer pays into it by transfer to a virtual account
  3. The seller ships once they can see the money is held
  4. The buyer releases on delivery; the marketplace's commission is split off at release

Deals stay on the platform, sellers get paid by people who don't know them, and the marketplace takes its commission on every release.

Illustrative

A short-let and rentals platform in Abuja · Marketplaces

Rent paid in stages

Tenants are asked to pay a year's rent before they've seen the keys. Landlords worry tenants will back out after inspection. Both sides want the other to go first.

  1. The platform opens a two-stage agreement: 30% on inspection, 70% on handover of keys
  2. The tenant pays the full amount in; both stages are held
  3. After inspection the tenant releases stage one; the landlord sees stage two waiting
  4. At handover the tenant releases the rest

Tenants commit without paying a stranger upfront, and landlords know the rest of the rent is already there.

Illustrative

A procurement team buying a solar installation

Projects paid by milestone

A company is buying a ₦4.8 million solar installation from an installer it hasn't used before. The installer wants a deposit; finance won't send money until work is done.

  1. The agreement has three stages: equipment delivered, installation done, system commissioned
  2. Finance pays in once; the installer sees the full amount is committed
  3. The facilities manager checks each stage before finance releases it
  4. A dispute on the last stage goes to the operator, who decides on the evidence

The installer starts work knowing the money is real; the company only pays for work that's done.

Illustrative
What it won't do

Honest limits.

  • No timer ever settles anything: money moves only when a person approves it.
  • It never splits a disputed amount: the decision is all to the seller or all back to the buyer.
Bridge Payments

Escrow at checkout with Bridge Payments

See Bridge Payments
Who uses it

Built into these products.

Fintechs & neobanks

Launch a full money app without building the plumbing.

Fintechs & neobanks

Banks, MFBs & PSBs

Add offline payments and new products to the channels you already run.

Banks, MFBs & PSBs

Marketplaces

Collect, hold and split, so buyers and sellers both trust you.

Marketplaces
For developers

Open an escrow agreement.

Endpoints in the Escrow API reference, with every parameter and response.

State changes arrive as signed webhooks. How webhooks work

POST /escrow

curl -X POST "https://api.bridgemoni.com/escrow" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BRIDGEMONI_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Tenant: $BRIDGEMONI_TENANT" \
  -H "X-Environment: $BRIDGEMONI_ENV" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "payeeIdentifierType": "MSISDN",
    "payeeIdentifier": "text",
    "amount": 250000.0,
    "currencyCode": "NGN",
    "expiresAt": "2027-03-14T14:30:01",
    "narrative": "March payroll",
    "gates": [
      {
        "name": "Ada Obi",
        "amount": 250000.0,
        "criteriaDescription": "March payroll",
        "dueAt": "2027-03-14T14:30:01"
      }
    ]
  }'

Questions about escrow

What happens if the deliver-by date passes?

Nothing moves on its own. The agreement is flagged so your operators can step in; no timer ever releases or refunds money.

Can a disputed amount be split?

No. A dispute ends with everything to the seller or everything back to the buyer. Splitting invites both sides to dispute every deal.

Which rails can the buyer pay in with?

Any collection rail you've switched on: bank transfer to a virtual account, wallet or agent cash. Escrow-backed collection puts the money straight into the agreement.

Do the buyer and seller need accounts?

Yes. Both must be customers on your platform with an account in the agreement's currency. The seller can then pay out to their bank.

Related capabilities

Accounts

Live

Multi-currency customer accounts with point-in-time balances, liens and statements.

Wallets

Live

Nested wallets on one customer, each with its own limits.

Ledger

Live

Double-entry postings behind every movement, queryable at any point in time.

Bridge for Business

Tell us what you're building.

We'll come back with what's live for you today, and what's next.

Talk to usRead the docs