Escrow Account

How it works

The fear of paying for a service or product before receiving is scary but it’s scarier when customers can not to tied to a monetary commitment as this can result in a financial loss. There are risks involved in business but with Escrow, you can reduce the risk of fraud when buying or selling.

The Business Zone Escrow Service, as a trusted third-party, allows and guarantees payment upon delivery by collecting, holding and settling funds when both buyers and sellers are satisfied. As a buyer, you can be rest assured your funds are safe in your Escrow account until you are satisfied with services offered by the seller. As a seller, you eliminate the fear of providing a service when the buyer does not have the agreed funds.

Getting started with Escrow is easy, and using the platform is simple. Click here to sign up as a merchant and setup a Business Zone eStore

As a buyer,

  1. Visits seller’s Business Zone eStore and requests for a listed or custom service
  2. Pays for service either via card or bank transfer
  3. Funds are held in Escrow account and merchant gets a notification to render service
  4. Merchant renders service and confirms to the buyer on the business zone that service has been rendered.
  5. Buyer logs into business zone and confirms that service has been received
  6. Upon confirmation from buyer, merchant is settled – we release the funds to the Seller from the Escrow Account.
    The transaction is now complete - safely and securely!

As a seller,

  1. Merchant gets a notification after a user requests for the Merchants service on the Business Zone
  2. Merchant provides service and confirms on the Business Zone that service has been rendered ( i.e. Log into your business zone dashboard, select ‘manage service request’ and then click the ‘action’ button next to the order you wish to confirm)
  3. Buyer gets an automated email confirming service has been provided
  4. Upon confirmation from buyer, merchant is settled – we release the funds to the Seller from the Escrow Account.
  5. The transaction is now complete - safely and securely!

Benefits

  • No transaction charges for merchants receiving payments from FCMB customers
  • No transaction limit - Regardless of the size of your transaction, the escrow service can handle your transaction securely
  • Reduced Risk and Protection for Both Parties - Because Escrow service holds onto the funds while the services are being exchanged, both the Buyer and Seller are protected. The Buyer is given the opportunity to inspect and confirm service delivery before the merchant is settled
  • Suitable for a Range of services
  • Escrow service is powered FCMB and lends credibility to your business

    • Getting started with Escrow is easy, and using the platform is simple. Click here to sign up as a merchant and setup a Business Zone eStore

Frequently Asked Questions

Escrow merchant settlement service reduces the risk of merchants not receiving payment for services rendered by acting as a trusted third-party that collects, holds, and only settles funds when both Buyers and Sellers are satisfied.

The merchant bears a 1.5% charge capped at N2,000 if they are receiving payment through a card or bank transfer from a non FCMB account
The merchant bears ZERO charge if the buyer makes payment with FCMB bank transfer.

The funds are settled in the Escrow account the following working day. Merchants will be settled immediately the buyer confirms that they have received service.

Log in to your business zone dashboard, select ‘request’ choose the type of request i.e. listed service request or custom service request and then click the ‘action’ button next to the 'order' you wish to confirm.

Yes, it is necessary you have a bank account with FCMB and also be a merchant on the business zone to use this service.

Yes you can. Either via card or bank transfer.

Yes you can. Either via card or bank transfer.

The buyer insures no transaction charges when he pays using this service.

The Escrow service is a very secure service, when you make a payment on the business zone, we will hold the money until you (the buyer) has confirmed that they have received service. it is only then that we release the funds to the merchant.

When the seller delivers the service, you will get an automated email with a link to log into your dashboard to confirm service. Click the link, Log into your business zone dashboard, select ‘ unread request’ and then click the ‘action’ button next to the order you wish to confirm