Usalama Escrow
SW KiswahiliEN English

Buy from strangers.Without the fear.

Your money is held safely until the goods arrive. Only then is the seller paid.

  • App StoreComing soon
  • Google PlayComing soon

The problem

You send the money. The seller disappears.

You find the phone on Instagram, at a price that makes sense. The seller says what they all say: send the money first, I’ll ship it tomorrow. You send it. Then the number stops answering, the account is gone, and so is your money.

Sellers have their own version of the story: ship first, and the buyer never pays. So good deals don’t happen, because nobody wants to go first.

With Usalama, nobody has to. The money waits in the middle until the goods arrive.

How it works

Six steps. Nobody pays a stranger first.

  1. 01

    The seller creates an order

    What they’re selling and their price. The app gives them a code like USL-K4G5TC.

  2. 02

    The seller sends the code

    By WhatsApp, SMS, or in person.

  3. 03

    The buyer enters it and pays

    They see who the seller is and their trading record, then pay the price plus the protection fee by mobile money.

  4. 04

    The money is held

    Neither side can take it.

  5. 05

    The seller ships

    And photographs the parcel as evidence.

  6. 06

    The buyer confirms the goods arrived

    The seller is paid immediately.

Every rule, in full

Both sides

Protection on both sides of the deal.

For buyers

Pay someone you’ve never met, without the gamble.

  • Your money is held until the goods arrive.
  • If the goods never arrive, your 100,000 TZS comes back. The 4,500 TZS protection fee pays for your money to be held safely, and it is not refunded.
  • If the seller doesn’t ship within 5 days, the sale price comes back to you automatically.
  • Before you pay, you see who the seller is: their verified name and their trading record.
  • Something wrong? Freeze the payment before you confirm. A person on our team reviews both sides.

For sellers

Ship to someone you’ve never met, knowing the money is there.

  • The fee is the buyer’s. Your price reaches you in full.
  • No more “send the money first” arguments. The buyer’s money is held before you ship.
  • Buyers who don’t know you can still say yes, because their money is protected.
  • Once you mark it shipped, you are paid automatically in 48 hours unless the buyer reports a problem.
  • You photograph the parcel before it leaves you. If the buyer later claims nothing arrived, that photo is your evidence.

Safety

Every account is checked. Every payment needs you.

  • Everyone you trade with is checked too

    Every user verifies their identity with their NIDA number before they can buy or sell.

  • Your payout number is locked

    It is checked against your identity and can’t be changed inside the app, so nobody holding your phone can redirect your money.

  • Releasing money needs you

    Your PIN, fingerprint or face, every time.

  • The app locks itself

    Leave the app and it locks. It opens again only with your PIN, fingerprint or face.

  • Swahili and English

    Every screen, in the language you read most easily.

  • Usalama does not hold your money

    Payments are held by our payment partner, separately from anything Usalama owns or owes.

Fees

One fee. The buyer pays it.

The protection fee is exactly 4.5% of the price on every order, with no minimum and no maximum. The seller receives their price in full.

Work out a fee
Example
Sale price
100,000 TZS
Protection fee
+ 4,500 TZS
Buyer pays
104,500 TZS
Seller receives
100,000 TZS

Coming soon to your phone.

Usalama is in final testing. When it launches, you’ll find it on the App Store and Google Play.

  • App StoreComing soon
  • Google PlayComing soon