How Usalama works
Usalama sits in the middle of a sale between two people who don’t know each other. The buyer’s money is held safely until the goods arrive. Then the seller is paid.
What “escrow” means
Escrow means a payment waits in the middle until both sides have done their part. The buyer pays, the money is held, and the seller is paid only when the buyer confirms the goods arrived.
Step by step
- 01
The seller creates an order
What they’re selling and their price. The app gives them a code like USL-K4G5TC.
- 02
The seller sends the code
By WhatsApp, SMS, or in person.
- 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.
- 04
The money is held
Neither side can take it.
- 05
The seller ships
And photographs the parcel as evidence.
- 06
The buyer confirms the goods arrived
The seller is paid immediately.
Three time limits keep every order moving
Nobody can leave an order stuck, and nobody’s money is left waiting forever.
OrderedPaid
24 hours
To pay
If nobody pays within 24 hours of the order being created, the code stops working.
PaidShipped
5 days
To ship
If the seller doesn’t ship within 5 days of payment, the buyer is refunded automatically.
ShippedReleased
48 hours
To confirm
Once the order is marked shipped, the buyer has 48 hours to confirm or report a problem. If they do nothing, the seller is paid automatically. Check your goods before the time runs out.
Refunds
A refund returns the sale price to the buyer.
The protection fee is not refunded. It paid for the money being held safely and returned to you, rather than lost to a stranger.
When something goes wrong
Before confirming, a buyer can freeze the payment.
Freeze
Tap “Something is wrong” on the order. Freezing stops the money; it does not refund it. Nobody can move it until this is settled.
Review
A person on our team reads both sides and looks at the parcel photo and any evidence you send.
Decision
The seller is paid, the buyer is refunded, or we ask either side for more information. We aim to decide within 3 business days; complex cases can take longer.
We decide on the evidence. A clear parcel photo helps a seller; a precise description of what arrived helps a buyer.
Who holds the money
Not Usalama. Payments are held by our payment partner, separately from anything Usalama owns or owes. Usalama only tells the partner when to pay the seller or return the money to the buyer, following the rules on this page.
Read section 2 of the Terms