Doing business online is the new face of the business world now.
In these times, if your commodity or service cannot be purchased online, you’re really not in business yet.
True, I was fully aware of this fact over the years, but I kept struggling with embracing the digital market because of several fraudulent and highly dissatisfying experiences I had.
It can be a serious fix to be in a place where you desperately want something online but cannot bring yourself to transact with the “unfamiliar” seller.
There was a certain time I was in need of particular machine that would make production in my business go faster and easier (I bake chin-chin snacks and cakes for supplies).
I couldn’t lay my hands on anyone within my city of residence at the time to supply me the exact specification I needed.
After much search in futility, and a close deadline to supply a huge order that would take much longer time to complete if done manually, I resorted to checking online.
A certain company whose name didn’t ring the faintest bell in my memory had the exact product. Whew!
Since I always had my reservations about online purchases I wasn’t so excited finding it.
The odds kept bugging my mind: what if I paid the money and ended up never receiving the machine?
Or maybe after delivery it wouldn’t be exactly the specification I ordered?
What if it took way longer than “3 working days for delivery nationwide” like they stipulated assuredly on their website?
I decided to give them a call and bargain; to ask if I could make the payment after receiving my order.
The customer service representative that responded was a kind-spoken young lady who took her time to give me strong arguments as to why it couldn’t work that way.
It appeared they had as much uncertainty as I did too, perhaps, even more.
According to the customer rep, they once employed the pay-on-delivery policy but had to make a very intentional change.
It was so because they had on several occasions, transported goods to locations from where orders were sent, only for them to find that the customer was unavailable, or rejected the order for no justifiable reason.
At that moment, I realized it wasn’t only buyers like me that were in the dilemma; sellers were in it as well.
We ended the conversation on a good note but I never made the transaction.
I chose instead to travel far away to Lagos state from northern Nigeria where I was, incurring serious transportation charges,to make the purchase, since I wasn’t ready to part with a huge amount of my hard earned finances with so much doubt lining my thoughts.
Now it was a loss-loss.
Both the seller and I had lost values like profit for the former; then time and energy for the latter.
We both needed to transact but the simple lack of trust was our big obstacle.
I went on with the hard and manual way until one day I sat to drink with a friend I’d rename John, who is a full time supplier of very lovely foreign wall papers.
Our conversation that day was indeed a life saver.
While we sat, he received some calls but two stood out because I figured he hadn’t prior knowledge of who the callers were.
We got talking and I found out he carried out his business majorly online.
I couldn’t help but sternly warn him about the countless fraudsters on the internet and also of the losses incurred from disappointing customers.
John wouldn’t stop chuckling while I hastily warned and when he finally got his chance to speak, he introduced me to something he called “Escrow services.”
He said they were his medium for every single online transaction as they played the role of middlemen who ensured that every agreement set by any seller and buyer was totally met at the agreed time and pace. It was amazing!
I later did some research on Google and discovered escrow services were very common in the western world as people there often made online transactions only via any accredited escrow provider.
They were also gaining momentum in Africa as well. I then called John to find out which accredited Escrow company he made use of and he told me they were called “ESCROWLOCK.” I’d hereafter share what I learnt from John who is consistently in the use of this service, and from my own firsthand knowledge as well. Let’s start from the beginning.
WHAT IS ESCROW?
Escrow is the use of a third party (like EscrowLock) in a transaction who will serve as security for the two parties involved. This third party or middleman secures the transaction by holding the money/asset that is meant to be paid for goods or services, and releases it only after the transaction has been completed to the satisfaction of everyone, as agreed from the initiation of the transaction (as stated in escrow agreement).
Escrow serves a means to end all fraudulent and disappointing transactions both online and otherwise; every condition will be laid by both parties before any commitment of money or service begins, and the escrow company ensures each party fulfills their agreement.
WHAT IS ESCROW PAYMENT?
This is the money that is paid by the buyer into a highly secured escrow account provided by EscrowLock to show his commitment to a transaction. Once the payment is received by the EscrowLock, the seller is immediately notified to commence the delivery of goods or services that have been paid for.
This is in order for him to receive his payment after confirmation by the buyer.
WHAT IS ESCROW SERVICE?
Escrow service is the type of payment service that is offered by escrowlock.com which helps protect buyer and seller in a high-risk transaction environment or situation. It is used in transaction situations where there is need for EscrowLock to accept payment from the buyer and only release it to the seller when certain pre-agreed conditions have been met.
WHAT IS ESCROWLOCK?
EscrowLock is an independent escrow service agency that acts as trusted third party or middleman in transactions between two parties (like buyer and seller), where there is need for EscrowLock to receive money from one party in the transaction (usually the buyer) and release it to the other party (the seller) when certain conditions have been met (like when seller has successfully delivered goods/services to the buyer).
EscrowLock is currently the best and most trusted escrow agency operating in Nigeria and other countries in the MEA region.
WHAT IS ESCROW AGREEMENT?
An escrow agreement is the set of rules or guidelines binding two parties involved in a transaction with the involvement of EscrowLock (the middleman). This guide contains every responsibility required by both parties in order to complete the transaction. The escrow agent (like EscrowLock) oversees the escrow agreement, making sure that each person’s contractual agreement is fulfilled before releasing the asset or money due to the designated party.
Let’s say a buyer wants to purchase a phone from a seller, their Escrow agreement would contain details such as: the brand name; specifications like color, size, capacity; period of delivery; return policy; duration for testing the product; period after which the payment can be released to buyer etc. These details and more would be carefully attended to and agreed upon in the Escrow agreement, and the Escrow Company ensures every detail is satisfied.
WHAT IS ESCROW ACCOUNT?
An escrow account is a dedicated bank account provided by EscrowLock.com where a party in a transaction (usually the buyer) deposits the transaction amount for it to be locked, only to be released to the other party in the transaction (like the seller) when certain agreed conditions (escrow agreement) have been met (like when the seller successfully delivers the product/service to the buyer in the right specification and condition).
ESCROW AGENTS, ESCROW SERVICE COMPANIES, ESCROW PLATFORMS AND ESCROW SERVICE PROVIDERS IN NIGERIA
EscrowLock.com is the legitimate escrow service company, agency, platform or escrow service provider in Nigeria. EscrowLock works exclusively with leading deposit money banks in Nigeria and is currently the only escrow service provider that is accredited by the International Financial Escrow Services Accreditation Board (IFESAB) – the official global organization that regulates escrow services in low income countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Just like every other merchandise, a service fee is always charged by an Escrow company for any transaction they secure. EscrowLock stands out as they charge only a token 3% of the Escrow payment to be committed during any transaction.
HOW DOES ESCROW WORK?
Escrow works in a clear method such that both parties and the escrow agent can monitor the entire process each step until the conclusion. EscrowLock in particular, offers a very easy to use process as outlined below:
- Escrow Service is Initiated:
a buyer and seller who have consented payment through escrow decides to carry out their transaction using EscrowLock. - Escrow Agreement is Documented:
EscrowLock oversees the setting up of rules in the Escrow agreement, stating the responsibility of each party and the money or asset to be delivered when deserved. - Commitment of Escrow Payment:
The buyer makes a commitment by depositing the escrow payment with EscrowLock, after which the seller is informed to carry out the service or ship the goods as the case may be with the supervision of the escrow agent. - Escrow Payment is released After Confirmation:
Once the buyer receives and confirms the asset, the payment is then released to the seller and the deal is concluded with everyone totally satisfied.
WHO CAN USE ESCROW SERVICE FOR PAYMENTS?
Everyone who wants to sell or buy goods or services can use escrow services. As long as a transaction involves an exchange of payment (in kind or cash) for an asset, whether tangible or intangible, the use of escrow services can be used to secure the transaction from start to finish.
EscrowLock offers very vast and strong Escrow services round Nigeria and there aren’t any location barriers with them. Anyone living in any location across Nigeria like Port-Harcourt, Ikeja, Abuja, Ajah, Enugu, Onitsha, Asaba, Awka, Benin, Owerri, Kaduna, Yenagoa, Lokoja, Kano, Makurdi, and Ilorin, etc. can carry out transactions with EscrowLock.
Types of transactions that can be settled using Escrow payments
Most legal transactions can be settled using escrow payments. Such transactions include the ones that involve the following, among others;
Escrow Payment for Physical Goods/Products:
EscrowLock escrow payments can be used to in the purchase of goods and products that are tangible (can be touched) whether offline or online. Such goods can include items in the following categories:
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Escrow Payment for Fashion:
This include items like clothes (trousers, shirts, shoes, wigs and weavons, human hairs and attachments, wrist watches, jewelry, etc.)
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Escrow Payment for Electronics:
The payment services offered by escrow platforms and escrow agents can be used to purchase electronic goods like mobile phones, desktop and laptop computers, television, video games, cd/dvd players, sound systems, etc.
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Escrow Payments for Household electrical and kitchen appliances:
You can use escrow payment to purchase household electrical appliances like fans, electricity generators, solar power systems (involving solar panels, inverters, batteries, pure sine wave and mixed controllers, etc.), cookers and ovens, mixers, blenders, microwaves, etc.
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Escrow Payment for Furniture:
EscrowLock escrow services can be used in the settlement of payments when buying items like chairs, tables, couches, beds, room dividers, etc.
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Escrow Payment for Automobile:
This includes cars, bikes, tricycles, bicycles, and other auto-related products including their spare parts.
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Escrow Payment for Digital goods/products:
EscrowLock escrow services can be used in transactions involving digital goods like software, apps, music and videos, purchase of pass codes and passwords, graphics and pictures, digital artworks, digital books (e-books) and audio books, etc.
Escrow Payment for Services:
Escrow payment services offered by escrow companies and escrow service providers like EscrowLock can be used to pay for a variety of services like:
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Escrow Payment for Construction work:
One of the best ways (if not the best) to safely execute construction project is by the use of escrow payment services. Individuals, government bodies, non-governmental organizations and other corporate entities can use escrow payment in ensuring that a contractor who has been awarded a project finishes up the work based on pre-agreed milestones and on schedule.
To achieve this, instead of paying the full contract amount to the contractor, the contract fund can be paid to an escrow company like EscrowLock with a mandate that the fund be released to the contractor in batches based on the progress of the work and specific milestones.
Most individuals who engage in building and other constructions projects, especially those staying abroad, tend to use their family members and friends to execute those project. But, unfortunately, the outcome of such kind of arrangements are usually not so good. -
Escrow Payment for Personal deals:
What if someone promises to facilitate or process an admission for you for a fee (or something similar) but you are not sure if this person is true. This is a good case scenario where you can use EscrowLock. You simply draw out the necessary agreement with the person and transfer the requested fee to EscrowLock’s escrow account for onward release to the other party when the deal is safely concluded according to the agreement.
What if you are going on a bet with a friend? EscrowLock Escrow service can be the middle man to hold the bet money as far as you state your bet agreement which will guide the escrow transaction. -
Escrow Payment for Digital services:
This can include services like software, graphic or web design, content writing and other forms of services that are in digital format.