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Escrow
An escrow holds a buyer's money against one thing (an order, a warehouse receipt or a consignment) until the trade is done. For an order it is opened with Fund escrow on Track & Trace; releases and refunds are on Finance → Contracts, under Escrow position.
Being released
The money rails described here are built and tested, and are being rolled out. Until a rail is switched on for the exchange, invoices are paid by bank transfer or mobile money and recorded by Finance, as today.
Opening an escrow
Choose what it is for, the funder, the amount, and how the money comes in:
| Method | What happens |
|---|---|
| Stellar | The escrow opens Awaiting funds with payment instructions (escrow account, coin, memo ESC-…, QR code). It becomes Funded when the exact amount arrives. |
| Celo | The same, with the AgriEscrow contract call to make. |
| Mobile money or card, collected now | A prompt to the funder's phone, or a card page link; Funded when Mamlaka confirms. |
| Money already received (bank transfer, a USDT reference) | Recorded as Funded at once, with its reference. |
An escrow has a release condition: When the order settles, When the goods are confirmed arrived (the gate pass is confirmed at the warehouse gate), or When somebody releases it.
Releasing, refunding, disputing
| Action | Where the money goes |
|---|---|
| Release | To the beneficiary: the exchange as holder of record, or a named party |
| Refund | Back to whoever funded it |
| Dispute | Nothing moves; the escrow is frozen as Disputed against a dispute |
For an escrow on a rail, release and refund create a payment out that needs two approvals. The escrow stays Funded until the money lands, then becomes Released or Refunded. While a payment out is open, nothing else can be done to the escrow until it is approved or cancelled.
Where the money goes, by rail:
| Funded on | Released to a named party | Refunded |
|---|---|---|
| Stellar | Their Stellar address, which needs a trustline for the coin | To the account it came from |
| Celo | Their 0x… wallet, named when the escrow was opened | To the wallet that funded it |
| M-Pesa or Airtel | Their phone on record | To the phone it was paid from |
| Card | Their phone on record | Through Mamlaka, then recorded by Finance |
An escrow recorded as money already received is released or refunded by the record, as before.
Settlement
Settling a delivered order releases its escrows. For an escrow on a rail, settlement queues the release for two approvals instead of moving money by itself; the order is completed, and the escrow closes when the money lands.