Online purchase fraud is one of the most common complaints in Nigerian ecommerce. A new service wants to end it, using the app you already have open.
Almost everyone in Nigeria has the same story. You find something for sale on Instagram or WhatsApp. The price looks right. You send the money. And then nothing comes. The seller stops replying. Your cash is gone, and there is nobody to call.
For Toye Akinwale, that story belonged to his mother. She paid an online vendor for an order that never arrived. She had done nothing wrong. She simply had no way to know whether the person on the other end could be trusted, and no protection when the deal went bad. That moment is the reason EscrowPay exists.
Buying and selling online in Nigeria runs on fear. Buyers are afraid to pay strangers. Sellers are afraid to ship before they see money. Honest sellers lose real sales because buyers cannot tell them apart from fraudsters. It is a quiet tax on trade. Sellers raise their prices to cover the losses, so honest buyers pay more. Buyers walk away from good deals, and the trust that makes commerce possible stays in short supply.
Escrow is an old and simple idea. Instead of paying the seller directly, the buyer sends the money to a neutral party who holds it safely. The seller ships the item, knowing the money is secured and waiting. Once the buyer confirms the order has arrived, the money is released to the seller. If something goes wrong, the buyer is protected and can get their money back. Both sides are safe at the same time.
