Payment Escrow Service

How the escrow service works

Overview

• When a buyer pays, they can use most debit or credit cards. The funds are taken and held in an account managed by our payments processor Stripe
• When the buyer receives the items, they mark the transaction as completed, and the funds are released to the seller

Buyer set up

Buyers do not need do not need to register to use the Payment Escrow Service - it is automatically used when you opt to buy using this button, which has 'Powered by Stripe' underneath: 

If this is button is not present on the listing, it means that the seller is yet to register their details for the Payment Escrow Service.

If no payment details have been entered by the seller, the buyer can make payment via PayPal, ask them to register for the Payment Escrow Service. 

Payments made off the United Baristas Marketplace platform are not recommended and do not benefit from the escrow service.

Read about paying for items on United Baristas Marketplace 

Seller set up

Sellers need to submit their bank account details to be able to receive funds using the Payment Escrow Service.

Configuring payment options

Sellers may also be required to complete identity verification steps to receive their funds, to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes.

Completing verification

There is an cost incurred by United Baristas to offer this service to Marketplace users, which we need to pass on to our users. The fee is paid by the seller, at the point of sale.

We review these fees periodically to ensure that we are covering our costs. These fees a significantly cheaper than transaction fees currently incurred by our users for receiving funds with PayPal. We encourage all sellers to transfer to the new system as soon as practicable.

Payment Escrow Service fees

Release of funds

Funds, less fees, are released to the seller once the buyer has marked the transaction as complete. 

If you are buying an item please be considerate and mark the transaction as complete as soon as possible so that the seller can receive the money

It typically takes five - 10 working days for the money to be deposited into the seller's bank account, once the funds have been released from the payment escrow service. 

Variations of deposit timeframes depend on the seller's bank and their processes

Money is deposited in GBP

If the buyer neglects to mark the transaction as complete, the funds are automatically released to the seller after 30 days.

Disputes

In case of dispute, buyers should mark the transaction as 'disputed' - so that the funds are held in the Payment Escrow service until an agreement has been reached or a decision has been made. 

Buyers have 30 days to either mark the transaction as complete (release the funds), or mark the transaction as disputed. 

If you wish to dispute an item, follow these steps.