Terms of Use

1. Agreement and scope

By creating an account, using the website or app, joining a Village, listing or buying through the Market, using a wallet, or creating, accepting, funding, releasing or disputing an escrow, you agree to these Terms and any transaction-specific terms shown before you confirm an action.

“Escrow Village”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to EscrowVillage Limited and the Escrow Village platform. “Villager”, “user”, “you” and “your” refer to a person or organisation using the platform.

2. Eligibility and accounts

• You must have legal capacity to use the service and must meet the minimum age and verification rules shown for the feature you want to use.
• Information supplied during signup, KYC, business verification or account recovery must be accurate and must belong to you or an organisation you are authorised to represent.
• You are responsible for account security, passwords, OTPs and activity conducted through your account. Do not sell, lend or transfer an account without our written approval.
• We may refuse duplicate, deceptive or fraud-linked accounts and may require additional checks before enabling higher-risk features.

3. Our platform role

Escrow Village provides transaction-protection, communication, marketplace and related platform tools. Unless a page expressly says otherwise, Escrow Village is not the buyer, seller, manufacturer, artisan, employer or agent for a user-to-user transaction and does not become the owner of goods, services, credentials or digital assets traded by users.

We may hold, freeze, release, return or split transaction funds according to the agreed escrow flow, authorised instructions, dispute outcomes, risk controls, correction of errors, or applicable law. We do not guarantee that a user, listing, good, service, online account or digital asset is lawful, genuine, suitable, transferable or free from third-party claims.

4. How escrow transactions work

1. A party creates or proposes a deal and identifies the buyer, seller, description, amount, currency and fee arrangement.
2. The invited party reviews and accepts, declines or requests a different arrangement where supported.
3. Funding must be completed through the platform flow. A displayed “funded”, “active” or equivalent status is the authoritative platform state; screenshots or private claims are not proof of funding.
4. The seller performs the agreed obligation. The buyer must inspect what was received before releasing funds.
5. Funds may be released, cancelled, returned, split, disputed or otherwise settled only through authorised platform actions.

OTP or other confirmation steps are security controls. A successful release instruction is serious and may be irreversible once funds have been settled. Never release merely because another user pressures you to do so.

5. Wallets, deposits, withdrawals and conversion

The platform may provide NGN and USD wallet views and may support deposits, withdrawals and currency conversion. Wallet balances are platform ledger records and may be subject to pending, frozen, returned, reversed, reviewed or unavailable amounts.

• Use only approved deposit instructions shown in your account and verify beneficiary details before paying.
• Withdrawals may be delayed or reviewed for identity, fraud, source-of-funds, scam-alert, technical, banking or legal reasons.
• Conversion rates, charges and the amount to be received should be reviewed before confirmation. Rates may change before a transaction is confirmed.
• An incorrect, duplicated, unauthorised or technically generated credit does not become yours merely because it appears in a wallet. We may correct ledger errors after investigation.

6. Fees, rates and taxes

Escrow, deposit, withdrawal, conversion, seller-plan, advertising or other charges may apply. The applicable amount, percentage, currency, payer or fee split is shown in the relevant flow before confirmation where required. Fees may change prospectively.

You are responsible for taxes, duties or reporting obligations that apply to your own transactions. Third-party banks, networks or payment providers may charge separate fees outside our control.

7. Marketplace and seller activity

• Listings must be accurate, current and not misleading. Photos, price, condition, delivery terms, access terms and material restrictions must be disclosed.
• Approval or verification of a seller or listing is a platform-control signal, not a guarantee of quality, legality, delivery or profitability.
• Seller plans may limit the number or type of live listings. We may review, unpublish, reject, suspend or remove listings that breach policy or create unacceptable risk.
• Ratings and reviews must reflect genuine experience and must not be manipulated, bought, threatened or fabricated.

8. Digital goods and online accounts

Digital goods, credentials and online accounts carry special risks. A seller must have lawful authority to transfer what is offered and must disclose recovery methods, restrictions, third-party terms, regional limits and any continuing control that may affect the buyer.

A buyer must independently assess whether a transfer is permitted by the relevant third-party service. Escrow Village does not guarantee that a third party will recognise, preserve or permit an account transfer, or that an original owner or provider cannot later restrict or recover access.

9. Prohibited activity

You must not use Escrow Village for fraud, theft, impersonation, money laundering, unlawful financial activity, sanctions evasion, stolen property, compromised accounts, counterfeit goods, illegal services, harmful material, unauthorised access, extortion, harassment, child exploitation, or any transaction prohibited by law.

You must not manipulate platform balances, referrals, devices, IP signals, reviews, ads, dispute evidence, KYC, transaction status or support processes. We may maintain additional prohibited-item or risk rules and may block a transaction even where a category is not expressly listed here.

10. Villages, chats and media

Villages, Private Chats, Market Chats, Escrow Chats and Support Chats are platform communication spaces. Messages, read receipts, timestamps, files, images, voice notes and videos may be stored and used for delivery, moderation, support, security and dispute evidence.

• Do not move protected transactions off-platform, share prohibited contact details, evade moderation or request direct payment where platform rules require escrow.
• Do not send abusive, deceptive, illegal, infringing or malicious content.
• Staff may moderate, remove or review content where permitted by policy and law. Staff identities may be displayed differently to users for security and support operations.

11. Advertising and promotions

EV Ad Manager and other promotional placements may be subject to eligibility, wallet balance, content review, placement availability and pricing. Funds may be reserved while an ad is pending, charged when approved, and returned where a rejected campaign is not run, subject to the specific flow shown.

Editing a running or approved ad may trigger re-review. Views and unique views are analytics estimates, not guarantees of sales, leads, reach or commercial results. We may reject, pause or remove misleading, unlawful or harmful advertising.

12. Referrals and rewards

Referral benefits are for genuine new users and legitimate activity. Self-referrals, fabricated accounts, same-person or same-device abuse, coordinated fraud and attempts to manipulate eligibility are prohibited. We may withhold, reverse or recover improperly obtained rewards and may restrict connected accounts after review.

13. Verification, security and fraud controls

We may process identity records, device identifiers, browser information, IP addresses, login history, transaction relationships, referral relationships and other risk signals to protect users and the platform. We may require NIN, driving licence, CAC or other evidence where supported by the platform and applicable law.

Fraud controls may identify exact or similar device, network or behavioural relationships; suspicious funds; scam alerts; unusual transactions; repeated failed verification; or other risk patterns. A risk signal may trigger review, feature restriction, transaction hold or a request for further evidence. Where a significant decision is automated, applicable rights to human review remain subject to law.

14. Disputes, evidence and decisions

A dispute must be opened through the available platform action and within any time window shown. Each party should promptly provide truthful, relevant and unaltered evidence. Evidence may include platform chat history, listing terms, receipts, delivery records, device or access information, screenshots, files, account-control evidence and other records.

We may consider the agreed deal terms, conduct of both parties, available evidence, platform records and applicable policy. Failure to respond or provide evidence may affect the outcome. Outcomes may include release to the seller, return to the buyer, split settlement, continued hold, restriction or another action permitted by the transaction flow. We may correct an obvious processing error, but no user is entitled to endless re-litigation of the same dispute.

15. Release, cancellation and part payment

• Release means the user authorises the applicable protected funds to be settled according to the transaction flow.
• Cancellation may require a reason, consent, status condition or platform review and may be unavailable after a completed release.
• A part-payment feature records the released portion as a milestone on the same ongoing escrow. The remaining balance stays protected on that same escrow, while each milestone may keep its own receipt and audit record.
• Where a split settlement is authorised, the amount allocated to each side and any fee treatment shown in the confirmation flow will govern the settlement.

16. Reversals, incorrect credits and refunds

We may reverse or correct duplicate credits, failed deposits, returned withdrawals, chargebacks, conversion errors, ledger mistakes or unauthorised transactions after appropriate review. A refund or return depends on transaction status, evidence, payment-rail rules, legal rights and the specific product or service involved.

Nothing in these Terms removes any refund, cancellation or consumer remedy that must be provided under applicable law.

17. Restrictions, suspension and frozen funds

We may temporarily or permanently restrict an account, transaction, withdrawal, listing, ad, chat privilege or other feature where reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, scams, abuse, policy violations, legal obligations, account compromise or platform security.

A restriction does not automatically mean legitimate funds are forfeited. Funds may remain held while ownership, source, transaction obligations, disputes, reversals or lawful instructions are resolved. We may request additional evidence and provide an appeal or support route where appropriate.

18. User content and intellectual property

You retain ownership of content you lawfully own. You grant Escrow Village a non-exclusive licence to host, process, display, resize, transmit and moderate content as reasonably necessary to operate, secure and improve the platform, fulfil transactions, resolve disputes and comply with law.

Do not upload content you have no right to use. Escrow Village branding, software, interface, text, logos and original platform materials remain protected by applicable intellectual-property law.

19. Third-party services and availability

The platform may rely on banks, payment processors, identity-verification services, communications providers, hosting, cloud, analytics, notification and other suppliers. Their outages, rules or processing times may affect availability. We may suspend features for maintenance, security, legal compliance or technical reasons.

We work to provide a reliable service but do not promise uninterrupted, error-free or instantaneous availability. Internet connectivity, user devices and third-party systems are outside our full control.

20. Support and complaints

Use the Support Tickets or other official support route shown in the platform for account, transaction or service complaints. Include the relevant escrow, transaction or listing reference and clear evidence. Do not publish OTPs, passwords or full sensitive identity documents in an inappropriate public channel.

Where a complaint concerns a statutory consumer or data-protection right, you may also use any external redress mechanism available under Nigerian law.

21. Disclaimers and liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Escrow Village is not liable for a user's false description, unlawful conduct, defective goods, poor service, third-party account recovery, market loss, lost profit, indirect loss, or events outside our reasonable control. Nothing here excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

You remain responsible for checking transaction terms, counterparty claims, legality, suitability and delivery before release. Platform security or verification signals reduce risk but do not eliminate it.

22. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to be responsible for losses, claims and reasonable costs arising from your unlawful use of the platform, breach of these Terms, infringement of another person's rights, or fraudulent transaction, except to the extent caused by Escrow Village's own unlawful conduct.

23. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, subject to any mandatory law that applies to you. The parties should first attempt good-faith resolution through the platform's official complaint process before pursuing other available remedies.

24. Changes and contact

We may update these Terms to reflect product, risk, legal or operational changes. Material changes may be communicated through the platform or another appropriate channel. The effective date above identifies this version.

Questions about these Terms should be sent through the official Escrow Village Support route shown in the platform.