TRANSACTION PROTECTION
TRANSACTION PROTECTION
Doing business with someone you've never met carries risk. Our escrow service eliminates that risk completely, for both sides of every first-time transaction.
WHAT IS ESCROW
Escrow is a neutral holding account managed by HourCurrency. Before any service begins, the buyer transfers their Hour Currency to a third party wallet controlled by HourCurrency, inaccessible to both parties until the work is completed and confirmed. The service provider knows the payment exists and is secured. The buyer knows their Hours cannot be taken by someone who disappears without delivering.
Nobody gets paid for work they didn't do. Nobody loses their Hours for work they did. That is the escrow promise.
"Trust is earned through repeated experience and escrow makes it safe to have that first experience with a stranger."
THE PROCESS
01
Buyer Locks Payment Before Work Begins
The buyer deposits the agreed amount of Hour Currency into the HourCurrency escrow wallet before the service begins. These funds are fully secured and inaccessible to both parties during this period. The provider receives confirmation that payment is in escrow giving them the confidence to proceed without risk.
02
Service Is Performed & Documented
The provider completes the agreed work. Both parties are strongly encouraged to document the entire engagement — photos, messages, timestamps, records of what was agreed and what was delivered. This documentation is your protection if anything is disputed later. The better your records, the faster any dispute is resolved.
03
Buyer Confirms & Funds Are Released
Once the buyer confirms satisfactory completion, Hour Currency is transferred immediately to the service provider's wallet. The transaction is permanently recorded on the blockchain, both profiles are updated, and the exchange is complete. Simple, clean, done.
04
Dispute? We Step In As Neutral Arbitrator.
If either party raises a dispute before funds are released, HourCurrency steps in. Both parties submit their documentation. Our team evaluates the evidence impartially — no favourites, no assumptions — and issues a binding decision. Funds are released to the service provider or returned to the buyer based entirely on what the evidence shows. We don't take sides. We follow proof.
WHEN TO USE ESCROW
Escrow is designed for first-time transactions between members who have no prior history with each other. Once you've completed several successful exchanges with someone and they have a verified track record on their profile, direct wallet-to-wallet payment is faster and perfectly appropriate.
Think of escrow as training wheels for trust. It's there when you need it, completely invisible when you don't. Members who use escrow early tend to build stronger reputations faster — because both sides of every exchange feel safe enough to participate fully and honestly from the start.
"We're building an economy with different rules — rules where your worth isn't determined by your bank balance, your qualifications, or who you know."