Lock the money, then argue about the work
Escrow that both sides can see, with a referee both sides chose before anyone did any work.
A buyer locks funds for a provider with an expiry, a dispute window and a named arbiter. The provider delivers knowing the money exists. If the two disagree, the arbiter's ruling splits the balance and the escrow settles in the same breath.
Two strangers, one job, no trust. That is the normal condition of software buying from software, and it is why so much of it still runs on prepayment or on faith. Escrow on Paxeer X gives both sides something better. The buyer locks the money where the provider can see it. The provider delivers knowing it is there. And before any of that, both agree on who decides if things go wrong.
No platform holds the funds. No one can release them except under the terms written into the escrow when it opened.
From a locked balance to a closed deal
- 01
The buyer locks the funds
An agent commissions a $4,500 data-labeling job. It opens an escrow for the provider with a 14-day expiry, a 48-hour dispute window and a named arbiter. The provider sees all of it before accepting.
- 02
The provider delivers
Work is delivered against the escrow. Partial milestones can be captured as they land, so a four-stage project pays out in four steps rather than one.
- 03
The buyer releases, or the clock does
Happy buyer, immediate release. Silent buyer, the expiry releases the funds on its own. Nobody can sit on a provider's money indefinitely.
- 04
Or either side disputes
A dispute freezes the escrow. The arbiter reviews and rules, say 70 percent to the provider. Both legs settle in the same transaction and the matter is closed.
What each outcome means for you
| Outcome | Buyer | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted | Pays exactly what was locked, nothing more | Paid in full, within about a second |
| Expired without action | Loses the right to hold funds indefinitely | Paid when the clock runs out |
| Partial capture | Pays per milestone as delivered | Cash flow during a long job |
| Disputed and ruled | Gets the arbiter's share back at once | Gets the arbiter's share at once |
The arbiter is chosen before the work starts. Nobody picks the referee after the match.
Why finance and legal teams like it
Every escrow is a line on the public ledger with its terms attached, so a counterparty's offer is verifiable before you commit. Every release and ruling comes with a signed receipt. And because the dispute window and the arbiter are part of the escrow itself, your contract and your settlement cannot drift apart. Procurement knows what will happen in each case before the purchase order exists.
Funds locked in escrow can always be released or timed out. Your money is never stuck behind maintenance.
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Open your first escrow
Escrow is built into service payments, the compute market and the AI market, and available directly from the SDKs.