What is escrow?

All you need to know and more

CheckVault is an online platform to facilitate the placing of funds into an escrow account with our partner - Perpetual Corporate Trust. Perpetual acts as the trusted custodian to hold funds between two parties whilst a transaction is completed to both parties satisfaction.

I own a small business. How will escrow help me?

Some of the key benefits of escrow for small business:

• Reduce exposure to late payments and bad debts
• Improve cash-flow
• Improve trust and protect deposits

View some stories from our existing customers here and see how CheckVault’s Online Escrow has changed the way they do business for the better

CheckVault for Business

CheckVault for Construction

I am an individual. How will escrow help me?

Escrow helps to reduce the risk of a transaction failing. Having a third party hold funds until both parties are satisfied with a transaction. This can be particularly important when using classifieds or other consumer to consumer transactions.

With escrow, the buyer places funds into escrow. The seller will then provide the goods or services as specified. Having received the goods or services, the buyer approves the release of funds to finalise the transaction.

Here are some examples of where escrow can be helpful:

1. Building or renovating your home

You can use CheckVault to secure each progress claim so you can keep your builder satisfied with the security and at the same time reduce your exposure to insolvency in the construction industry.

2. You wish to buy or sell an expensive item through a classified or online marketplace.

The party making the purchase can secure the funds into CheckVault so that they show commitment in making the purchase and still stay in control of the funds. The party selling the item can then post the item through knowing that their funds in exchange are protected. Once the item has been received and the purchaser is satisfied, the funds can then be released to complete the exchange. This is how both parties are protected throughout the process.

I am a broker. How will escrow help me?

Brokers use escrow to hold a buyer’s deposit or payment until the deal is done, so neither their client nor the other side carries the risk.

• Business brokers: hold the buyer’s deposit until the sale of the business settles.
• Boat brokers: hold the purchase price until the survey, sea trial and handover are done.
• Domain brokers: hold the buyer’s payment until the domain name is in their registrar account.
• Any broker: run every client’s trades from one place in the CheckVault portal.

Domain name escrow

Escrow for marketplaces and brokers