Escrow is the single most important trust mechanism on Amboi.my. Here's how it works.
The problem escrow solves
When you book a vendor for a wedding 3 months from now, two things can go wrong:
- Customer pays in full upfront → vendor disappears, customer loses everything.
- Customer pays vendor on the day → vendor showed up but customer refuses to pay.
Both happen. Escrow makes both impossible.
How it works on Amboi.my
- You pay into escrow, not into the vendor's account. Amboi holds the money.
- Vendor sees the booking as confirmed — they know the money is real, they just can't touch it yet.
- Vendor delivers the event.
- You confirm delivery (or auto-released after a few days if no complaint).
- Amboi releases the money to the vendor, minus the platform fee.
What happens if something goes wrong?
You can start a dispute at any point before release. While the dispute is active, the money stays in escrow. An Amboi admin reviews the claim, requests evidence from both sides, and decides:
- Vendor fault → full refund to customer
- Customer fault / event-day cancellation → full release to vendor
- Mutual / unclear → partial split
Disputes typically resolve within 5–7 business days.
For vendors
Escrow protects you too. You know the booking is real money the second the customer pays. Some vendors lose 10–20% of bookings to no-shows or late cancellations elsewhere — on Amboi you don't, because the deposit is already in escrow.