Payments in a home services marketplace: releasing funds on sign-off

Payment is where a marketplace earns or loses trust. Customers worry about paying for work that isn't done properly, and providers worry about doing the work and not being paid. Both worries have the same fix: make payment follow the job.

A common pattern is to authorise or collect payment when the customer accepts a quote, hold it, and release it to the provider when the customer signs off the job. The customer knows they only pay out when satisfied, and the provider knows the money exists before they start.

Support the methods people actually use. In Saudi Arabia that means local cards and wallets alongside international cards, with a checkout that works equally well on web and mobile. Show the full price, including any platform fee and VAT, before the customer confirms.

Leave the regulated parts to a licensed payment provider. Holding and moving customers' money is not something a marketplace should improvise, so use a provider that is authorised to do it and design the product around what they support.

Plan for the awkward cases from the start: cancellations, partial completion, no-shows and disputes. Each needs a clear rule, a visible timeline from the job record, and a way for a person to step in.