Buy and sell online with confidence.
Zola securely holds your payment until your transaction is completed, protecting both buyers and sellers every step of the way.
- The seller is paid only after the buyer confirms delivery
- Fees and delivery shown before anyone pays
- Every step is recorded, with a transaction ID
Wireless headphones, new in box
FCFA 185,000
Waiting for the buyer to pay Zola
What happens next
The buyer pays Zola.
Who needs to act
The buyer
How Zola works
The buyer pays Zola, not the seller. Zola holds the money until the order arrives, then releases it. Four steps, and you can always see where the money is.
- BuyerZolaSeller
No money has moved
Create a transaction
Buyer and seller agree on the transaction details.
- BuyerZolaSeller
Zola is holding the money
Buyer pays Zola
The buyer sends payment to Zola instead of directly to the seller.
- BuyerZolaSeller
The money stays with Zola
Seller delivers
The seller ships or delivers the agreed product or service.
- BuyerZolaSeller
The seller has the money
Zola releases the payment
Once the buyer confirms delivery, Zola releases the funds to the seller.
Protection for both sides of the deal
Your payment is protected by Zola until the transaction is completed.
- Pay Zola, not a stranger. The seller sees that you've paid, but can't touch the money yet.
- Confirm when it arrives. The payment is released only after you confirm delivery.
- Something wrong? Open a dispute. Your payment stays held while Zola reviews it.
The payment is secured before you ship anything.
- Know the buyer has paid. Zola tells you the moment the payment is held.
- Keep the full price. You receive the whole item price. The Zola fee and delivery are added to the buyer's total.
- Withdraw to mobile money. Once a transaction is completed, the funds are in your Zola wallet.
The full cost, shown before you pay
Zola charges 5% of the item price, plus FCFA 1,000 for delivery. Both are added to the buyer's total and shown clearly before payment. The seller receives the full price they asked for.
The FCFA 1,000 covers a standard delivery. If your item costs more than that to deliver, you will have to pay the difference. For services with nothing to deliver, no delivery fee is added.
No service can remove every risk from buying and selling online. What Zola does is keep the money in the middle until both sides have done what they agreed.
Example
Trust the transaction, even when you've never met.
Zola is built in Africa, where a great deal of trade happens between people who have never met. It is made to work wherever buyers and sellers need to trust each other.