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What FairBank Escrow holds, and how.
FairBank Escrow sits between the two parties in a deal, holds the value at stake, and releases it only when the terms are met. We handle two kinds of deal today. Below is what each one is, what we actually hold and check, and what happens if a deal goes wrong.
The two deal types
Crypto to crypto
Two parties want to swap one crypto asset for another, for example Bitcoin for Ether. The risk is that whoever sends first is trusting the other to send back. With FairBank Escrow, both sides send their leg to us; we confirm each one landed, then release both together, so nobody has to move first and hope. The deal value you enter is the dollar figure the swap is worth, which is what the fee is based on; the exact assets go in the description.
Bank transfer to crypto
One party is buying crypto with a bank wire. The buyer wires funds and the seller sends the coin; the risk is a wire that clears with no coin, or coin sent against a wire that never arrives. We hold the wire while we confirm the coin is in escrow, and hold the coin while we confirm the wire cleared, then settle the two together. The deal value is the dollar amount of the wire.
What we hold and verify
FairBank Escrow holds the funds at stake apart from the deal itself, in our own bank and crypto accounts. While a deal is open, neither party can pull the funds out from under the other. The money only moves on a status set by our staff.
Before a deal is marked Funded, we confirm the value has actually arrived, the wire in the bank account or the coin in the crypto account. Before it is marked Verified, we confirm the terms of the deal have been met, which the two parties describe when they submit. Before funds are released, a reviewer gives the deal a final check. Each of these is a real person looking at the real accounts, not an automatic rule, and each status change is recorded on the deal with the time it happened.
Every step a deal takes is written to its history and is visible to both parties when they look the deal up. There is no ambiguity about what state a deal is in or when it changed.
How disputes are handled
While the funds are held, either party can open a dispute from the status page using their reference number and email. They write a plain statement of what went wrong and can attach a supporting file. Opening a dispute pauses the deal; nothing releases while it is open.
Both parties can add evidence while the dispute is open, so a reviewer sees each side. A FairBank Escrow reviewer weighs the evidence and decides one of two outcomes: release the funds to the seller, or refund the buyer. That decision is a human judgment, the same way a traditional escrow agent would settle a disagreement, and it closes the deal.