Payment
How the actual money (bank transfer, mobile money, etc.) moves outside the blockchain.
The USDT side of a trade moves entirely on-chain, through escrow. The fiat side — your actual bank transfer or mobile money payment — moves entirely off-platform, directly between you and your counterparty. This guide covers that off-chain half.
Expected time
6 minutes
Difficulty
Beginner
You'll need
An active, funded trade
Why Trustfy never touches your payment#
Trustfy has no banking license and no ability to move fiat currency — and doesn't want one. Your payment goes directly from your bank or mobile money account to your counterparty's, using whatever rail you both agreed to. Trustfy's only job is to make sure the USDT side is safe and provable, which is what escrow handles.
Payment methods#
Every ad lists the specific payment rails its owner accepts — bank transfer, a named mobile money service, and so on, depending on the market. Only match an ad whose payment methods you can actually use.
The payment flow, step by step#
- 1
Wait for Escrow Funded
Never send payment before the trade shows funds are locked — see Trade Lifecycle.
- 2
Get exact payment details from chat
Account number, name, reference note — whatever the seller specifies. Follow it exactly, including any reference/note field, so the seller can match your payment to your trade.
- 3
Send the exact amount, off-platform
Use your own bank or mobile money app. This step has nothing to do with your crypto wallet.
- 4
Mark the trade paid
Click I Have Paid only after the transfer is actually sent — this is a factual claim, not a formality.
- 5
Seller verifies and releases
The seller checks their own account and releases your USDT once confirmed — see Selling Crypto for their side of this.
Payment details can only be trusted from the trade chat
What counts as proof of payment#
A bank-issued transaction receipt or statement line is strong proof. A screenshot of a payment app is weaker — these are easy to fabricate — so sellers are encouraged to verify independently in their own account rather than relying on a screenshot alone.
- Paying to a different account than the one shown in the trade chat.
- Leaving out a required reference/note, making it hard for the seller to match your payment.
- Marking a trade paid before actually completing the transfer, which just causes confusion and delay.
What if I sent the wrong amount by mistake? Message your counterparty immediately in the trade chat — this needs to be sorted out directly, since Trustfy can't see or reverse fiat transfers.
Does Trustfy support every payment method? Only the ones a given ad's owner has chosen to accept — check before matching.
Is there a payment method fee from Trustfy? No — any fee your bank or mobile money provider charges is separate from and unrelated to Trustfy's own fees, covered in Bonds & Fees.
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