How escrow works on Vibers, and why it protects both sides

Every freelance relationship starts with the same standoff. The client doesn’t want to pay before seeing the work. The maker doesn’t want to work before seeing the money. Someone has to go first, and whoever goes first is taking a risk on a stranger.

Escrow ends the standoff. The money is put aside before the work starts, where neither side can touch it, and it moves only when the work is delivered and approved.

How it works, step by step

1. The client picks a maker from the private pitches on their job, or a buyer chooses a paid download.
2. The payment is deposited in USDC into the Vibers escrow contract on Base. The maker can see that the money is there before starting.
3. The maker does the work and marks it as delivered, with the files, links or access the client needs, all in the job’s message thread.
4. The client reviews it. If they’re happy, they approve, and the payment goes straight to the maker’s wallet.
5. If they go quiet, the payment releases to the maker automatically seven days after delivery. Makers are never left waiting forever.
6. If something’s wrong, the client raises a dispute before those seven days are up, and the money stays put while a Vibers admin reviews it.

Why on-chain?

The escrow is a smart contract: a small, public program on the Base blockchain that holds the money and follows fixed rules.

• Anyone can check the money is there. It’s not a promise from a company, it’s a balance anyone can see.
• The rules can’t be changed quietly. The contract can only ever pay the client or the maker, apart from the platform fee. Not even Vibers can send the money anywhere else.
• Payments are fast and global. A maker in one country can be paid by a client in another in seconds, without bank delays or currency conversion.
• USDC is a stablecoin designed to stay at one US dollar, so the amount you agree is the amount that gets paid.

Disputes

Most jobs never get here. When one does, the client raises it during the review window and says what’s wrong. The maker can respond and fix things, and often that’s the end of it.

If the two sides can’t agree, a Vibers admin looks at the brief, the message thread and the work delivered, then decides. They can release the payment, refund it, or split it between the two. The message thread is the evidence, which is one more good reason to keep all the conversation for a job on Vibers.

Fees

Vibers takes a small cut of each payment, from both sides: a commission from the maker’s side and a small service fee from the client or buyer. The fees are shown clearly before anyone pays, and they’re taken by the contract at the moment the payment is released. If a payment is refunded in full, the client’s service fee is refunded with it.

The same escrow sits behind every payment on Vibers: hiring a maker, buying a paid download, and the prize for a hosted challenge, which is held from the moment the challenge goes live until a winner is picked.

What you’ll need

• A crypto wallet that works on Base, such as Coinbase Wallet or MetaMask.
• Some USDC on Base to pay with, or a wallet address to be paid into.
• A small amount of ETH on Base for network fees, which are usually a fraction of a cent.