Algeria's digital economy is growing at an unprecedented rate. E-commerce platforms, freelance marketplaces, and peer-to-peer classifieds are multiplying every year, and with that growth comes a problem as old as commerce itself: how do two strangers trust each other enough to exchange money for goods or services they haven't seen yet? This is where escrow comes in — and why Thiqaty was built from the ground up to serve the Algerian market specifically, rather than adapting a foreign product to local conditions after the fact.
An escrow service acts as a neutral third party that holds funds during a transaction. The buyer deposits money into the escrow account, the seller delivers the goods or fulfills the service, and once both parties confirm the transaction is complete, the funds are released. If something goes wrong along the way, the escrow service steps in to mediate the dispute using pre-agreed rules rather than the goodwill of either party. It replaces blind trust with a verifiable process — which is precisely what a fast-growing digital economy needs to keep scaling safely.
What makes Thiqaty different from international escrow platforms is our deep integration with Algeria's actual payment infrastructure. We support CIB and Edahabia cards, BaridiMob mobile transfers, and CCP postal accounts — the payment rails Algerians already use every day. There is no need for international credit cards, no currency conversion, and no dependency on a foreign banking rail that only serves a fraction of the population. Escrow only works if it is as easy to fund as the payment method people already trust.
Every transaction on Thiqaty is recorded on an immutable, cryptographically verifiable ledger. Every fund movement, every milestone completion, and every dispute resolution is logged with a timestamp and a hash that cannot be altered after the fact. This transparency is the foundation of trust between two strangers transacting online: neither party has to take the other's word for it, because the platform itself provides an auditable record that both sides — and, if needed, a mediator — can inspect.
For buyers, Thiqaty eliminates the fear of sending money to an unknown seller and receiving nothing in return. Funds are locked in escrow until the buyer explicitly confirms delivery, and only then does payout occur. For sellers, it removes the opposite risk: shipping a product or completing freelance work without any guarantee of payment. Because the funds are already locked in escrow before work begins, sellers can see proof of committed funds and proceed with confidence.
The Thiqaty escrow process follows four straightforward steps. First, Agreement: both parties define the terms of the transaction, including price, deliverables, and deadlines, inside the platform. Second, Escrow: the buyer funds the transaction using CIB, Edahabia, BaridiMob, or CCP, and the money is locked. Third, Delivery: the seller provides the goods or completes the service according to the agreed terms. Fourth, Payout: once the buyer confirms satisfaction, the funds are released to the seller, typically within minutes rather than days.
For higher-value or multi-phase projects, Thiqaty also supports milestone-based escrow, where a single agreement is split into several funded stages. This is particularly useful for freelance work, construction subcontracting, and agency retainers, where paying 100% upfront is too risky for the buyer and waiting until full completion is too risky for the seller. Splitting the engagement into milestones lets both sides de-risk the relationship without sacrificing speed.
We've processed thousands of transactions since launch, with a 99.8% successful-completion rate and a median dispute resolution time of under 48 hours. Our compliance team operates entirely within Algerian regulatory requirements, meaning every KYC check, every fund movement, and every dispute follows a process designed specifically for Algerian law, not retrofitted from a foreign jurisdiction.
As Algeria's digital economy continues its rapid expansion — projected to keep growing through 2026 and beyond — the platforms and marketplaces built on top of it will only be as trustworthy as the payment infrastructure underneath them. Escrow is not a nice-to-have feature for a niche use case; it is quickly becoming the baseline expectation for any serious online transaction between parties who haven't met in person. Thiqaty exists to make that expectation a reality for every Algerian buyer and seller, regardless of the payment method they prefer.
Karim Benali
Lead Architect at Thiqaty