Where the money sits

The journey of one payment

1. 1
   The buyer gets a one-time account number

   For each payment, we send the buyer an account number made just for that deal, from Moniepoint Microfinance Bank through its Monnify service. It works for about 40 minutes.

2. 2
   The buyer transfers from their own bank

   Any Nigerian bank or app. The money lands at Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, not with the seller and not in a Hoolam staff account.

3. 3
   Held for the deal

   We check the payment with the bank before we treat it as received, then tell both sides. The money sits in Hoolam’s collection account at Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, recorded against that one deal.

4. 4
   Released or refunded

   When the buyer is happy, the price is sent to the seller’s bank account. If there’s a problem decided for the buyer, everything they paid goes back to their account.

Kept apart, and accounted for

Money held for deals is kept in a collection account used only for deals. Hoolam’s own running costs are paid from a separate account. Our fee is only moved out of the collection account after a deal has been completed and the seller paid.

Every naira that comes in is written down against its deal in our records, and every naira that goes out is written down too: to the seller, to the buyer, or, after completion, as our fee. Each entry has to balance, so the money held for open deals can be checked against the bank at any time.

What nobody at Hoolam can do

• Send held money to anyone other than the seller of that deal or the buyer who paid it.
• Change the price or fee of a deal after the buyer has paid.
• Move money without it being recorded, with their name, in a record that can’t be edited.
• Ask you to pay to a personal account. Hoolam will only ever give you an account number inside our own WhatsApp chat, for one deal.

About our bank partner

Moniepoint Microfinance Bank is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Monnify is its payment service for businesses. It gives each payment its own account number, receives the transfer, holds the balance, checks account names, and sends our payouts and refunds.

Hoolam itself is not a bank. We don’t take deposits, we don’t pay interest on held money, and we don’t lend it.

Checking on your money

Every message about a deal tells you where the money is now. You can also ask in the chat at any time with your deal code, or tap “Talk to a person”. For the full rules, see our Holding agreement.