The safe middle for any deal.
Buying from a stranger? Your money waits in the middle, in a smart contract, while you check what you got. Selling? You see that the money is there before you send anything.
0.2 % of the price, from the seller's part. No password, no seed phrase.
Example
Road bikeAlice sells · Bob buys · 7 days to check
820 USDC
- Paid in, done
- Started, done
- Sent, done
- Checking
- Pay out
Did everything arrive as agreed? 5 days left
- 0.2 %Taken only from the seller's part. On 820 USDC that is 1.64.
- Nobody takes itThe money goes to the seller, back to the buyer, or is split if you both agree. We can't move it.
- Just a fingerprintOr your face, or your screen lock: that is how you sign. No app to install, no password, no seed phrase.
Four steps, one link
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1
Write the deal
What it is, the price, how many days the buyer gets to check it, and the arbiter who decides if you disagree.
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2
Send one link
Share it in any chat or by email. The other side opens it, accepts and confirms with a fingerprint, face or screen lock.
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3
Money in the middle
The buyer pays into the escrow. The seller sees that the money is there, starts the deal and delivers.
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4
Release or ask for help
All good: the buyer releases the money to the seller. A problem: agree on a split, or the arbiter decides.
For any deal where one pays and the other delivers
You choose how long the buyer gets to check, from 1 to 30 days. If the buyer does nothing in that time, the seller can collect the money.
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Things you sell
A bike, a phone, a camera, handed over or sent by post.
Tip: if you send it by post, give the buyer 7 days or more.
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Work and services
A logo, a website, a translation, paid when it is delivered.
Tip: give the client enough days to look through the work.
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Domains and digital goods
Paid when the transfer shows in the buyer's account.
Tip: a few days to check is usually enough.
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Crypto trades
Buying coins from another person? Your USDC waits until the coins are in your wallet.
Tip: coins arrive fast, so 1 day to check is often enough.
If something goes wrong
Open a dispute before the checking time ends, and the money stays locked until it is sorted out. Nobody can take it in the meantime: not the other side, not us.
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1
Agree between you
Propose a split. For example, the buyer keeps the item and gets part of the money back. When you both propose the same split, the deal closes at once. A proposal does not stop the checking time: if you have not agreed, open a dispute before it ends.
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2
Or let the arbiter decide
Either of you can open a dispute before the checking time ends, then send the arbiter a link to the deal. Until then, the arbiter is not contacted and knows nothing about it.
The arbiter gives everything to the seller or everything back to the buyer. The buyer and the seller pay the arbiter's fee directly to the arbiter; it never comes out of the escrow.
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3
Or change the arbiter
Once the deal has started, you can both agree on another arbiter, for example if yours does not answer. When you both propose the same one, the deal switches to them.
One fee, 0.2 %
It comes only from the seller's part, when money goes to the seller.
The buyer pays nothing extra, and a full refund to the buyer pays no fee.
On the test network, we also pay the network fees.
Example price
820 USDC
- The buyer pays
- 820.00
- Fairmid fee, 0.2 %
- − 1.64
- The seller gets
- 818.36 USDC
If there is a dispute, the buyer and the seller pay the arbiter's fee directly to the arbiter. It never comes out of the escrow.
What keeps you safe
What we can't do
- Move, freeze or keep your money. The contract has no admin.
- Sign for you. Your passkey stays on your device or in your password manager.
- Change the terms once the money is in the escrow.
What you should do
- Accept only links for deals you agreed on, from the person you agreed them with.
- Check the other side's full address in the app before money moves.
- Trust what the app reads from the contract, never a screenshot.
- Release the money only when you have what you paid for.
Questions
Do I need to know crypto?
No. The buyer pays with USDC, a digital dollar, and you sign with your fingerprint, face or screen lock.
On this test site it is test USDC with no value. The app shows you how to get it free from Circle, the company behind USDC.
Who are the arbiters?
A person you both trust, outside Fairmid, whom you agree on when you make the deal. The deal stores only their address.
They are not contacted and know nothing about the deal unless one of you opens a dispute. Then they give everything to the seller or everything back to the buyer.
Their fee is paid by the buyer and the seller, directly to the arbiter, and only if there is a dispute. It never comes out of the escrow.
What if Fairmid disappears?
The money stays in the contract. The contract has no admin, so nobody, not even us, can take the money or change the terms.
But today a test account's passkey signs only in our test app, at the address where it was made. Without the site you would need another way to sign, and that has to be solved before any real money.
Why only 0.2 %?
We never hold your money, and nobody handles payments by hand: the contract holds the money and pays it out. The arbiter is paid separately, only if you need one.
Fake escrow sites also promise low fees, so check that you are on the real one (see the next question).
How do I know it's really Fairmid?
The Fairmid test site uses only these addresses: fairmid.com for the home page, test.fairmid.com for the test app, and the older escrow.artivision.tech, which keeps the accounts and deals made there. Check the address bar: exactly one of these, nothing longer, nothing similar.
Your passkey works only at the address where you made it, so a look-alike site cannot use it. An account made at escrow.artivision.tech stays there: at test.fairmid.com you create a new one.
Accept only links for deals you agreed on, from the person you agreed them with, and check the other side's full address in the app before money moves.
Is this real money?
No. Deals here use test USDC on Base Sepolia, a test network. Test USDC has no value.
Real money comes only after an outside audit of the contracts.
Deal with anyone. Let the middle hold the money.
Start a deal in the test app. The passkeys and the escrow contract are real; the network is Base Sepolia, a test network, and the money is test USDC with no value.
Other ways to try it
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App preview
Click through a whole deal in the planned app. It is a prototype: nobody signs in, nothing is sent and no money moves.
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Contract demo
Play the buyer, the seller and the arbiter of one deal. Our draft escrow contract runs inside your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
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Testnet page
Create a test account with a passkey and send one test transaction; we pay its network fee. You can make a test deal there too.