Held
The buyer's money is set aside for that one order. The seller can see it is there, and cannot spend it yet.
MTN MoMo
Orange Money
Escrow
Built in Buea, Cameroon
One gateway for every UGO payment. Every franc accounted for.
UGO | Pay collects mobile-money payments for the whole UGO platform, holds the money safely until a deal is done, pays it out, and writes every movement into a ledger that always adds up.
Request early access
How it works
Fees
Open the web app
Download for Android
Google Play Coming soon
App Store Coming soon
Early access. UGO | Pay is being built and tested step by step, with small amounts first. Escrow depends on approvals from the mobile-money operators and the financial regulator. Tell us what you collect and we will reply.
HOW IT WORKS
From a request to money in the right hands
The buyer never types a card number and never leaves their phone's own mobile-money menu.
- 1
A payment is requested
A UGO service (a Market order, a Signage top-up, a shop payment) asks UGO | Pay for an amount from a phone number.
- 2
The buyer approves on their phone
A mobile-money prompt (USSD) opens on their own phone. They enter their own PIN. We never see it.
- 3
The operator confirms, we record
Only when MTN or Orange confirms is the payment counted. "I paid" is never enough. It goes into the ledger and, for a deal, into escrow.
- 4
Released and paid out
When the deal is done the money is released to the seller, who is paid to their own mobile-money number. Every step is written down.
ESCROW
Money waits until the deal is done
Buying from someone you have never met is where trust breaks. Escrow takes the risk out for both sides.
Released
When the buyer confirms delivery, or the agreed waiting time ends without a problem, the money goes to the seller.
Disputed or refunded
If something is wrong, the money stays held while our team looks at it, then goes back to the buyer or on to the seller.
IN THE UGO | PAY APP
How a deal works between two people
Selling a phone, hiring a designer, renting a room: if you do not fully trust each other yet, make it a deal in the UGO | Pay app (Android, iPhone and computer). Both of you see the same terms, and the money waits with UGO | Pay until you are both happy.
- 1
Write the deal
Find the other person by their phone number, say whether you pay or get paid, what it is for, the date it must be done by, and the amount. For bigger jobs, split the price into steps, each paid when that step is done.
- 2
They accept the same terms
The other person is told on WhatsApp, reads the deal and accepts or declines. Nothing can move until they accept, and nothing changes afterwards unless both of you agree.
- 3
The payer deposits
The payer enters their PIN and a payment request goes to their MTN or Orange phone. They approve it with their mobile-money PIN. The app shows the operator's sending charge before they confirm. The deal becomes “money held” only when the operator confirms the money arrived.
- 4
The work is done
The seller starts and marks each step as delivered. The payer checks it. Either of you can write to the other inside the deal, and every message and change is kept in its history.
- 5
The payer releases the money
The payer confirms with their PIN (or fingerprint on Android) and the money moves to the seller's UGO | Pay balance. In person? The payer can instead read out a one-time six-digit handshake code, and the seller types it to release. Nobody can release money to themselves alone.
- 6
The seller is paid out
From the Wallet tab the seller asks UGO | Pay to send the money to their own MTN or Orange number. The transfer charge is shown first and comes out of the amount: send 4,000 F with a 150 F charge and 3,850 F arrives.
Changing your mind
Need more time? Ask for a new date. Price changed? Propose new steps and amounts: a higher price asks the payer for a top-up, a lower one sends the difference back to them. Want to stop? Propose how the held money is shared. Each change waits for the other person; until they accept, the old terms stand.
If something goes wrong
Either person can open a dispute. The money stays held, both add what happened, and UGO | Pay staff decide: release, refund or split, with the reasons written down. Large amounts need a second person to approve. If the date passes with nothing delivered, the payer's money goes back to them.
Who pays which fee
The payer pays the operator's sending charge on top of the price, so the full price is held. The seller pays the operator's transfer charge when they are paid out. UGO | Pay charges no service fee in its first year. MTN and Orange set their charges; the app always shows them before you confirm.
UGO | Pay collects the money and pays it out; the app only shows what the server records and never holds money itself. Your PIN is asked again for every step that moves money. This is early access: amounts are small while we test, and the money-holding arrangement depends on the operators and the regulator.
LEDGER
A ledger that always adds up
Every movement of money is written as a double entry: what came in and where it is now. Entries are never edited or deleted. A mistake is corrected by a new entry that reverses it, so the history stays honest.
- Follow any franc from the buyer to the seller
- Each day, our books are compared with the operators' statements
- Anything that does not match is flagged, never hidden
- A dashboard shows what is collected, held, paid out and owed
| Step | Money in | Where it is now | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays | MoMo wallet | Held for order 1042 | 10 000 F |
| Delivery confirmed | Held for order 1042 | Owed to the seller | 10 000 F |
| Payout sent | Owed to the seller | Seller's wallet | 10 000 F |
An illustration with round numbers, before any operator charge. The real ledger also records every operator charge as its own line.
FEES
0% UGO service charge in the first year
For the first year, UGO charges nothing for using UGO | Pay. The only charges are the ones MTN MoMo and Orange Money themselves take for moving the money.
- No UGO fee on collecting, holding or paying out
- The operator's charge is recorded on every movement, so you always see what it was
- After the first year, any UGO fee will be announced in advance
SAFETY
Built to be careful with other people's money
Money is the one place where "mostly works" is not acceptable.
Your PIN stays yours
Buyers enter their own PIN on their own phone. Wallet PINs are never stored on a server.
No double payments
Every request carries a unique key. Repeating one by accident never moves money twice.
Two people for big payouts
Large payouts need a second person to approve them. There are limits per payment and per day.
Checked every day
Our ledger is matched against the operators' statements daily. A difference raises an alert the same day.
A stop button
If anything looks wrong, payouts can be paused instantly while we investigate.
A record of who did what
Every approval and every setting change is logged, and the ledger is chained so tampering shows.
IS IT FOR YOU
What it is for, and what it is not
Built for
- UGO | Market orders held in escrow
- UGO | Signage top-ups
- Shop and order payments across the UGO platform
- Sellers who want to be paid to their own mobile-money number
Not for
- Card payments or international transfers
- Payments for anything illegal or that UGO does not host
- Large sums before the early-access limits are lifted
EARLY ACCESS
Tell us what you collect
Write to us with what you sell or collect, and roughly how many payments a week. We reply on WhatsApp or by phone, and add you as soon as the service opens for your kind of business.
FAQ
Common questions
Is UGO | Pay available now?
Not yet. It is in early access: we are building it step by step and testing it with small amounts first. Tell us what you collect and we will reply on WhatsApp or by phone when it opens for your kind of business.
How much does it cost?
For the first year UGO charges 0% for using UGO | Pay. The only charges are the ones MTN MoMo and Orange Money take for moving money. Those charges are set by the operators, and every movement shows what was charged. Any UGO fee after the first year will be announced in advance.
Which payment methods does it support?
MTN MoMo and Orange Money. There are no card payments and no international transfers.
Do I enter my PIN on UGO?
No. The buyer approves the payment on their own phone, in their own mobile-money menu, with their own PIN. UGO | Pay never asks for it and never stores a wallet PIN on a server.
How does escrow work?
When a deal needs it, the buyer's money is held for that order until the buyer confirms delivery or the agreed waiting time ends without a problem. Then it is released to the seller. If something goes wrong, the money stays held while we look at it, and then goes back to the buyer or on to the seller. Escrow depends on approvals from the mobile-money operators and the financial regulator, so it opens only when those are in place.
How do I know where my money is?
Every movement is written into a ledger as a double entry, and entries are never edited or deleted: a mistake is corrected by a new entry that reverses it. Each day the ledger is compared with the operators' statements, and any difference is flagged. A dashboard shows what is collected, held, paid out and owed.
How do sellers get paid?
To their own mobile-money number, after the deal is done. Large payouts need a second person to approve them, and there are limits per payment and per day while the service is young.
What if the operator confirms a payment late, or twice?
A payment counts only when the operator confirms it, and each request has a unique key, so a repeated confirmation never moves money twice. A confirmation that arrives late is still matched to its payment.
Is my data safe?
Payment records contain phone numbers and amounts, so access is limited to approved staff, and every approval and settings change is logged. Read the terms and privacy page for how UGO handles personal data.
Something else? Contact us.