What does Settle cost?
The buyer pays a flat 3% fee on top of the price. Sellers pay nothing and keep 100% of the agreed price. On an $800 deal, the buyer sends $824 and the seller receives $800. There are no accounts, subscriptions, or hidden fees.
Do I need an account or an app?
No. One person creates the deal and shares a link. The other person opens the link in any browser and fills in their side. No signup, no app download, and no password, for either of you.
How does the money actually move?
By Interac e-transfer, the same way Canadians already send money. The buyer sends the payment to Settle, where it is verified and held. When the buyer confirms they received the item as described, Settle sends the seller a normal Interac e-transfer for the full price. The seller never handles anything unusual, just an everyday e-transfer arriving in their bank.
When does the seller get paid?
As soon as the buyer confirms they've received the item and it's as described. Both sides see the deal's status update live, and both get an email at every step: payment secured, item handed over, payment released.
What if the item isn't as described?
Don't confirm receipt. The money stays held. It cannot move to the seller without your confirmation. Contact us at hello@settleus.ca and we'll work with both sides to resolve it. The core protection is simple: no confirmation, no release. And if a buyer won't confirm a deal that was completed fairly, we review both sides before any funds are released or returned. The same protection works for sellers too.
Can a buyer reverse the payment after the deal?
No, and this is a key difference from card-based services. Interac e-transfers have no chargebacks. Once the buyer confirms and the payment is released, it's final. Sellers get certainty; buyers get protection on the front end, because nothing is released until they say so.
Can we cancel a deal?
Yes, any time before the item is handed over. If a deal is cancelled, the buyer's full payment (including the fee) is refunded. Both sides are notified by email.
Does Settle work for shipped deals, or only meetups?
Both. For meetups, payment is secured before the handover. For shipped deals, Settle holds the money until the item arrives and the buyer confirms it's as described, so neither side has to go first.
Is Settle a bank?
No. Settle is an independent Canadian payment-protection service operated by a federally incorporated Canadian company. Held funds are kept separate until release. They are never used for anything other than completing or refunding your deal.
What happens to my information?
We collect the minimum a deal needs: names, emails, the item, and the price. We don't sell data, and we don't require accounts, so there's no profile of you to begin with. Questions: hello@settleus.ca.
Still have a question? Email hello@settleus.ca and a real person answers.
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