Money, agreements and the Guarantee

Vallo never holds your money. When you pay, the owner's or agent's share goes straight to their bank account through our payment processor, in the same transaction.

There is no Vallo wallet, no balance, no escrow and no held payment. There is nothing to top up and nothing to withdraw. If anybody tells you that Vallo is holding money for you, or asks you to send money to be held, it is not us.

When you pay by card or bank transfer, the payment processor divides that one payment into three parts in the same transaction: the owner’s or agent’s share, paid to the bank account on their payout details; the Vallo Guarantee contribution, between 1 and 2 percent, paid to a separate reserve; and Vallo’s commission, which is zero today. The three always add up exactly to what you paid, and the database refuses a payment row where they do not.

The Guarantee contribution comes out of the owner’s or agent’s share. It is never added on top of the price you were shown.

Where crypto payment is offered, Yellow Card converts it to naira first and the naira is split the same way. Vallo never holds crypto and never gives you a crypto address of its own.

Payment opens only after the inspection report is submitted, both of you confirm the agreement, and Vallo approves it.

For a rental: you inspect the property and submit the inspection report, eight items with photographs. An agreement is drawn up from the listing’s own figures and your report, with the move-in date and the day the keys are handed over. You and the owner or agent each confirm the same version; if anything changes, the version moves and both of you confirm again. An agent confirming for an owner confirms that they hold the owner’s mandate.

For a stay: the host accepts your booking, which draws up the agreement from the booking itself.

Then a person at Vallo reviews it and approves it, or sends it back with a reason. Both of you are told by email and in the app the moment it is decided, and every decision is logged. Your agreements live under Agreements.

Vallo charges no inspection fee. Viewing a property through Vallo is free. If an owner or agent asks you for a fee to inspect, that is a private arrangement between you and them. It is not a Vallo charge, Vallo does not collect it, and you can report it to us.

A refund goes back to the card or bank account you paid with, through our payment processor. Banks usually show it within 5 to 10 working days. Because Vallo keeps no balance, a refund can only go back the way the money came. The booking shows its refund and where it stands.

The Vallo Guarantee: between 1 and 2 percent of every payment is set aside in a separate reserve, kept apart from Vallo's own money. If something covered goes wrong, you can claim from it in the 72 hours after you move in or check in, up to what you paid for that booking. A person at Vallo reviews every claim before anything is paid.

At launch the Guarantee covers rentals and stays paid through Vallo. It does not cover property purchases.

You claim from the agreement, with photographs, in the 72 hours after move-in or check-in. A person checks the claim against the inspection report and the agreement. A claim is capped at what you paid for that booking and by what is in the reserve when it is decided, and an approved claim is paid to your bank account. Anything arranged or paid outside Vallo is not covered.

Your share of a payment settles straight to the bank account on your payout details, through Paystack, at the moment the renter or guest pays. Vallo never holds it, so there is nothing to withdraw. Paystack pays settled money into your bank on its normal settlement schedule.

Add your bank account under payout details before anybody can pay you. The agreement shows the Guarantee percentage before it is confirmed, so the figure you receive is known in advance.

Every payment and every refund carries a reference that is unique, enforced by the database rather than checked in passing. It is the thing to quote to support, and it is what makes a payment traceable rather than merely recorded. The smallest single payment is ₦100 and the largest is ₦10,000,000.

Keep every message, agreement and payment on Vallo. Vallo is not responsible for anything arranged, discussed or paid outside the platform. The Disclaimer says exactly what that covers.