Your money is released only for work you approve.
Building is the biggest payment most families make, and the usual way of paying (cash up front) leaves you with no leverage. With Banao the money sits in escrow and moves one approved milestone at a time.
How escrow works
- 01 · Fund
You put the money into escrow
When you award a bid, you fund it into escrow by bank transfer: in full, milestone by milestone, or in installments on larger jobs. Your agent confirms the transfer. The professional sees that the job is funded before they start.
- 02 · Work
The professional does the work
The job is split into milestones. The professional submits each one with photos, drawings or reports, and you review it in your dashboard. Your agent can talk it through with you.
- 03 · Approve
You approve, or ask for changes
Ask for changes until a milestone is right. Nothing is released while you are not satisfied.
- 04 · Release
Only then is it paid
Once you approve, that milestone is paid from escrow to the professional. Money for work that has not been approved stays in escrow.
What it protects you from
- No big advances to hope against
- You fund escrow, not the contractor. A professional never holds money for work that has not been done.
- A neutral agent if things go wrong
- Report a dispute from your dashboard. Your agent reviews it within 24 hours, and escrowed money stays put until it is resolved.
- Everything on the record
- Every payment, milestone, approval and message is kept in your dashboard, so there is a clear history for you and for Banao to rely on.
- Verified professionals only
- Architects, contractors and solar installers are reviewed by Banao before they can bid.
Who holds your money
The arrangement, in plain words, before you pay anything.
- Who holds the money
- Banao holds client payments for awarded work, in the bank account named on your payment screen. A professional never holds your escrow, and Banao does not spend it. It is released only to the professional, against an approved milestone, or returned to you.
- How it gets there
- You pay by bank transfer to the account shown in your dashboard, then upload the transfer screenshot in your support chat. Your agent confirms it, and the professional sees the job is funded before work starts.
- Where it is recorded
- Every payment, release and refund appears in your ledger and receipts, so you can see exactly where each rupee is at any time.
If you reject a milestone
Rejecting is a normal part of the process, not a dispute you have to win.
- You say what is wrong
- Choose “ask for changes” on the milestone and write what does not match the drawings or the schedule of work. The professional is notified at once.
- The money stays put
- Nothing is released for a milestone you have not approved. It stays in escrow while the professional corrects the work and resubmits it with new photos or reports.
- Banao can inspect
- If you and the professional disagree, report a dispute. Your agent reviews it within 24 hours and can send a Banao inspector to the site. The inspection report is the evidence both sides are held to.
- Fair outcomes only
- Where the work is partly right, only the part that was completed correctly is released. Where it is wrong, none of it is. The decision and its reason are written down and shown to both sides.
If the contractor abandons the project
What happens to the money and to the unfinished house.
- Report it the day work stops
- Tell your agent from your dashboard. Money not yet released for approved work stays in escrow and cannot be withdrawn by the contractor.
- A written notice period
- Your agent sends the contractor a written notice to return to site. The notice period is set in the award contract, and it is kept on record.
- Re-tender the rest
- If the contractor does not return, the remaining work is re-tendered to verified contractors, using an inspection report of what is built so far. Escrow you funded for unfinished work pays the new contractor, or comes back to you.
- What Banao does not do
- Banao does not pay a defaulting contractor, and it does not pay a replacement from its own money. The unfinished milestones are the money you funded for them; the contractor’s payment for unapproved work is forfeited under the contract.
If the cost goes above the tender
How changes in rates and quantities affect your agreed project total.
- The tender price reflects current rates and quantities
- Contractors bid against the same itemised schedule of work. A submitted or awarded total is a snapshot of current item rates and quantities. Changes in rates or actual quantities can increase or decrease the overall project price.
- Extra work needs your written yes
- If something genuinely has to change, the contractor must raise a written variation before doing the work, with the reason and the cost. It only counts once you approve it in your dashboard. Unapproved extras are not paid from escrow.
- Account for increases and decreases
- Changes to material or labour rates and actual quantities must be recorded as a priced variation showing the increase or decrease and the revised total. Any adjustment must be agreed in writing before payment; it does not change escrow automatically.
- You see the total at every step
- Approved increases and decreases are reflected in the milestone schedule, so you always see what you have agreed to pay and what is still in escrow.
Who is responsible for defects
Where Banao’s responsibility ends, and the contractor’s begins.
- The contractor answers for the work
- Construction defects are the contractor’s legal responsibility under the contract you award. Banao does not build, and it does not guarantee the contractor’s work in place of the contractor.
- Banao’s part is the evidence
- Your agent and the inspection reports record what was built and when. If a defect is found, that record is what you and the contractor rely on, and what Banao uses to decide any dispute about escrow.
- A defects period in the contract
- Each award contract states a defects-liability period after handover. During it, the contractor must put right defects you report in writing.
Insurance and warranty
What covers the build, and who provides it.
- Contractor insurance
- Contractors are required to carry insurance for site accidents and damage to third parties, and the contract names who is covered. Ask your agent for the certificate before you award.
- Structural warranty
- The contract sets a structural warranty period for the work, so the contractor stays answerable for the structure after you have moved in.
- What Banao provides itself
- Banao does not itself insure your build. Its protection is the escrow, the inspections and the written record. Any cover beyond that is the contractor’s, and is stated in your contract.
See it before you commit
Escrow questions
No. Banao holds client payments for awarded work and releases them as milestones are approved. You pay by bank transfer to Banao’s account, and your agent confirms it.
The money for that milestone stays in escrow. The professional fixes the work and resubmits it. If you still disagree, report a dispute: your agent reviews it within 24 hours, can send an inspector, and releases only what was done correctly.
Money not yet released stays in escrow. Your agent sends a written notice, and if the contractor does not return, the rest of the work is re-tendered. The escrow you funded for unfinished work pays the new contractor, or is returned to you.
Yes. The tender total reflects current rates and quantities. Changes in rates or actual quantities can increase or decrease the overall price. Adjustments must be documented and agreed in writing before payment; escrow does not change automatically.
The contractor, under the contract you award, including a defects-liability period after handover. Banao keeps the inspection record that proves what was built.
Contractors are required to carry insurance and give a structural warranty, both stated in your contract. Banao does not insure the build itself.
Refunds depend on what the money was for and how far the work has gone. See the Refund & Cancellation Policy for the exact rules.
Banao’s fees are listed on the Fees page, and your exact amount is shown before you pay for anything.
More in the FAQ, the Refund & Cancellation Policy and the Fees page.