Every Sargo trade ends one of two ways: both sides are happy, or someone disputes. Most platforms settle disputes with screenshots and judgement calls. Sargo settles them with mathematics.
The happy path needs no proof at all
When a client accepts a merchant's price, the stablecoins lock in the on-chain escrow contract. The shillings travel directly between the two of you over M-Pesa or bank transfer. When the receiving side confirms the money arrived — or the order completes unchallenged within its window — the escrow releases. No evidence needed, because nobody is arguing.
When someone disputes, evidence decides — not arguments
If a payment is contested, the party who paid can generate a zero-knowledge proof of the real transfer, produced from their own banking or mobile-money session. The proof demonstrates cryptographically that the payment happened, to the right recipient, for the right amount — without handing anyone their login, their session, or their statement. The escrow contract verifies the proof and the outcome follows the evidence. A verified proof of correct payment releases the funds. No payment, no release.
What this means in practice
Screenshots can be forged; proofs cannot. A dispute is no longer your word against a stranger's — it is a question with a checkable answer. Each side has 48 hours to respond once a dispute opens, and an unresponsive party can lose on that ground alone. Your banking credentials never leave your device, and Sargo only ever sees the verification result.
This is the same principle that runs through the whole rail: trust the contract and the cryptography, not the counterparty. You can read the formal version in our Terms of Service, section 8.