Never send money outside the app. Here is why

Every so often a seller will suggest paying them directly instead of through the platform. It sounds harmless, sometimes generous. It is the single most expensive mistake you can make on any marketplace, and it is worth understanding exactly why.

What you give up, precisely

A payment sent directly to a personal mobile money number falls entirely outside our Returns and Refund Policy and entirely outside buyer protection. Not partly. Entirely.

That means:

• No money held against your order. The seller has it the moment you send it.
• No seven day window to report a problem.
• No dispute to raise, because there is no transaction on our system to dispute.
• No refund we can make, because we never received your money.

You are not a Sokomoja buyer at that point. You are two people who met on a website and made a private arrangement.

How the request usually arrives

It rarely looks like a scam. It looks like a favour or a small practical problem:

• “Pay me directly and I will give you a discount, the platform charges me commission.”
• “My account is having a problem today, send to this number and I will still deliver.”
• “Send half now to reserve it and pay the rest on delivery.”
• “It is faster this way, the platform holds my money for days.”

The discount version is the most persuasive because the reasoning is true. We do charge the seller commission. What the offer leaves out is that the discount is funded by removing every protection you have.

Why an honest seller does not ask

A verified seller who intends to deliver has no reason to move you off the platform. They get paid either way. What they lose by going outside is their record, their badge and their standing, which are worth more to a serious business than one order.

Sellers who ask are either trying to avoid the accountability of a verified transaction, or have no intention of sending anything at all.

What to do if you are asked

Do not send the money. Keep the message, do not delete it. Report it through Report a Problem with the shop name and a screenshot.

You are not getting anyone into trouble unfairly. Asking a buyer to pay off-platform is a breach of the seller terms, and it is usually the first visible sign of a shop that will cause someone else a real loss next week.

The same rule, from the seller side

If you sell here, do not ask for it either. It puts your account at risk, and settlement can be withheld where a seller is in breach of the Terms. The commission you would save is 9 percent. The account you would risk is the whole business.

How the protection works is set out in the Trust Centre.