Zooba - FAQ

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How much does it cost to use Zooba?
Signing up and using Zooba is 100% free. Only buyers have to pay a very small fee when a project is completed.

What fees does Zooba charge?
Zooba charges no fees from providers. Buyers get charged 3% out of the total project amount. So if a project is quoted and selected at $1000, the buyer will have to pay $30 to Zooba. Both buyers and providers pay a $3 withdrawal processing fee. Depositing is free of charge. Escrow is free of charge. Transfer between accounts is free of charge. For deposits and withdrawals users will have to pay the specific payment gateway/carrier fee which is variable from country to country. Listing a regular project is FREE. Listing a Featured project costs $19 Listing a Job offer costs $39

What payment methods do you accept?
Users can deposit or withdraw money using the following methods: PayPal MoneyBookers Wire Transfer Western Union MoneyGram Cheque For Wire Transfer, Western Union, MoneyGram or Cheque deposits and withdrawals, please contact us directly using the contact form to get our payment details. Since all of these are manually processed, it may take up to 5 days to credit your Zooba account with the amount sent by you or up to 10 days to receive the amount you withdraw. For PayPal and MoneyBookers your account gets credited instantly in case of deposits and you receive the money immediately when the withdrawal is processed (usually 24hrs).

How much does it cost to deposit money to my Zooba account?
We don't charge anything for deposits, the only fees you will have to pay are those of the payment processor/carrier (eg: paypal, western union...)

How much does it cost to withdraw money?
We apply a $3 fixed fee for all withdrawals. You will also have to pay the payment processing/carrier fee which will be deducted from the total amount.

How long does it take to receive my money?
The processing time varies between payment processors/carriers - some options are almost instant while others can last up to 10 days. Zooba cannot influence or control the amount of time it takes for the payment to arrive to you after the payment has been sent.

How long does it take to process a withdrawal?
Withdrawals are processed and sent by us in up to 48hrs. Exception is the case of the first withdrawal made - for which we will have to hold the amount for 15 days and verify your account according to the European Anti Money Laundering Law. After the first withdrawal is processed, every other withdrawal will take up to 48hrs to process.

Can i make an advanced payment to the provider?
While it is not unusual for service providers to request an advance payment, particularly on large-scale projects, employers are under no obligation to provide one and should only consider this option with well-trusted providers. Freelancer.com assumes no responsibility for any loss of funds due to advance payments. If an advance payment is agreed upon, we highly recommend using our Escrow Payment system to transfer funds to the Provider. In addition to providing more security for both parties, this allows the use of Zooba's Dispute Resolution Services if problems arise.

Is there a fee for bidding?
No, there is no fee. Bidding is FREE and UNLIMITED.

How does Escrow work?
Escrow is a service offered for FREE by Zooba. Escrow is designed to bring safety to the transfer process, especially when the buyer and provider work together for the first time and there are trust issues. How does escrow work? The buyer sends the money in Escrow to the provider. This means the provider has the money in his Zooba account but cannot withdraw them until the job is done and accepted by the buyer. When the project is completed the buyer will release the escrow and so the provider can withdraw the money. This means a lot of safety to the buyer knowing that he will get paid 100% and also to the provider knowing that he won't lose his money (like it happens in some cases when advance payments are made) and will get the project done. What happens if the i get the project done and the buyer won't release the escrow? Or what happens if the provider doesn't complete the project in time or doesn't complete it at all? In this cases the Dispute Process is initiated. Since Escrow is FREE OF CHARGE, we recommend using it in all your projects and transactions on Zooba.

How does the Dispute Process work?
Let's say you as a provider completed a project but the buyer won't release the escrow to your account. In this case you can start the Dispute Process and an independent mediator will take a look at the whole project. If it's 100% completed (you will have to show us proof), we will release the money to your account. Also let's consider the following scenario: you are a buyer that escrowed money to a provider to completed a project, but the provider failed meet the deadline. In this case you can contact us and open a Dispute. An independent mediator will be assigned to your account that will look over all the details and if everything is your way (again, you will have to show us proof), we will reverse the escrow back to your account. The dispute process is NOT free. We have to pay the independent mediator, so we charge a 3% fee from the total project budget, fee that is to deducted from the Dispute's winner account.

What if i have other questions not covered in the FAQ?
In that case you can always contact us using the contact link at the bottom of the website and we will reply in 24hrs max (usually replies are sent in up to 6 hrs).

How do i sign up?
Fill out a short registration form. You