A fair thing to want to know, and the answer should be mechanism rather than warmth.
The flow
You pay. The payment goes through a payment provider. We never see your card.
The money comes to us, not to the seller. The seller is told they have sold the thing; they are not told to expect money yet.
The item travels.
It reaches you. Now the seller's side of it is released, minus their commission and whatever they chose to absorb. What comes out of a sale.
If something is wrong, the money is still here. A dispute holds that order's payout until it is settled.
Why not just pass it straight on
Because then every first purchase from an unknown shop would be a gamble, and almost nobody takes one. The hold is not us being careful with your money — it is the thing that makes a stranger's shop買able at all.
Sellers pay for that in waiting. Their side of it.
What this does not cover
Anything paid outside Metzee. There is no hold on money that never came here. Why that matters.
Questions people ask
Does Metzee earn interest on held money?
Our revenue is the commission on a sale. How we make money.
What if Metzee disappears?
A fair question to ask of anybody holding your money, and one you should ask before you need the answer.
Can a seller see the money before it is released?
They see the sale and their balance. The transfer happens after delivery.
What about cash on delivery?
That money never passes through us at all, which is why a COD refund comes from the store directly.
More: how buyer protection works.