Every social-media purchase in Sri Lanka ends with the same question: how do I pay? The three common answers — direct bank transfer, cash on delivery, and protected payment — are not equally safe, and the differences are worth understanding before your next order.
Direct bank transfer: fast, cheap, and all the risk is yours
A transfer to the seller's account is instant and free. It is also, in practice, irreversible. Once the money lands, getting it back depends entirely on the seller's honesty — your bank can't recall it just because a parcel never arrived.
That's why nearly every social-shopping scam funnels you toward exactly this method, usually with "full payment to reserve your item." The seller carries zero risk; you carry all of it.
Use it when: you already know and trust the seller from past orders.
Cash on delivery: better for buyers, painful for sellers
COD flips the risk. You pay only when the parcel is in your hands, which protects you from the disappearing-seller scam — but not from the wrong-item problem, since most couriers won't wait while you open and inspect the box.
For sellers, COD is genuinely hard: parcels get refused at the door, fake orders waste courier fees, and cash takes days to come back through the courier company. That's why many honest sellers limit COD or refuse it for custom and high-value items — and why "COD available" alone doesn't prove a seller is legit. Scammers offer COD too, then "require a small advance to confirm the order." The advance is the scam.
Use it when: the seller offers it for stock items and you accept that you can't inspect before paying.
Protected payment: the money waits in the middle
The third option puts a neutral service between you and the seller. You pay the service, not the seller. The seller ships knowing the money is real. When you confirm the order arrived as described, the money is released. If it never arrives — or what arrives isn't what was agreed — you open a dispute and get refunded.
The structural difference matters: with a transfer, trust must come before payment; with protection, trust isn't required at all. Neither side has to gamble on a stranger.
The trade-off is a small fee and a short wait for the seller to be paid. For a Rs. 1,000 trinket from a page you follow, that may not be worth it. For a Rs. 40,000 phone from a seller you found yesterday, it absolutely is.
Use it when: the item matters, the seller is new to you, or the seller demands advance payment.
The quick rule
- Small amount + known seller → whatever is convenient.
- Anything else → never send an irreversible payment to someone you can't reach in person. Use COD if it's truly available with no advance, or use a protected payment.
TrustPay is that protection, built for Sri Lankan social shopping: 2% per transaction (minimum Rs. 200), paid by the buyer, with a 3-day dispute window and human review. See exactly what it costs.