Sydney payments platform Dela has raised just over $1 million to tackle scam prevention in marketplace sales of second-hand goods.
The funding for founder Meg van der Velde came from from an unnamed private investor, and will be used on product development.
The startup handles transactions for second-hand goods advertised on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree. van der Velde came up with the idea to solve her own problem after she was scammed selling a laptop.
The supposed buyer sent a fake payment receipt, claimed to have overpaid, then requested a refund of the difference. A supposed Uber driver collected the laptop, then demanded fuel money to return it, while claiming he couldn’t find the buyer.
Van der Velde says the buyer and driver were the same scammer.
“I lost the laptop, I never got paid for it, and I paid him twice on top of that. In one afternoon,” she said.
Dela’s approach is to keep payments out of sellers’ hands until buyers receive their goods.
Buyers pay through the app, with Stripe processing the funds. Sellers can confirm payment before handing over an item. Buyers then have 24 hours after receiving it to check everything is as described. Payment is released upon acceptance, or automatically if that window passes without action.
Sellers undergo identity checks through Stripe. Users can book a courier in the app, organise their own shipping or meet in person. The app also provides delivery tracking and customer support for transactions.
The service is free for sellers. Buyers pay $5 for items worth up to $100, or $5 plus 3.5% of the item’s value for purchases above $100.
Dela launched earlier this year and is available on Apple and Android devices.
“We have an amazing development team and an experienced advisory board backing Dela,” van der Velde said.
“Our goal is to make Dela the default payments and shipping app for peer-to-peer deals, so people can buy and sell without the stress.”
