Compared
For people selling on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp who are deciding how to take money from a stranger. Every statement about another service links to that service's own page.
For a small in-person sale, cash wins. No fee, no app, no reversal, and you can count it on the spot. The risks are counterfeit bills and carrying money to meet a stranger.
Nilfpay wins when the amount is large enough that checking bills is a chore, when you want a custom order paid before you start, when the buyer cannot meet, or when you ship. The card payment is confirmed in your app before the handover and there is a record and a dispute process.
Many sellers use both: cash for the $40 desk, a Nilfpay link for the $600 bike and every shipped order.
Side by side
Numbers in brackets link to the source.
| Question | Nilfpay | Cash |
|---|---|---|
| Fees for me, the seller | $0 for you. The buyer pays a 4% service fee, 50¢ minimum, added at checkout. [1] | $0. |
| Can the buyer fake the payment | No. The card payment is captured at checkout and the order shows as Paid in your app before you hand anything over. There is no screenshot to trust and nothing to check on the buyer’s phone. | Counterfeit bills exist. Check the security features the U.S. Currency Education Program lists for each note, and count the money in front of the buyer. [2] |
| Can the buyer reverse it later | Rarely, and never silently. The buyer can open a dispute with Nilfpay, and card disputes exist on top. Your pickup code or your delivery tracking is your evidence. If a card dispute is lost after the handover, you carry it. | No. Once the cash is in your hand, it is yours. |
| Do I have to share my phone number or bank details | No. The buyer sees your shop page, its name, your link or QR code, and any social links you choose to add. Never your phone number, email or bank details. | No. Nothing to share. |
| Do I get the money instantly | The order shows as Paid the moment the buyer pays. Payouts go out daily and land in your US bank account the next business day, or you pick the money up in cash at Western Union or MoneyGram. | Yes. Nothing is faster. |
| Works for in-person sales | Yes. The buyer scans your QR code or opens your link and pays on their phone. They read you a 4-digit pickup code and you hand over. | Yes. Cash works face to face and nowhere else. |
| Works for shipped items | Yes. You set a flat delivery fee, then mark the order shipped with the carrier and tracking number. Tracking that shows delivery to the buyer’s address counts as delivered. Without it, an item-not-received dispute goes to the buyer. | No. |
| What happens if the buyer disputes | The buyer opens it in Nilfpay. A person reviews the order, the pickup code or the tracking, and the messages, then decides. The buyer can also dispute with their card issuer. | There is no dispute process. If a bill turns out to be counterfeit, the Secret Service says to “submit suspected counterfeit currency to your local police department”; your bank may also help identify it. [3] |
| Who it is best for | Sales to strangers where you want the money confirmed before the handover, custom orders you want paid before you start, and anything you ship. | Small in-person sales, roughly up to a few hundred dollars, where you can count and check the bills. For a $40 desk, cash is hard to beat. |
Trade-offs
FAQ
Count the bills in front of the buyer and check the security features the U.S. Currency Education Program lists for each note, such as the watermark and the security thread on larger bills. If a bill looks wrong, do not accept it. The Secret Service says to hand suspected counterfeits to your local police department; your bank may also help identify them.
Meet in a busy public place in daylight, or at a police department’s safe-exchange spot if your town has one, and bring someone along for a larger sale. The same advice holds for any payment method, since the meeting is the risk, not the money.
No. Once the cash is in your hand, the sale is done. That is cash’s strongest point and also why counterfeit bills are the one thing to check.
Because the payment is confirmed before the buyer arrives or while they stand there, without counting bills; because a custom order gets paid before you start making it; because the buyer may not carry $600 in cash; and because there is a record of the sale and a dispute process. The buyer pays a 4% fee for that.
No. Sellers pay $0. The buyer pays a 4% service fee, 50¢ minimum, at checkout, and your payout lands the next business day, in your US bank account or as cash to pick up at Western Union or MoneyGram.
Overpayment with cash is unusual and harmless as long as it is real cash and you refund nothing. Overpayment with a check or a transfer, followed by a request to send back the difference, is a scam. Never refund an overpayment on anything but cash you have already checked.
Sources
Last verified: September 22, 2026. Nilfpay facts are Nilfpay's own; provider facts are quoted from the pages below.
Nilfpay confirms the buyer's card payment in your app before you hand anything over. Sellers pay $0; the buyer pays a 4% fee at checkout, and the money lands the next business day, in your bank or as cash at Western Union or MoneyGram.
See how Nilfpay worksFree for sellers. United States.