Dela raises $1M for marketplace fraud prevention, charges buyers 3.5%
Sydney payments startup Dela closed just over $1 million from an unnamed private investor. The company, based in Surry Hills, builds trust and safety tools for peer-to-peer marketplace transactions on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree.
Founder Meg van der Velde started Dela after losing a laptop to a scammer who sent fake payment receipts, claimed an overpayment, requested a refund, then sent a driver who demanded fuel money to return the item. She lost the laptop, paid twice, and never saw the money.
How it works
Dela holds buyer payments in escrow via Stripe until the buyer confirms receipt. Sellers see payment confirmation before handover. Buyers have 24 hours to verify the item matches the listing. Payment releases on acceptance or automatically after 24 hours.
Sellers undergo identity verification through Stripe. Users can book a courier in-app, arrange their own shipping, or meet in person. Dela provides delivery tracking and customer support.
Pricing model
Sellers pay nothing. Buyers pay $5 flat for items up to $100, or $5 plus 3.5% of item value above $100. That means a $500 laptop costs the buyer $22.50 on top.
For context: payment fraud prevention tools in B2B sales platforms typically charge merchants or platforms, not end buyers. Dela flips that model by charging the party most exposed to fraud risk in C2C deals.
Market position
Dela competes indirectly with escrow services, fraud detection layers in payment processors, and trust-and-safety tools built into marketplaces themselves. The company is early-stage with a founder-led team and advisors including David McLean, Andy van der Velde, and Ranga Kaluarachchi.
No disclosed revenue, headcount, or sales hiring plans yet. The $1M round funds product development. The app launched earlier this year on iOS and Android.
Why it matters for sales teams
If you sell fraud prevention, marketplace security, or payment tools into B2C platforms, Dela represents the small-startup end of the trust-and-safety market. The buyer-pays pricing model is worth noting: it shifts transaction costs to the party seeking protection, which is uncommon in enterprise sales but standard in consumer fintech.