What does it mean that my payment is held in escrow?

When you pay for a job, your money is held securely in escrow by Stripe (a regulated payments provider) through Stripe Connect — not by Trady. KT Partners Ltd, which operates Trady, never holds your funds at any point. The payment is only released to the tradesperson once the work is complete and you've had your review window to check it; until then it stays protected in escrow.