PayBat

The construction industry in France represents over €150 billion in annual revenue, yet the financial relationship between homeowners and contractors remains one of the most conflict-prone in the market. Late payments, disputes over work quality, lack of payment traceability — every year, thousands of construction projects turn into legal disputes, eroding trust on both sides.

PayBat was born from a simple observation: there was no digital solution that simultaneously protects the homeowner (by ensuring funds are only released after work is validated) and the contractor (by guaranteeing prompt payment once a milestone is approved). PayBat’s founding team turned to AppStarter to transform this vision into a robust FinTech application — compliant with financial regulations and intuitive for a non-tech audience.

The Challenge

Building PayBat meant solving technical, regulatory, and user experience challenges simultaneously — a rare level of complexity for a mobile application.

Regulated Escrow

The product’s core relies on a certified escrow account mechanism. Funds deposited by the homeowner must be legally protected and can only be released after explicit validation of each construction milestone. This required integration with a compliant payment provider, along with legal protection through Juridica.

Dual Audience, Dual UX

The app needed to serve two radically different user profiles: homeowners (often anxious about costs and project progress) and professional contractors (focused on fast payments and document management). Each interface had to speak its user’s language while sharing a common transactional backbone.

Trust & Security

In an industry where mistrust is pervasive, the application had to inspire immediate confidence. The design, user journey, and product messaging all needed to converge on a single clear message: your funds are in safe hands.

Our Approach

We deployed our four-phase methodology to deliver an institutional-grade product on a startup timeline.

Phase 1 — Product Strategy

We mapped the entire payment ecosystem in the construction industry: existing players, the legal framework for escrow, homeowner expectations, and contractor frustrations. This phase defined the product’s functional architecture — in particular the milestone-based validation mechanism, centralized document management (quotes, contracts, amendments), and the real-time activity feed that forms the core of the collaborative experience.

Phase 2 — UX/UI Design

PayBat’s design had to communicate security and transparency on every screen. We chose an institutional blue identity — a color associated with trust, financial stability, and reliability. The homeowner interface prominently displays the escrow balance with a visual progress tracker for each construction phase. The contractor interface highlights available funds, guaranteed payments, and simplified invoice management. The 4-step journey (create project, invite contractors, deposit funds, validate and pay) was designed to be self-explanatory without any onboarding needed.

Phase 3 — Development

Development covered three platforms simultaneously: native iOS and Android apps, and a full web application. Key integrations include the certified escrow system with conditional fund release, a document management module with secure upload and storage, a project calendar with milestones and payment deadlines, a real-time messaging and activity feed system, and multi-user collaboration (homeowner, contractor, partners). The architecture was designed for regulatory compliance from day one.

Phase 4 — Launch

The launch was orchestrated across iOS and Android with a conversion-optimized landing page that clearly communicates the dual value proposition — security for the homeowner, payment guarantee for the contractor. The website highlights the escrow mechanisms, usage testimonials, and a “Get started for free” CTA to maximize sign-ups.

Key Features

Escrow Payments: Funds are held in a regulated escrow account and only released after the homeowner validates each milestone. Legal protection through Juridica is included.

Project Management: Create projects with budgets, construction phases, and progress tracking. All essential information centralized in one place.

Team Collaboration: Invite contractors and partners to each project with roles and permissions. Real-time activity feed for transparent coordination between all parties.

Document Management: Centralize all project documents — quotes, contracts, amendments, invoices — accessible in one click and linked to the corresponding project.

Project Calendar: Visual timeline of project milestones and associated payment deadlines, for full visibility on progress and financial flows.

Real-time Tracking: Complete activity feed with notifications for every action — milestone validation, fund deposit, document upload, message — so nothing gets missed.