Qualia Adds Digital Earnest Money and Closing Payments as Wire-Fraud Risk Grows

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For many homebuyers, the most unnerving part of closing is still moving the money. A title company sends instructions, the buyer contacts a bank, and a mistake—or an intercepted email—can put a substantial deposit at risk. Qualia wants to move those payments into the same software title and escrow offices use to manage the transaction.

On October 22, the San Francisco closing-technology company introduced two payment services built into Qualia Core: Earnest Money Deposit and Cash to Close. The products address different points in a home purchase, and their availability is different. The earnest-money service is available to all Qualia Core customers. Cash to Close is in limited release, with a wider rollout planned later in 2026.

Instead of sending bank-wire instructions by email, participating settlement companies can send buyers a payment request linked to the closing file. The buyer connects a bank account and authorizes the payment. When the funds arrive, the transaction record and ledger are updated within Qualia Core, according to the company.

What changes for escrow offices

The earnest-money product allows a title company to collect the initial contract deposit from an open order or through a secure payment portal. Qualia says firms can retain their existing escrow bank account. Its product information page lists a $15 portal fee, which a settlement company may pay or pass along to the buyer. That cost is relevant when offices compare the service with checks, traditional wires or other payment platforms.

Cash to Close handles the later, usually larger payment. Qualia says the system calculates the amount due from the order’s closing figures, taking account of credits and deposits already collected. The company describes funds as arriving in escrow as good funds the same business day, with a qualification: payments submitted after 3 p.m. Eastern are expected the next business morning.

Settlement companies must still determine whether a payment method satisfies applicable state good-funds requirements and their escrow-bank procedures. A digital confirmation that a payment was submitted is not the same as a universal guarantee that funds are immediately available for disbursement.

Fraud is the selling point—and the test

Qualia cited Federal Bureau of Investigation figures showing reported real estate fraud losses above $275 million in 2025, up from roughly $145 million in 2023. The company argues that moving buyers away from emailed wire instructions removes an opening for criminals who impersonate title offices and substitute their own banking details.

That argument has force, but buyers will still need to verify that any payment request genuinely comes from their settlement provider. Fraud can migrate to fake portals, compromised accounts and convincing impersonation. Qualia’s announcement did not provide an independent fraud-reduction study demonstrating how its new services perform against those threats.

The launch follows a live-transaction early-access program for the earnest-money service. Level 10 Title, an early participant, said it had decided to stop accepting checks and use Qualia’s deposit product. One customer’s experience does not establish the cost or operational fit for every title agency.

The move extends Qualia’s existing payments and risk-screening tools, including outgoing-wire checks. It also follows Compass’s previously reported decision to move title and escrow operations onto Qualia, a separate distribution development.

For the title industry, the practical questions now concern bank connectivity, buyer support, reconciliation, transaction fees and fraud controls. Earnest-money collection is available broadly today. The larger cash-to-close service has yet to complete its rollout, making its performance at scale an open question.

Source: Qualia announcement and product documentation, October 22, 2026. Featured image: Annika Wischnewsky / Unsplash, illustrative signing scene.