Press Releases Qualia Expands Into Payments With Earnest Money and Cash to Close

SAN FRANCISCO, October 22, 2026: Qualia, the leading provider of AI-powered title, escrow, and real estate closing software, today announced the launch of two new products, Qualia Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) and Qualia Cash to Close. Both products allow title & escrow companies to deliver a better client experience at two high-stakes moments in a transaction: the buyer’s first payment after signing the contract and their final payment before closing. The products replace check or wire payments with a simple digital way to pay, built directly into Qualia Core.

The real estate closing process has moved online, but payments are stuck in the past. Buyers can pay for almost everything on their phones. Yet for one of the largest payments they will ever make, they’re still asked to wire money using instructions sent by email or deliver a certified check in person. Many aren’t sure they’re paying correctly or that their money will arrive safely. Fraudsters take advantage of that uncertainty by impersonating the title & escrow company and sending fake wire instructions that redirect the buyer’s money to their own accounts.

The problem is real and growing. Real estate fraud losses reported to the FBI rose from about $145 million in 2023 to more than $275 million in 2025. And in Qualia’s recent Wire Fraud Trends in Title & Escrow, 2026 report, cash to close had the largest year-over-year increase in perceived fraud risk of any part of the closing.

Qualia is launching Qualia EMD and Qualia Cash to Close to give buyers a better, more secure way to pay. Buyers receive an easy-to-follow payment link from their title & escrow company so they can connect their bank account and pay digitally in a few clicks. There are no emailed wire instructions to second-guess, no trips to the bank to submit a wire, and no trips to the title company office to drop off an earnest money check. Buyers also get confirmation once the payment is submitted.

Both products join a set of payments and fraud prevention capabilities already built natively into Qualia Core:

• Qualia Shield: Automatically assesses the risk of outgoing wires before funds are disbursed.
• Bank Partner Network: Connects title & escrow companies with escrow banks that work directly with Qualia.
• Qualia Fraud Recovery Service: Gives Qualia Core customers access to fraud experts who coordinate with banks and law enforcement to help recover funds if an outgoing wire is compromised.

Now, both sides of the escrow ledger run through Qualia Core. When a buyer’s funds arrive, the payment posts to the order in the same system where the team reconciles the file and screens outgoing wires. The team doesn’t have to check a separate portal or re-enter a receipt.

“Buyers are looking to their title & escrow company for two things: a frictionless payment experience and certainty that their money arrives where it should,” said Jackson Reynolds, Chief Strategy Officer at Qualia. “We’ve built the system title & escrow companies close in, and we already connect to the banks that hold their escrow funds. Now the incoming funds get the same treatment as the money going out.”

With Qualia EMD and Qualia Cash to Close, there’s nothing to integrate. Customers sign up in a few minutes from inside Qualia Core and can keep their existing escrow bank account. From there, teams send a payment request from the order. That level of integration matters to title & escrow companies. When a payment lands in a separate tool, someone on the team has to match it to the right file and enter it by hand, often minutes before closing, when there’s little time to catch a mistake.

Today’s launch follows an early access program in which title & escrow companies used Qualia EMD on live transactions. Their feedback shaped both products and led to today’s launch. Level 10 Title, one of the early access customers, has already changed how it collects funds.

“We’ve made a decision as an organization that we’re not accepting checks anymore,” said Jacob Webb, CEO of Level 10 Title. “We’re only going to use EMD with Qualia.”

Qualia EMD: collect earnest money digitally

Qualia EMD lets title & escrow companies collect earnest money digitally, so buyers don't have to drop off a paper check or wire funds. With Qualia EMD, title & escrow companies can:

• Collect deposits: Send a request through an open file, or share a secure payment portal link, even on the company’s own website, so buyers can pay as soon as the contract is signed.
• Keep deposits tied to the file: Deposits link to the order and post to the ledger in Qualia Core, ready to reconcile.
• Keep their current escrow account: Funds go to the company’s existing escrow account, with no need to switch banks.

Qualia Cash to Close: same-day good funds with no wire instructions needed

With Qualia Cash to Close, buyers fund their closing through a secure link instead of following emailed wire instructions or getting a cashier’s check. Funds arrive in escrow as good funds the same business day.¹ With Qualia Cash to Close, title & escrow companies can:

• Send buyers a secure payment link: Buyers see exactly what they owe, connect their bank account and confirm the payment in a few clicks.
• Request the right amount from the order: Qualia calculates what the buyer owes from the closing figures on the order, accounting for funds already collected and credits applied.
• Confirm each payment automatically: When the buyer pays, Qualia adds a submission confirmation document to the order, and it creates the receipt on the order and the general ledger once funds arrive in the escrow bank account.

Qualia plans to expand with more payment products in the coming months.

Availability

Qualia EMD is available today to all Qualia Core customers. Qualia Cash to Close is available today in limited release, with expanded availability later this year. To learn more, visit qualia.com/emd or contact a Qualia representative.

About Qualia

Qualia is the real estate industry's leading AI-powered digital closing platform. The Qualia platform brings together the full scope of title & escrow operations, agentic AI, workflows, accounting, reporting, communications and fraud prevention, all built natively in a single system. The platform is used by title, escrow, real estate and mortgage lending professionals to transform home buying and selling into simple, secure and enjoyable experiences for millions of homeowners each year. Qualia is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Austin, TX, and Concord, NH. For more information, visit qualia.com.

Contact

Matt Kaufman, Chief Marketing Officer, Qualia

press@qualia.com

^{¹ Payments submitted after 3 p.m. ET arrive the next business morning.}