Escrow is also known in the judicial context. So-called escrow funds are commonly used to distribute money from a cash settlement in a class action or environmental enforcement action. This way the defendant is not responsible for distribution of judgment moneys to the individual plaintiffs or the court-determined use (such as environmental remediation or mitigation). The defendant pays the total amount of the judgment (or settlement) to the court-administered or appointed escrow fund, and the fund distributes the money (often reimbursing its expenses from the judgment funds).

In the EU, the Payment Services Directive which commences on 1 November 2009, has allowed the introduction, for the first time, of very low-cost internet escrow services that are properly licensed and Government regulated. The regulatory framework in the EU allows these web-based escrow services, which operate along the lines of expensive Letter of Credit service run by banks for international buyers and sellers, but at a cost in cents rather than thousands of Euros, the ability to enhance security in commercial transactions.

Escrow is also used in the field of automated banking and vending equipment. One example is automated teller machines (ATMs), and is the function which allows the machine to hold the money deposited by the customer separately, and in case he or she challenges the counting result, the money is returned. Another example is a vending machine, where the customer's money is held in a separate escrow area pending successful completion of the transaction. If a problem occurs and the customer presses the refund button, the coins are returned from escrow; if no problem occurs, they fall into the coin vault.

Intellectual property