Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By registering an organisation on ChamaCore, the authorised administrator accepts these Terms of Service on behalf of the organisation and all its members. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not access or use the platform. Use of ChamaCore by any member of your organisation constitutes continued acceptance of these terms as updated from time to time. These terms form a legally binding agreement between your organisation ("Client") and ChamaCore Technologies ("ChamaCore", "we", "us").

2. Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms:

• "Platform" means the ChamaCore ERP web application, APIs, mobile interfaces, and all associated services.
• "Organisation" means a Chama, SACCO, investment club, or other registered group that has subscribed to the Platform.
• "Administrator" means the individual(s) designated by the Organisation to manage the Platform account.
• "Member" means any individual whose data is processed within an Organisation's account on the Platform.
• "M-Pesa Integration" means the Safaricom Daraja API connection used for mobile money transactions through the Platform.
• "Subscription" means the monthly billing plan selected by the Organisation.

3. Eligibility and Registration

To register and use the Platform, your Organisation must:

• Be a legally constituted group, registered under Kenyan law (e.g. under the Societies Act, SACCO Societies Act, or Companies Act).
• Have a designated Administrator who is at least 18 years of age and legally authorised to enter contracts on behalf of the Organisation.
• Provide accurate, current, and complete registration information including organisation name, registration number, physical address, and contact details.
• Maintain and promptly update registration details if any information changes.
• Not be barred from receiving services under any applicable law or regulation in Kenya.

4. Permitted Use and Licence

ChamaCore grants your Organisation a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Platform solely for the internal financial management of your Organisation. This licence does not include the right to:

• Sublicense, resell, or otherwise make the Platform available to third parties outside your Organisation.
• Copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, or create derivative works from any part of the Platform.
• Scrape, crawl, or extract data from the Platform by automated means.
• Use the Platform in any way that violates applicable Kenyan law, regulation, or these Terms.
• Impersonate another Organisation, member, or ChamaCore employee.

5. Administrator Responsibilities

The Administrator is solely responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality and security of all login credentials. ChamaCore will never ask for your password.
• Ensuring all member data entered into the Platform has been collected with proper, informed consent in line with the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019.
• Configuring role-based access controls to limit member data visibility appropriately.
• Ensuring that any M-Pesa paybill or till number linked to the Platform is registered in the name of the Organisation, not an individual.
• Notifying ChamaCore immediately at security@chamacore.co.ke if any unauthorised access to the account is suspected.
• Ensuring all persons using the Platform within the Organisation are aware of and comply with these Terms.

6. Subscription, Billing, and Payment

All subscriptions are billed monthly in advance in Kenyan Shillings (KES). By subscribing, you authorise ChamaCore to charge the applicable fee on the billing date each month. The following conditions apply:

• Invoices are issued on the same calendar day each month and are payable within 7 days of issue.
• Failure to pay within 7 days will result in the account being downgraded to read-only access — no new transactions, members, or reports can be created.
• Accounts with outstanding balances exceeding 30 days may be suspended entirely. Data is retained for a further 60 days post-suspension before deletion.
• Subscription upgrades are effective immediately and prorated. Downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.
• All fees are non-refundable except where required under the Consumer Protection Act of Kenya or other applicable law.
• ChamaCore reserves the right to change pricing with 30 days written notice. Continued use after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the new pricing.
• Payments may be made via M-Pesa paybill, bank transfer, or other methods listed on the billing page. Card payments attract a processing fee as disclosed at checkout.

7. M-Pesa and Mobile Money Transactions

ChamaCore integrates with Safaricom's Daraja API to facilitate M-Pesa contributions, loan disbursements, and payouts. By enabling this integration, you acknowledge:

• ChamaCore is a technology intermediary and is not a licensed payment service provider, bank, or microfinance institution.
• All M-Pesa transactions are subject to Safaricom's terms and conditions, and ChamaCore is not liable for failures, delays, or errors caused by Safaricom's systems.
• Organisations are responsible for ensuring their M-Pesa paybill or till credentials are kept secure and used only for legitimate group transactions.
• Reversal requests for erroneous M-Pesa transactions must be initiated through your Administrator within 24 hours. ChamaCore will facilitate but cannot guarantee reversals — these are subject to Safaricom's reversal policies.
• Transaction fees charged by Safaricom (e.g. withdrawal fees) are the responsibility of the Organisation or member as configured in your account settings.
• ChamaCore records all M-Pesa webhook callbacks for reconciliation and audit purposes. These records are available in your ledger and SASRA reports.

8. Data Ownership and Portability

Your Organisation retains full legal ownership of all data input into the Platform, including member records, transaction histories, and financial reports. ChamaCore processes this data strictly as a data processor acting on your instructions. Accordingly:

• You may export your complete data at any time via the Reports module (CSV, PDF, or Excel formats).
• Upon written request to support@chamacore.co.ke, ChamaCore will provide a full data export within 14 business days.
• Upon termination of your subscription, data is retained for 60 days in read-only format. After 60 days, all data is permanently deleted from production systems within 30 days, and from backups within 90 days.
• ChamaCore will not transfer your Organisation's data to any third party without your explicit written consent, except where required by Kenyan law or court order.

9. Service Availability and Maintenance

ChamaCore targets 99.5% monthly uptime for the core Platform, excluding scheduled maintenance windows. The following conditions apply:

• Scheduled maintenance will be communicated via email and in-platform notification at least 24 hours in advance, and will typically occur between 01:00–04:00 EAT on weekdays.
• Unplanned outages will be communicated on our status page (status.chamacore.co.ke) within 30 minutes of detection.
• ChamaCore is not liable for downtime caused by third-party service failures including but not limited to Safaricom M-Pesa, AWS, Cloudflare, or IPRS/eCitizen.
• Service credits for downtime exceeding the SLA are available on request and shall not exceed the pro-rated monthly subscription fee for the affected period.

10. Prohibited Use and Compliance

You must not use the Platform for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purpose. Prohibited activities include:

• Facilitating money laundering, terrorist financing, or any activity contrary to Kenya's Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA 2009) or the Counter-Financing of Terrorism Act.
• Recording fictitious transactions, inflating member balances, or otherwise manipulating financial records.
• Using the Platform to defraud members of funds, interest, or dividends.
• Collecting member data for any purpose other than the legitimate operation of your Organisation.
• Attempting to breach or circumvent the Platform's security controls, authentication systems, or access controls.
• Organisations found in violation will be immediately suspended and reported to the relevant authorities, including the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), or the DCI, as appropriate.

11. Intellectual Property

All software, design, trademarks, trade names, logos, and content comprising the ChamaCore Platform are the exclusive intellectual property of ChamaCore Technologies or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms grants you ownership of or rights to ChamaCore's intellectual property beyond the limited licence described in Clause 4. You may not use the ChamaCore name, logo, or branding without prior written consent.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, ChamaCore shall not be liable for:

• Financial losses arising from inaccurate data entered by the Organisation or its members.
• Losses arising from M-Pesa transaction failures, Safaricom outages, or mobile network errors.
• Loss of profits, loss of data, or consequential losses of any kind, even if ChamaCore was advised of the possibility of such losses.
• Decisions made by the Organisation based on reports, projections, or data generated by the Platform.
• Losses caused by unauthorised access to the account resulting from the Organisation's failure to maintain credential security.
• ChamaCore's total aggregate liability to the Organisation under these Terms shall not exceed the total subscription fees paid in the 3 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

13. Indemnity

The Organisation agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ChamaCore Technologies, its directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, fines, or legal costs arising from: (a) the Organisation's breach of these Terms; (b) violation of any applicable Kenyan law by the Organisation or its members; (c) the Organisation's misuse of member data; or (d) any third-party claim arising from the Organisation's use of the Platform.

14. Termination

Either party may terminate the subscription with 30 days written notice. ChamaCore may terminate or suspend access immediately, without notice, if:

• The Organisation is in material breach of these Terms.
• The Organisation fails to pay any amount due and the overdue balance is not settled within 30 days.
• ChamaCore reasonably suspects fraudulent or illegal activity on the account.
• ChamaCore is required to do so by applicable law or regulatory authority.
• Upon termination by either party, data retention rules in Clause 8 apply.

15. Changes to Terms

ChamaCore may update these Terms at any time. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice via email and an in-platform notification. For minor updates (e.g. clarifications, formatting), we will update the "Last updated" date on this page. Continued use of the Platform after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept the revised Terms, you must cease use and request a data export before the effective date.

16. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Kenya. In the event of any dispute arising under or in connection with these Terms, the parties shall first attempt to resolve the matter through good-faith negotiation within 30 days. If unresolved, the dispute shall be submitted to mediation under the Nakuru Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) rules before referral to the courts of Nakuru, Kenya.

17. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

• Email: legal@chamacore.co.ke
• Phone: +254 768 161 412
• Postal Address: ChamaCore Technologies, P.O. Box [XXXX], Nakuru, Kenya