Terms of Service

1. What Stok-Vel is — and what it is not

Stok-Vel is a software platform that helps stokvels manage their groups: membership, contribution schedules, record-keeping, ledgers, and payout tracking.

Stok-Vel is not a bank, deposit-taking institution, financial services provider, or payment intermediary for member funds.

• We do not hold, receive, control, or take custody of stokvel member funds at any time.
• Member savings are held and managed entirely by your stokvel and its members, in accounts and arrangements chosen by your group.
• Financial records on the Platform (contributions, balances, payouts) are records captured by your group for your group. They reflect what your group enters, not funds held by us.
• We do not provide financial advice, and nothing on the Platform constitutes advice as defined in the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002.

The only payments we process are Platform subscription fees, handled by our payment provider, Peach Payments.

2. Eligibility and accounts

• You must be 18 years or older to use the Platform.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account.
• You must provide accurate information and keep it up to date.
• One person may not maintain multiple accounts for the purpose of circumventing these Terms.

3. Groups, roles, and member responsibility

• Stokvel groups on the Platform are created and administered by their own members (e.g. chairperson, treasurer, secretary).
• Group administrators control group membership, records, and settings. We do not verify, approve, or supervise the conduct of any group or its officers.
• Your stokvel’s constitution, rules, and internal agreements are between you and your fellow members. Stok-Vel is not a party to them and does not enforce them.

4. Subscriptions and billing

• Access to paid features requires a subscription, billed via Peach Payments at the prices displayed on the Platform at the time of purchase.
• Subscriptions are taken out per stokvel group and paid by the group (typically through its administrators). Individual members do not pay us subscription fees; members access the group’s records under the group’s subscription.
• Prices include VAT where applicable.
• Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless cancelled before the renewal date. You can cancel at any time in your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period.
• Where the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 grants you a cooling-off right, you may cancel within 7 days of subscribing and receive a refund, less the value of any services already used.
• We may change subscription prices with at least 30 days’ notice before your next renewal.
• If payment fails, we may downgrade or suspend paid features after reasonable notice.

5. Acceptable use

You may not use the Platform to:

• Operate or promote pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes, chain letters, or any unlawful investment scheme;
• Commit or facilitate fraud, theft, money laundering, or any other unlawful activity;
• Misrepresent group records, falsify ledger entries, or deceive group members;
• Harass, abuse, or defraud other users;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Platform, other users’ data, or our systems;
• Reverse engineer, scrape, or copy the Platform except as permitted by law;
• Resell or sublicense the Platform without our written consent.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate this section, with or without notice depending on severity.

6. Your content and data

• You and your group retain ownership of the data you enter on the Platform.
• You grant us a limited licence to host, process, and display that data solely to provide the Platform.
• Our handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy.
• Group administrators can export group records. On account closure, data is handled per the retention periods in our Privacy Policy.

7. Availability and changes

• We aim for high availability but do not guarantee the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free.
• We may modify, add, or remove features. If we discontinue the Platform or a material feature, we will give reasonable notice and a means to export your group’s records.

8. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform is provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not warrant that records captured by your group are accurate or complete — they reflect what group members enter.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 that cannot lawfully be excluded.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• We are not liable for disputes between stokvel members, including disputes about contributions, payouts, missed payments, or exclusions from a group;
• We are not liable for the conduct of group officers, including misappropriation of funds by a treasurer or any other member;
• We are not liable for the financial performance, solvency, or failure of any stokvel, or for losses of member funds, since we never hold those funds;
• Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising from the Platform is limited to the subscription fees you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim;
• We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or special damages, or loss of profits or data, except where such limitation is not permitted by law.

10. Indemnity

You indemnify us against claims by third parties (including your fellow group members) arising from your breach of these Terms or your unlawful use of the Platform, except to the extent caused by our own negligence.

11. Termination

• You may close your account at any time.
• We may suspend or terminate your access for breach of these Terms, unlawful conduct, or non-payment, with reasonable notice where appropriate.
• Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including 8, 9, 10, and 13) survive.

12. Complaints and disputes

• First, contact us at support@stok-vel.co.za — we aim to resolve complaints within a reasonable time.
• If unresolved, either party may refer the dispute to mediation before pursuing litigation, unless urgent relief is required.
• These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction.

13. General

• These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Platform.
• If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remain in force.
• We may update these Terms; material changes will be notified on the Platform or by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

14. Contact

Imhotek (Pty) Ltd (trading as Stok-Vel)
Company registration number: pending — to be published on issue by CIPC
Address: 17 Umgazi Rd, Menlo Park, Pretoria, 0081
Email: support@stok-vel.co.za
Telephone / WhatsApp: 079 271 7820