Terms of Use
These Terms of Use govern your access and use of the Grupy service
via WhatsApp. The service is operated by Grupy (Pty) Ltd, a company incorporated in South Africa under registration
number 2024/854231/07. By initiating a chat
session with Grupy, you agree to these terms in full.
1. Using the Service
Grupy allows users to create group expense splits, set up group
savings plans, and track payments natively inside WhatsApp. Users
must provide accurate transaction details and are responsible for
ensuring that payments are authorized.
2. Acceptable Use
You agree not to use Grupy for any unlawful purposes, including
fraud, money laundering, or processing payments for illegal
transactions. Any suspicious activity will lead to an immediate
ban and reporting to the appropriate financial authorities.
3. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by the Consumer Protection Act
(CPA) and South African common law, while we make every effort to
maintain the uptime and secure nature of our WhatsApp bot, Grupy
is not liable for indirect or consequential losses resulting from
WhatsApp network outages, server delays, or incorrect details
entered by the user.
4. Compliance & Regulator Status
Grupy (Pty) Ltd is a technology platform and acts as an
intermediary utility service. Financial transactions are cleared
and processed securely via licensed payment gateways operated by
partner financial institutions and Payment Service Providers in
South Africa, with contributions pooled directly into the
selected user's personal accounts.
5. POPIA Act Compliance
We process personal information in strict accordance with the
Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013)
("POPIA"). By using Grupy, you consent to the storage and
verification of details necessary to run group payouts.
6. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution
These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any legal action or
dispute arising under these terms shall be subject to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts. However,
before initiating formal legal proceedings, both parties agree to
first attempt to resolve any dispute amicably or through an
accredited alternative dispute resolution mechanism, such as the
Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO).
7. Unpaid or Incomplete Contributions
Grupy is a facilitation utility for voluntary group financial
arrangements. If a group member misses a contribution or is unable
to pay their split, Grupy does not impose late fees, interest, or
financial penalties, nor do we perform collection actions. Once
the group’s collection deadline arrives, the group admin has the
option to either extend the deadline or proceed with withdrawing
the partial amount accumulated up to that date. Any remaining
shortfalls must be resolved externally by the group members.
8. Currency
All transactions, splits, and payouts processed through Grupy are
denominated and settled exclusively in South African Rand (ZAR).
You are responsible for ensuring that your connected payment
methods support ZAR transactions.
9. Eligibility & Age Restriction
You must be at least 18 years of age to use Grupy. By interacting
with the Grupy bot and facilitating payments, you warrant that you
are of legal age to form a binding contract in the Republic of
South Africa.
10. FICA & Identity Verification
To comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) and
standard anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, Grupy or our
payment partners may require you to provide additional identity
verification documentation if your group savings or payment
volumes exceed certain regulatory thresholds.
11. Fees and Charges
While Grupy strives to keep group payments accessible, certain
transactions may be subject to platform or payment gateway
processing fees. Any applicable fees will be clearly displayed
within the WhatsApp interface before you confirm a payment.
Standard data charges from your mobile network provider may also
apply for using WhatsApp.
12. Disputes Between Members
Grupy acts solely as a technological intermediary to facilitate
payments. We are not a party to the underlying agreements made
between group members. Any disputes regarding the purpose of the
funds, broken promises, or group administration must be resolved
externally among the group members themselves.
13. Disclaimer of Warranties ("As-Is")
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, including the
Consumer Protection Act (CPA), the Grupy service is provided on an
"as is" and "as available" basis. We expressly disclaim all
warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but
not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness
for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not
guarantee that the bot will be entirely error-free or that
third-party banking networks will process transactions instantly.
14. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Grupy (Pty) Ltd,
its directors, employees, contractors, and payment processing
partners (including Clickatell) from any claims, damages,
obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, or debt, and expenses
(including attorney's fees) arising from: (i) your use of the
Service; (ii) your violation of these Terms; or (iii) your
violation of any third-party right, including privacy or property
rights.
15. Failed, Stuck, or Reversed Transactions
If a transaction fails, is rejected by your bank, or gets stuck in
the payment processing partner's network due to technical errors, Grupy will
initiate a reversal process. However, you acknowledge that the
actual time it takes for funds to reflect back in your bank
account is entirely dependent on the processing times of your
specific bank or card issuer (typically 2 to 5 business days).
Grupy is not liable for standard banking processing delays or
"stuck" funds caused by third-party financial institutions.
16. Force Majeure
Grupy will not be liable or responsible for any failure to
perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations that
is caused by events outside our reasonable control. This includes,
but is not limited to, acts of God, natural disasters, strikes,
load-shedding, regulatory interventions, failures of third-party
banking networks, or WhatsApp/Meta platform outages.
17. No Financial or Professional Advice
Grupy provides software tools to facilitate group payments and
savings tracking. We are not a registered financial advisor, bank,
or credit provider. Nothing in these Terms or within the WhatsApp
bot constitutes financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any
decisions you make regarding your finances based on the use of our
platform are made strictly at your own risk.
18. Termination of Service
We may terminate or suspend your access to the Grupy WhatsApp bot
immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason
whatsoever, including if we suspect fraudulent activity or a
breach of these Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the
Service will immediately cease, while any cleared funds already
pooled into the selected user's personal accounts remain with the
respective account holders.
19. Changes to These Terms
We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Updated
versions will be posted on this page. By continuing to access or
using our Service after revisions become effective, you agree to
be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new
terms, you must stop using the Service and withdraw your
outstanding funds.
20. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable or
invalid by a South African court of law, such provision will be
changed and interpreted so as to best accomplish the objectives of
the original provision to the greatest extent permitted by law,
and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and
effect.
21. Intellectual Property
The Grupy name, logo, bot interface, and all related code are the
exclusive property of Grupy (Pty) Ltd. You are granted a limited,
revocable license to use the bot for personal, lawful use. You may
not reverse engineer, scrape, copy, or build derivative products
based on our service.
