Terms of Service

1. About these terms

These terms are an agreement between you and TribeMingle, which runs Ayopot (“Ayopot”, “we”, “us”). They apply when you start a pot, give to one, leave a message, receive one or otherwise use ayopot.com or our apps. By using Ayopot you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not use Ayopot.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data and forms part of these terms.

2. Who can use Ayopot

• Anyone can give to a pot or leave a message.
• To start a pot, verify your identity or withdraw money, you must be 18 or older and able to enter a binding agreement.
• To withdraw, you need a bank account in your own name that matches your verified identity.
• You must not use Ayopot if the law, or a decision from us, stops you from doing so.

3. Your account

Give us true, current details and keep your sign-in details, PIN and codes to yourself. You are responsible for what happens in your account. If you think someone else has used it, tell us at once at hello@ayopot.com so we can pause payouts.

4. How pots and the money work

• We are not a bank and we never hold your money. Each pot has its own wallet and account number, held by a payment partner licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. That partner’s terms also apply to the money in a pot.
• Guests pay by bank transfer to the pot’s account number, or by card. A contribution appears in the pot once our partner confirms it.
• The pot’s balance and history come from our records, which we check against our partner’s records every day.
• A pot is not a savings or investment account. It earns no interest, it cannot be topped up from your own wallet, and it cannot be used to pay merchants directly.
• Pots in naira are paid out in naira.

5. Fees

• Starting a pot, collecting messages and sending a card are free.
• When someone gives money, a fee applies. It is shown before they pay, and they can choose to cover it so the celebrant receives the full amount.
• Any cost for a withdrawal, such as a transfer fee or the stamp duty the law requires, is shown before you withdraw.
• If our fees change, the new fees apply only to payments made after the change.

6. Giving to a pot

• A contribution is a voluntary gift to the celebrant or the purpose the pot names. You do not get goods or services from Ayopot in return.
• Please only give to pots you trust, organised by someone you know. No one genuine will ask you to pay them in gift cards.
• Contributions are not normally refundable. We will refund or reverse a contribution if it was a mistake we or our partner made, if the pot is cancelled before any payout, or if we find the pot was used for fraud and the money can still be recovered.
• If you paid by card and dispute the payment with your bank, we may hold the related amount in the pot until the dispute is settled.

7. If you organise a pot

As an organiser you agree to:

• describe the pot honestly, including who it is for and what the money is for;
• make sure the money goes to that person or purpose;
• only add people to a member list who expect to be asked, and only send the reminders they would reasonably expect;
• have permission to use the photos, names and other content you add;
• answer our questions and give proof when we ask, for example for a memorial, medical or charity pot;
• deal with any taxes that apply to money you receive.

8. Withdrawals and spending

• Money leaves a pot only to the verified bank account of the organiser or the celebrant, never to a third party or to another user’s wallet.
• Before the first withdrawal we check your identity (BVN or NIN, and sometimes a selfie) and match it to the bank account name.
• New organisers may have a limit on their first pot and a short wait before their first withdrawal. Memorial, medical and charity pots can need extra checks and a manual review above a set amount.
• A pot can also be spent on airtime, data, bills or gift cards from providers we have checked. Gift card codes appear inside the app only, may be released a short time after the pot closes, and are final once revealed. The provider’s own terms, including expiry dates, apply.
• If money is left in a closed pot, we will remind you to withdraw it. If it is still not claimed, we will tell you in the app what happens next and when, before we return it to contributors or pay it to the organiser.

9. What pots cannot be used for

Pots are for celebrating and supporting real people. Our Acceptable Use Policy lists in full what Ayopot cannot be used for and forms part of these terms. In short, never use a pot for:

• fraud, scams, impersonation, or a person, illness, death or cause that is not real;
• money laundering, terrorist financing, or getting round the law;
• investments, savings or loan schemes, ajo or esusu, betting, raffles or cryptocurrency;
• running a business that sells goods or services;
• anything illegal, or hateful, abusive or sexual content.

Anyone can report a pot with the Report button. We review reports and act on them.

10. Messages, photos and recordings

What you post stays yours. You give us permission to store it, show it in the pot and the card, and send it to the celebrant, for as long as the pot exists. You are responsible for what you post and confirm you have the right to post it.

Organisers can hide any message in their pot. We can remove content that breaks these terms, and we may filter abusive language.

The Ayopot name, logo, stickers, card designs and software belong to us. You can use the card designs inside Ayopot; please do not copy them elsewhere.

11. Pausing pots and closing accounts

To protect people, we may, with or without notice:

• pause a pot, stop new contributions or hold a withdrawal while we review it;
• ask for more information or proof;
• refund contributors, report activity to the authorities, or close an account that breaks these terms.

Where the law allows, we will tell you why and how to respond. You can close your account at any time once your pots have no money left in them.

12. Our responsibility to you

We work hard to keep Ayopot running and your pot safe, but we cannot promise it will always be available or free of errors. We are not responsible for what organisers, contributors or celebrants do, for how money is used after it leaves a pot, or for delays caused by banks, payment partners or other providers outside our control.

As far as the law allows, our total responsibility for any claim connected to a pot is limited to the fees we earned from that pot. Nothing in these terms takes away rights you have under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 or any other law that cannot be excluded.

If you break these terms or the law and someone makes a claim against us because of it, you agree to cover our reasonable costs.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as Ayopot changes. If a change matters to you, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. If you keep using Ayopot after that, the new terms apply.

14. The law that applies

These terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If you have a problem, please contact us first so we can try to fix it. If we cannot agree, the courts of Lagos State will decide.

15. Contact us

Write to hello@ayopot.com, or privacy@ayopot.com for anything about your data.