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Payment Terms

Effective Date: 13 July 2026 · Version 3.0 · Applies To: All Users engaging in financial transactions on the Platform

These Payment Terms govern all financial transactions that Vyete itself processes on the Platform. Vyete does not process, hold, or move money for product purchases, delivery fees, carrier subscriptions, service bookings, Auction purchases, or Event ticket sales — those settle directly between the transacting parties, outside the Platform. Vyete's own billing is limited to: platform subscriptions (Shops and Brands) and advertising/campaign spend (Brands).

1. What Vyete Does and Does Not Process

| Transaction | Who Pays Whom | Does Vyete Process It? | |---|---|---| | Product purchase | Customer → Shop | No — settled directly between Customer and Shop | | Delivery fee | Customer or Shop → Carrier | No — settled directly between the paying party and the Carrier | | Shop's Carrier subscription | Shop → Carrier | No — a commercial arrangement between Shop and Carrier; Vyete does not bill or collect it | | Service booking (appointment) | Customer → Shop | No — settled directly between Customer and Shop; see the Booking Policy | | Auction purchase | Buyer → Seller | No — settled directly once the seller confirms receipt; see Section 8 | | Platform subscription | Shop or Brand → Vyete | Yes | | Campaign / advertising spend | Brand → Vyete | Yes | | Event/ticket payment | Attendee → Experience Provider | No — settled directly once the host confirms payment received; see Section 9 |

Vyete is a technology intermediary for discovery, ordering, and delivery coordination. It is not a party to the payment for a product, a delivery, a carrier subscription, a service booking, an auction sale, or an event ticket, and does not take a commission on any of them. Section 2 onward covers the transactions Vyete does process.

2. Accepted Payment Methods (Vyete's Own Charges)

| Method | Coverage | Processing Time | |---|---|---| | Visa / Mastercard (debit or credit) | International | Immediate (subject to bank) | | Mobile money | Kenya and supported regions | Immediate |

These methods apply only to charges Vyete itself issues: platform subscriptions and campaign spend. How a Customer pays a Shop for a product or a booking, a Shop or Customer pays a Carrier, an Auction buyer pays the seller, or an Event attendee pays the host, is between those parties and is not governed by this section.

3. Security

  • Any card transaction Vyete processes (Section 1) is routed through a PCI-DSS-compliant payment processor. Vyete does not process card transactions through any processor that isn't PCI-DSS compliant.
  • Card numbers are never stored by Vyete; only tokenised references are retained.
  • All payment data is transmitted over TLS-encrypted connections.
  • Because Vyete does not process product, delivery, or carrier-subscription payments, it holds no PCI or payment-custody exposure for those transactions.

4. Platform Subscriptions

| Stage | Trigger | Action | |---|---|---| | Subscription created | Shop or Brand subscribes to a platform plan | Plan fee charged immediately for the first period | | Renewal | Plan anniversary date | Renewal charge on the same day each billing period | | Cancellation | Shop or Brand cancels | No further charges; no refund of the current period |

Platform subscription fees unlock platform features (listing limits, analytics, promotional tools, etc.) — they are unrelated to, and not a percentage of, any Shop's product sales.

5. Campaign / Advertising Spend

Brands fund a campaign budget directly with Vyete before a campaign runs. Spend is drawn down against that pre-funded balance as the campaign delivers; Vyete does not extend credit or bill retroactively for campaign spend.

6. Taxes

Withholding Tax

Vyete does not withhold tax on any product sale, delivery fee, service booking, auction sale, or event ticket sale, since it does not process that money. Withholding tax applies to payouts Vyete makes to a recipient — since Vyete does not disburse a payout to any Shop, Carrier, seller, or Experience Provider, no withholding tax obligation arises anywhere on the Platform today.

VAT

  • Vyete's platform subscription and advertising fees are subject to VAT at the applicable rate.
  • Shops, Carriers, Auction sellers, and Experience Providers are responsible for VAT on their own sales — Vyete has no visibility into that revenue and cannot invoice or withhold against it.

7. Currency

Vyete's own charges (platform subscriptions, campaign spend) are displayed and settled in the Customer's or Brand's selected currency. Where currency conversion is required, the mid-market exchange rate at settlement plus a 1.5% conversion fee applies. This section does not apply to product, delivery, or auction payments, which Vyete does not process.

8. Auction Payments

Vyete does not process, hold, or move money for an auction sale — the winning buyer pays the seller directly, using whatever method they agree. Vyete's role is limited to running the bidding mechanics (cascade, forfeit) and the trust signals around the sale (Section 8.4).

8.1 Payment Obligation

Winning an auction on Vyete creates a payment obligation to the seller, not to Vyete. Payment is not automatic — the winner must pay the seller directly within the payment window displayed on the auction and in the winning notification.

8.2 Payment Window and Seller Attestation

| Parameter | Detail | |---|---| | Window | Displayed per auction (typically 24–48 hours from auction close) | | Start | When the auction transitions to AWAITING_PAYMENT status | | Deadline | Exact datetime shown on the auction detail page and in the winning notification |

Because Vyete never receives the payment, it has no way to detect it automatically. The seller confirms payment was received directly (markAuctionPaymentReceived) within the window — this, not a Vyete-processed transaction, is what closes the sale:

  • The auction status changes to COMPLETED.
  • Title to the item passes to the buyer.
  • The winning buyer may then confirm the item was received as expected (confirmAuctionReceipt) — a trust signal, not a payment step.

8.3 Forfeit

If the seller has not confirmed payment received within the payment window:

  • The auction status changes to FORFEITED.
  • The winning bidder's claim to the item is cancelled.
  • The item is offered to the next eligible bidder via the cascade system. See Auction Terms for cascade detail.

This mechanism does not depend on Vyete processing payment — it's driven purely by the payment deadline and the seller's own attestation, so it works identically to how it always has.

8.4 Auction Disputes

Since Vyete never holds auction funds, it cannot issue a refund on either party's behalf. A buyer may raise a dispute against a completed auction within 14 days of the seller's payment attestation — the seller (or Vyete's Trust & Safety team, for escalated cases) can close it once resolved directly between the parties. This is a visibility and trust signal, not a payment reversal mechanism — see the Dispute Resolution Procedure.

8.5 Non-Binding Nature of Bids

Auction bids on Vyete are not binding until the seller confirms payment received. No authorisation or pre-authorisation is taken at the time of bidding, and Vyete never takes custody of the winning bid amount.

9. Event Ticket Payments

Vyete does not process, hold, or move money for an Event ticket sale — the attendee pays the Experience Provider directly, using whatever method they agree. Vyete's role is limited to running the booking/capacity mechanics and the trust signals around the sale (Section 9.4).

9.1 Payment Obligation

Booking a paid ticket on Vyete creates a payment obligation to the Experience Provider, not to Vyete. Payment is not automatic — the attendee must pay the Experience Provider directly.

9.2 Payment Window and Host Attestation

| Parameter | Detail | |---|---| | Start | When the booking is created in PENDING status | | Window | 60 minutes from booking creation |

Because Vyete never receives the payment, it has no way to detect it automatically. The Experience Provider confirms payment was received directly (markTicketPaymentReceived) within the window — this, not a Vyete-processed transaction, is what confirms the booking. Free events skip this step entirely: a booking on a free event confirms immediately, since there is no payment obligation to attest.

9.3 Expiry

If the Experience Provider has not confirmed payment received within the payment window, the booking is automatically cancelled and the ticket capacity it held is released back to the event. This mechanism does not depend on Vyete processing payment — it's driven purely by the payment window and the host's own attestation.

9.4 Check-In and Disputes

Physical check-in at the event (checkInAttendee, validated against the attendee's own check-in code) is the fulfilment record for a booking. Since Vyete never holds ticket funds, it cannot issue a refund on either party's behalf. An attendee may raise a dispute against a checked-in booking within 14 days of check-in — the Experience Provider (or Vyete's Trust & Safety team, for escalated cases) can close it once resolved directly between the parties. This is a visibility and trust signal, not a payment reversal mechanism — see the Dispute Resolution Procedure.

10. Disputes About Product Orders, Bookings, and Deliveries

Vyete does not hold Customer, Shop, or Carrier funds for product orders, service bookings, or deliveries, so it cannot issue a refund on either party's behalf — there is no payment in Vyete's custody to reverse. Instead:

  • A Customer may raise a dispute against a Shop within 14 days of a sub-order being marked delivered, or a Booking being marked complete, through Orders → Raise a Dispute.
  • The Shop (or Vyete's Trust & Safety team, for escalated cases) can close the dispute once it's resolved directly between the parties.
  • An open or historical dispute is visible on the Shop's public dispute record — this is a visibility and trust signal, not a payment reversal mechanism.

See the Dispute Resolution Procedure for full detail.

11. Fraud Prevention

Transactions Vyete does process (platform subscriptions, campaign spend) that are flagged as high-risk may be held for manual review (up to 48 hours), declined, or reversed after confirmation. Users who engage in payment fraud against Vyete's own charges — including chargeback fraud — will have their accounts permanently terminated and may be reported to relevant authorities. Bid manipulation and false payment-received attestations on auctions are handled under the Auction Terms; false payment-received or check-in attestations on Event bookings are handled under the Experience Provider Terms — not this section.

12. Governing Law

These Payment Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Kenya. Disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Nairobi, Kenya.

13. Contact

Payment and billing enquiries: [email protected]