1.1. This Agreement sets out the complete Terms and Conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) which shall apply when You apply for registration, access and use the Wezimbe Business Loans Service Powered by Asante Financial Services Limited and is available at Asante Finance’s website located at www.asantefinancegroup.com and also at MTN Mobile Money Uganda Ltd’s website www.mtn.co.ug (the “Website”).

1.2. Any amendments or variations made to these Terms and Conditions shall take effect on their date of publication or as otherwise provided in such amendment or variation and shall be posted on the Website.

In these Terms and Conditions, the following words and expressions (save where the context requires otherwise) bear the following meanings:

“Asante Finance” or “Asante” or “the Lender” means Asante Financial Services Limited, a digital financial services provider incorporated in Uganda as a limited liability company under the Laws of Uganda

“Merchant”, “MTN Merchant” means a business that has registered to receive payments for goods and services using MTN’s MoMoPay channel.

“Calendar Week” means any period of seven consecutive calendar days, including for the avoidance of doubt Friday, Saturday, and any public holidays.

“Calendar Month” means any period of thirty or thirty-one calendar days, including for the avoidance of doubt Friday, Saturday and any public holidays.

“Customer” means Merchants.

“EU” means European Union

“GDPR” means General Data Protection Regulation

“Loan” or “Loan Amount” means the amount requested by the Merchant on a credit basis to increase their Paybill or Till balance in accordance with these Terms & Conditions;

“MoMo” means MTN Mobile Money;

“MoMo Account” means a record maintained by MTN MoMo corresponding with the amount of electronic money from time to time held by or transacted by MoMo Subscribers through the Merchant with MTN MoMo and represented by an equivalent amount of cash held by the Trustee in trust in accordance with the MoMo Declaration of Trust and the MoMo Customer Terms and Conditions;

“MoMo Customer Terms and Conditions” means the terms and conditions that apply to a Customer’s participation in the MoMo service as published by MTN MoMo from time to time;

“MoMo Customer” means any person registered to use the MTN MoMo System to send or receive money or make payments;

“MoMo Customer Credit Data” means data relating to your credit and transactional activity within the MTN MoMo system;

“MoMo Customer Data” means MTN customer’s KYC as reflected in MTN’s records from time to time;

“MoMo System” means the system operated by MTN MoMo in Uganda for the provision of the MoMo Service using the Network;

“MSISDN” means the unique Mobile Subscriber Integrated Service Digital Network Number issued to a MTN subscriber and is used to identify the subscriber on MTN’s Network;

“Network” means MTN’s mobile cellular network;

“Client’s Nominated Number” means an MSISDN appointed by the Client and activated on MTN MoMo for purposes of receiving E-Money pursuant to a Withdrawal Request Instruction;

“Pay Bill” means the accounts maintained by the Merchants with MTN for purposes of receiving payments from MTN customers;

“PIN” means the personal identification number that uniquely identifies You for purpose of use ofthe Service and created in accordance with clause 4.10. The preferred PIN is confidential to You andshould not be disclosed to any other person;

“Request” means an instruction received by MTN from Your mobile phone handset and MSISDN and made via the USSD System and upon which MTN is authorized to act;

“MTN MoMo’ means MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited, a digital Payments Service Provider and Payment Service Operator duly licensed by the Bank of Uganda under the National Payment Systems Act 2020;

“Service” means the Lender service offered by Asante Finance in which MTN MOMO Agents and Merchants can secure funds on credit and make payments to repay the funds advanced in accordance with these Terms and Conditions;

“Service Period” shall have the meaning provided under clause 6.2 of these Terms and Conditions;

“SMS” means a short message service;

“STK means Sim Tool Kit;

“Store” means the account on the MTN MOMO system that reflects merchant transactions

“Store Number” means the specific number designated to the merchant that only he can see for purpose of accessing his store.

“System Menu” means the USSD System menu accessible on the Network and through the Customer’s MSISDN for purposes of issuing instructions and/or Requests to MTN in order to access the Service;

“Till Number” or “MoMoPay Code’’ means the number designated to the merchant that MTN customers use in order to transact

“Trustee” means the MTN MOMO Holding Company Limited;

“USSD” means the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data System;

“USSD Designated Code” means the USSD system code number assigned by which the Customer may access the Service through MTN’s Network;

“USSD System” means the USSD service in which the Customer may instruct MTN and operate the Services, the USSD System is accessed by dialing the USSD Designated Code;

“WhatsApp” means WhatsApp service

“We” “Our” and “Us” or its variants means MTN MoMo and Asante Finance and includes the successors and assigns of MTN MoMo and Asante Finance;
and “You” or ” Your” or its variants means the MTN MOMO merchants..

Words importing the singular meaning where the context so admits include the plural meaning and vice versa. Headings in these Terms and Conditions are for convenience purposes only and they do not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.

3.1. These Terms and Conditions apply and shall take effect once You register for the Service (“Effective Date”). By using or continuing to use the Service, You are considered to have read, understood and accepted these Terms and Conditions and to be legally bound by these Terms and Conditions.

3.2. By accepting these Terms and Conditions You are accepting that:

3.2.1. Asante Finance or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service may conduct any know your customer due diligence, identity confirmation, fraud and credit checks which it deems necessary on You and for this purpose MTN, Asante Finance or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service may seek confirmation of any details which You provide from any third party (including any credit referencing agency in accordance with applicable laws) or Government Authority;

3.2.2. Asante Finance or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service may procure any credit history, obtain a credit rating for You from any credit reference agencies they use from time to time or obtain related data available on You from any third party or Government agency as MTN or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service in their sole discretion deem appropriate;

3.2.3. Asante Finance or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service may record details of Your borrowing and transactional activities history using the Services (MTN MOMO Customer Credit Data) and may share the same with credit reference agencies or any relevant Government Authority;

3.3. For the avoidance of doubt, Customers shall remain liable for all outstanding Loan Amounts not repaid.

3.4. These Terms and Conditions may be amended or varied by Asante Finance from time to time and Your continued use of the Service constitutes Your agreement to be bound by such amendment or variation.

4.1. In order for You to use the Services, You must be a registered and authorized MTN MOMO Merchant.

4.2. Access to the Service shall be through the USSD Designated code or any other designated channel (App/ Web/STK) on MTN’s Network.

4.3. All instructions to Asante Finance to activate an Account or for use of the Service shall be made electronically through the System Menu that will only be accessible to You through the USSD Designated Code or any other designated channel (App/ Web/STK)

4.4. To activate the Service, You must dial the USSD (App/ Web/STK) Designated Code and select the option made available on the System Menu for purposes of accessing the Services.

4.5. On the USSD (App/ Web/STK) System Menu, You will be required to accept these Terms and Conditions and enter Your Store Number or Till Number for use of the Service.

4.6. Upon successful activation, You will receive a further prompt from the USSD (App/ Web/STK) System Menu prompting more details then finally you will receive an SMS, and WhatsApp messages, confirming successful registration.

4.7. Upon completion of a successful Loan application request, You will receive text messages
confirming processing of the Loan application and verification of release of funds.

4.8. You may register and/or maintain more than one (1) Till for use with the Service at any
given time.

4.9. You will be required to enter your store number to opt in to utilize the service

4.10. You will be required to enter Your MTN MOMO PIN at all times before You can request or pay a loan.

4.11. You will immediately inform Asante Finance of any suspension, termination or freezing of Your MTN MOMO Account by sending an email to care@asantefinancegroup.com or calling the numbers 0111017519 , 0111017527

5.1. You may request for an MTN MOMO Merchant Loan by selecting and validating the option on the Service Menu made available for that purpose.

5.2. Upon successful completion of the Loan application request, if You requested a Loan, You will receive an SMS advising that the respective Till has been credited with the funds equivalent to the Loan Amount. In case You made a request and Your Loan application was unsuccessful, You will receive an SMS advising You on the reason for the rejection.

6.1. You will be solely responsible for ensuring that the Loan Amount is fully repaid in accordance with this clause 6.4

6.2. With respect to the One Calendar Week Loan, You will be required to repay the Loan Amount within one (1) Calendar Week from the disbursement date of Your Loan Amount (“Service Period”). If at the end of the Service Period You have not repaid the Loan, the same shall be dealt with in accordance with Asante Finance and MTN MoMo’s Terms and Conditions including automatic deduction of due amounts from your nominated number or float account.

6.3. With respect to any other loan term, You will be required to repay the Loan Amount within the specified loan duration from the disbursement date of Your Loan Amount (“Service Period”). If at the end of the Service Period You have not repaid the Loan Amount either in whole or in part, you will be required to repay the Loan Amount in accordance with Asante Finance and MTN MoMo’s Terms and Conditions including automatic deduction of due amounts from your nominated number or float account.

6.4. To repay the Loan during the Service Period or the First Service Period Extension, You will be required to select whether You intend to settle the full Loan Amount or a partial repayment of the Loan Amount on the System Menu. You will then be prompted to confirm whether You will be repaying the partial or full Loan Amount from Your nominated MTN MOMO Account or from the F The System Menu will notify You on the balance of the Loan Amount and prompt You to enter Your MTN MOMO PIN.

6.5. You will not be allowed to change your nominated account number if the loan has not been fully repaid. To repay the Loan during the Final Service Period Extension you must select the option for repayment of the full Loan Amount on the System Menu. You will then be prompted to confirm whether you will be paying the full Loan Amount from your MTN MOMO Account or from the Store. The System Menu will notify You of the balance of the Loan Amount and prompt you to enter Your MTN MOMO PIN.

6.6. Upon successful completion of the re-payment request made pursuant to clause 6.2 or 6.3, You will receive an SMS confirming that the re-payment has been received and the status of the Loan Amount including whether or not the Loan Amount has been fully repaid.

6.7. If Your MTN MOMO Account does not have sufficient funds to fulfil the re-payment Request then You will receive an SMS informing them You that the payment Request was unsuccessful.

7.1. You may check the balance of Your Loan Amount by selecting the option made available for that purpose on the System Menu.

7.2. You will receive a message on the System Menu, confirming the status of any Loan Amount outstanding and the repayment due date of such Loan Amount.

8.1. It is Your responsibility to ensure Your Loan is paid within the Service Period.

8.2. An Event of Default occurs when You fail to pay any sum due to us under this Agreement’s Terms and Conditions within the Service Period or when You fail to perform any of Your obligations under these Terms and Conditions.

8.3. At any time after an Event of Default has occurred which is continuing, We may, without prejudice to any other right or remedy granted to it under any law:

8.3.1. Terminate this Agreement in accordance with Clause 12 below;

8.3.2. Declare that the Loan (and all other amounts outstanding under this Agreement is immediately due and payable, whereupon they shall become immediately due and payable;

8.3.3. Engage external legal collection agencies to seek repayment from you at your cost in accordance with Central Bank of Uganda guidelines;

8.3.4. Get indemnification upon demand against any reasonable loss or expense, which we may incur as a consequence of an Event of Default

8.4. Incase of an Event of Default, you shall be liable for all costs, expenses and expenditures incurred including without limitation, the complete legal costs of Asante Finance incurred in enforcing these Terms and Conditions and such costs, expenses and expenditure shall be added to the Principal amount then outstanding and shall be due and payable immediately upon demand by Asante Finance

8.5. To qualify for a new Loan, You will be required to first repay in full the total outstanding Loan Amounts within that Loan’s Service Period, First Extension Period, or Final Extension Period.

8.6. You agree that Asante Finance or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service may forward Your credit information to a licensed credit reference bureau for blacklisting if You do not repay the balance of the Loan Amount within the Loan’s Service Period, First Extension Period, or Final Extension Period. Additionally, You agree that Asante Finance or its partners engaged in the provision of the Service may recruit a specialized legal loan recovery agency for the purpose of recovering any outstanding Loan Amount and facility interest if You do not repay the Loan Amount within the applicable Service Period, First Service Period Extension, or Final Service Period Extension.

8.7. In addition to the above, in the event that You do not repay the Loan Amount, before the expiry of any Final Service Period Extension, You will not be permitted to use, or have any access to, the Service from any Lender under the Service until the Loan Amount is repaid in full.

8.8. In the event You do not repay the Loan Amount before the expiry of any Final Service Period Extension, MTN MoMo may suspend the till without notice until such a date when the full Loan Amount will be repaid.

8.9. You agree that Asante Finance may at any time, automatically process payments relating to repayments of credit principal, Fees and automatically deduct the payments from any amounts due and payable to You and from your float and till balances held by You.

8.10. You agree that following any action that we may take pursuant to this clause, that such credit reference bureau that has received Your credit information may reasonably act on such information to blacklist You from obtaining any future Loans or other credit facilities (including those advanced by any third party) and that Asante Finance may reasonably act on such information to prevent You from using any of its Services or products.

9.1. You hereby expressly consent and authorize us to disclose received record or utilize your Customer information or information or data relating to your MTN MOMO Account including your nominated account number (MSISDN) with respect to the Facilities granted under the Service and any details of your use of the Services:

9.1.1. between Asante Finance and MTN MoMo for the purposes of this Service and other services as we shall advise you;

9.1.2. to and from our service providers, dealers, agents or any other company that may be or become our affiliate or subsidiary or holding company for reasonable commercial purposes relating to the Services;

9.1.3. to a Credit Reference Bureau;

9.1.4. to independent legal debt-collection agencies;

9.1.5. to our lawyers, auditors or other professional advisors or to any court or arbitration tribunal in connection with any legal or audit proceedings;

9.1.6. for reasonable commercial purposes connected to your use of the Services, such as marketing and research related activities; and

9.1.7. in business practices including but not limited to quality control, training and ensuring effective systems operation.

9.2. You authorize us to disclose any information relating to your use of the services to any local, foreign or international law enforcement or governmental agencies so as to assist in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal activities or fraud or to any other institution or third party as required by the laws of any country and as we may deem necessary.

9.3. You authorize us to disclose, respond, advise exchange and communicate the details or information pertaining to your your use of the service to third parties involved in the administration of your Facilities, underwriting of insurance policies, updating of databases, or provision of user support.

9.4. You shall notify your nearest MTN MoMo Shop in writing of any changes to Customer Information and KYC or update the same through the Equipment on your STK Menu, USSD or MTN MOMO Business App including but not restricted to your name and address. Until such notice is received, your Personal Information shall be deemed to be that which you provided in your application to register for the Service.

9.5. Collection of information: We are required by law to collect certain Customer Data and are legally obligated to deny you the service if such information is not availed.

9.6. Apart from the legal obligation mentioned above, we also need to collect your Customer Data for quality service delivery. Please note that although this is voluntary, without such information we may not be able to provide quality service.

9.7. You acknowledge that we may retain Your transaction data for a period of up to seven (7) years or as may be required by any law or regulation.

9.8. We respect Your privacy and at all times we will endeavour to ensure that that information shared with any third party in accordance with clause 9.1 is shared on confidential basis and strictly to the extent necessary for purposes provision of the Services or for any purpose set out under these Terms and Conditions.

10.1. Access to the Service may be affected by factors outside our control such as system downtime or failure. Uninterrupted access may also arise as a result of scheduled or unscheduled periodic testing, repair, upgrade or maintenance and other factors. We will use all reasonable efforts to ensure that Your Loan Requests are processed in a timely manner and in accordance with the requirements of the law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we do not make any representations or warranties as to continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to the Service.

10.2. In return for the provision of the Services by ourselves, You agree to protect us and absolve us against any law suits, losses, charge, damage, liability, expense (including legal fees), fee or claim that we may suffer, incur or otherwise as a result of our provision of the Services to You. The protection and absolution You provide also includes any claim made by a third party against us that may result from You being in breach of these terms and conditions.

10.3. While we will make every commercially reasonable effort to ensure that You receive proper Service, we will not be responsible to You or to any other person claiming under You for any losses or damage, regardless of the nature in connection with the following unless procured through our own willful default or fraud:

10.3.1. a failure, malfunction, interruption or unavailability of the USSD System, Your mobile phone apparatus, the Network, MTN MOMO System, Lending Platform or Asante System or the unavailability or any delays in disbursement of the Loan Amount;

10.3.2. Your failure to use or to give proper or complete instructions using the USSD System;

10.3.3. any fraudulent or illegal use of the Service, the USSD System, the MTN MOMO System, Lending Platform, Asante System and/or Your mobile phone apparatus;

10.3.4. any loss that may arise as a result of any negligence on Your part including revealing Your Service PIN to a third party

10.3.5. Your failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions; or

10.3.6. other circumstances whatsoever not within our control including, without limitation, force majeure, error, interruption, delay or non-availability of the Lending Platform, Asante System, the USSD System, terrorist or any enemy action, equipment failure, loss of power, adverse weather or atmospheric conditions, and failure of any public or private telecommunications system, lack of available resources, strikes or labour disputes.

10.4. We will not be responsible for any loss of profit or anticipated savings or for any indirect or consequential loss or damage of whatever kind, howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the Service even where the possibility of such loss or damage is notified to us.

10.5. We exclude any warranty and obligations that are implied by law and not set out in this Agreement to the extent that we are permitted by law.

10.6. In the event of any liability arising under these terms and conditions as a result of which we are found legally responsible You agree that our maximum aggregate liability to You or to any other person shall be limited to the Loan Amount outstanding at the time such liability arose.

11.1 You agree that the intellectual property rights in the Lending Platform, Asante System, USSD System, the, the Service (and any amendments, upgrades or enhancements made) and all associated documentation that we provide to You through the USSD System or the Service or otherwise are vested either in us or in other persons from whom we have a right to use and to sub-license the USSD System and/or the Service or Lending Platform or Asante System and the said documentation.

11.2 You acknowledge those rights and You agree not to infringe such intellectual property rights. You will not duplicate, reproduce or in any way tamper with the Lending Platform, Asante System, , the USSD System or the Service and associated documentation without our prior written consent.

12.1. We may at any time, upon notice to You, suspend, terminate or vary our business relationship with You.

12.2. In case You commit and Event of Default, Asante Finance shall have the right to impose additional terms and conditions in writing to You which additional terms and conditions shall be binding on You including adjustment of the Loan Fees and set-off of the amount outstanding from Your assets among others;

12.3. We may cancel credits or Loans which we have granted and require the repayment of outstanding debts or Loans immediately or otherwise upon notice.

12.4. We have a right to suspend or terminate the Services with immediate effect:

12.4.1. if You use the Service for any unauthorized purposes;

12.4.2. if we detect any abuse/misuse, breach of content, fraud or attempted fraud relating to Your use of the Service;

12.4.3. if we are required or requested to do so in order to comply with an order or instruction of or a recommendation from the government, court, regulator or other competent authority;

12.4.4. if we reasonably suspect or believe that You are in breach of these Terms and Conditions;

12.4.5. if You fail to repay the Loan Amount accrued for more than the calendar days applied for.

12.4.6. If required to do so to address technical problems or for reasons of ensuring safety;

12.4.7. to facilitate update or upgrade the contents or functionality of the Service from time to time;

12.4.8. where You remain inactive for any period of time that we may determine but in no event less than two (2) months; or

12.4.9. if we decide to suspend or cease the provision of the Service for commercial reasons or for any other reason as we may reasonably determine.

12.5. You may opt out of the Service by deregistering an Account using the option made available for that purpose under the System Menu.

12.6. Termination shall however not affect any rights and responsibilities of either party that arose prior to termination, including repayment of any outstanding Loan Amount.

12.7. You may not opt-out of the Service if You still have an outstanding Loan Amount

13.1. We may communicate information concerning the Service to You via SMS, WhatsApp, text message notifications or in such other publicly available medium including the Website, Social Media Platforms, or in the local dailies.

13.2. You agree not to bring any claim against us for damages resulting from losses, delays, misunderstandings, mutilations, duplications or any other irregularities due to transmission of any communication pertaining to the Service.

You may contact us through our customer care centre lines or other customer care contacts provided on our Website to report any disputes, claims or discrepancies in the Service. Our customer care representatives shall handle the report in accordance with our standard complaint handling procedures.

You shall ensure that you comply with all applicable anti-money laundering (“AML”) and counter-terrorist financing (“CTF”) Laws and MTN MoMo and Asante Finance’s established anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing compliance programs and policies designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

16.1. Each product’s interest charges will be transparently communicated on the USSD channel or the Mobile App used to access the loan product.

16.2. There will be a one-time interest charged at time of loan disbursement. If loan is repaid within loan term, there will be no other charges applied.

16.3. If a loan rolls over, there will be rollover interest charged. The rollover interest will be based on the loan tenor and the rollover duration

16.4. If a loan is defaulted, there will be default interest charged until loan is fully repaid or for a maximum of 6 months whichever is earlier.

16.5. If after the 3 months of default, You are still unwilling to pay the debt even after reminders from Asante Finance, Asante Finance reserves the right to use reasonable legal means to recover all outstanding Loan Amount. This includes engaging external legal debt collection agencies.

16.6. You shall pay to the Lender in form of interest, any charges, fees, expenses, taxes, duties, impositions and expenses incurred by the Lender in complying with your Loan request. The interest may be revised by the Lender at its sole discretion to accommodate changes imposed by law, regulation or any other applicable changes.

17.1. We are committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of the information we collect from you. Our privacy statement, as updated from time to time, explains how we treat your Personal Information, who we share your information with, and measures taken protect your privacy when you use our Service. This can be found on Asante Finance’s Data Privacy Statement at https://asantefinancegroup.com/our-privacy-policy/ . If unable to access the link or this website, please reach us on any of our customer care channels to receive a copy. By using or continuing to use the Service, You are deemed to have accepted these Privacy Statement terms.

17.2. You understand and agree that we may access, preserve and disclose your personal information and contents of Your MTN MOMO Customer Credit Data if required for Our own purposes, by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is necessary to comply with legal process or to protect the rights, property and/or MTN, its affliates and the Public.

17.3. Asante Finance does use cloud services to process and store the data that it collects for credit purposes; by accepting the terms and conditions, you do give express consent to have your data stored in the cloud environment that may or may not be in the country of residence but it is within the EU and other countries that are governed by GDPR. Asante Finance confirms that it has appropriate safeguards to ensure that your data is protected and that it will be used only for the purpose that it was collected;

18.1. If any clause or part of these terms and conditions is found to be in conflict with any applicable law, such clause will be severed and subject to amendment, modification or deletion by us without affecting the validity or enforceability of the remaining terms and conditions.

18.2. These Terms and Conditions constitute together with the schedules constitute the entire agreement between us with respect to the Service.

18.3. We reserve the right to solely amend or review these Terms and Conditions from time to time as we introduce new functionalities to the Service or as may be required by law. Such amendments or variations will be notified to You on the Website and by Your continuing to operate the Service You shall be considered to have accepted those variations and amendments.

18.4. You may not assign any right or obligation that may arise under these terms and conditions without our consent. Asante Finance may transfer its rights and obligations, including commitments under the Services in whole or in part without your consent.

18.5. You agree that our rights will not be lessened or restricted or denied because of any leniency or restraint extended by us to You by any delay in exercising or failure to exercise any of our rights unless provided to You in writing and signed by our duly authorized representative. No waiver by us of any breach of these terms and conditions by Yourself shall operate as a waiver of any subsequent breach.

18.6. No provision of this Agreement creates a partnership between us or makes You or us a commercial agent of the other for any purpose. Neither of us except where expressly provided in these terms and conditions has any authority or power to bind, to contract in the name of, or to create a liability for the other in any way or for any purpose.

18.7. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be read as preventing any party from pursuing any other remedy available to it under law.

I hereby confirm that I have read and understood the terms and conditions of this financing facility from Asante Finance and accept to be bound and abide by the terms and conditions.

Full Names (as per ID/Passport) …………………………………………………………………………

ID/Passport Number …………………………………………………………………………

Mobile Number …………………………………………………………………………

Email Address …………………………………………………………………………

Signature / Initials …………………………………………………………………………

Date
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