1. Role of FICME and institutional responsibilities
FICME (Pty) Ltd ("FICME", "we" or "us") provides a technology platform for document collection, storage and authorised sharing, together with optional verification and screening services. Providing these services does not, by itself, make FICME an accountable institution under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 38 of 2001 ("FIC Act"). Each subscribing accountable institution remains responsible for its own customer due diligence, risk assessment, decisions, statutory reporting and other applicable obligations. FICME’s services support those activities but do not constitute a determination or guarantee that an institution or customer complies with the law.
FICME is not appointed as an institution’s statutory record keeper under section 24 of the FIC Act. Institutions must download and securely retain their own required records while authorised access is available. Verification reports are displayed through FICME for download and are not stored by FICME.
2. Not legal or financial advice
Content on the FICME website and platform, including general guidance and verification reports, is provided for information and to support the services described. It is not legal, tax, financial, accounting or compliance advice, and use of the services does not create an adviser-client relationship. Obtain appropriate professional advice for your circumstances. This does not diminish any expressly agreed service obligation or statutory duty.
3. Documents and verification results
FICME helps users store and share documents and provides the specific verification features described for each service. It does not certify or notarise documents, and a verification result does not guarantee the authenticity, accuracy or completeness of every document or statement supplied. Results reflect the particular check, information submitted, source coverage and time of the search. Sources may be incomplete or outdated, and matching may produce false positives or miss relevant records. A match or adverse-media reference is not proof of misconduct; a clear result is not proof that no risk exists. Receiving institutions must assess results, resolve material discrepancies and conduct further enquiries where necessary before making decisions.
4. Third-party sources and links
The services may use authorised third-party verification providers and lawfully accessible external sources. FICME does not control the completeness or updating of those sources. Links to independent websites do not constitute endorsement, and their content and availability are outside FICME’s control. These limitations do not exclude FICME’s responsibility for its own selection, integration, transmission or processing of information, or any obligation that cannot lawfully be excluded.
5. Availability and user responsibilities
We take reasonable steps to maintain the platform and its security, but cannot guarantee uninterrupted, error-free or continuously available services or external databases. Maintenance, network failures and provider interruptions may affect access or results. Users must provide information on a lawful basis, take reasonable steps to ensure its accuracy, protect their credentials and use the services within their authorised scope. Institutions must maintain appropriate alternative arrangements for time-sensitive compliance duties. These provisions do not remove agreed service commitments, applicable refund rights or statutory security obligations.
6. Liability and protection of representatives
IMPORTANT: This clause limits certain claims against FICME and its representatives. It must be read with the statutory safeguards below.
To the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to any express service commitment and the statutory safeguards below, neither FICME nor its directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors or other authorised representatives acting in connection with the services is liable for any indirect or consequential loss arising from use of, or inability to use, the website or services, whether the claim arises in contract, delict (including ordinary negligence) or otherwise. This includes loss of profit, revenue, business opportunity or goodwill only to the extent that the loss is indirect or consequential. To the extent that any such loss constitutes direct loss, it is subject to the limitation of direct liability below and is not excluded merely because it falls within one of these categories.
FICME and those representatives do not assume responsibility for an institution’s independent compliance decisions, a user’s unlawful conduct or unauthorised use of information. This does not exclude liability to the extent that FICME’s or a representative’s own actionable conduct caused or contributed to the loss. Any such liability remains subject to the limitations and statutory safeguards in this clause.
Nothing in this disclaimer excludes or limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, or any duty, liability, right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including under the Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008, the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013, or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 25 of 2002. It does not prevent a complaint to a regulator or excuse non-compliance with law.
Where this disclaimer forms part of a binding agreement, the protections expressly afforded to the representatives identified above are intended as benefits for each of them, which each may accept and invoke in their own name, subject to the same limitations and statutory safeguards and the single shared cap below. These provisions do not bind a person merely because their personal information is processed through FICME.
Limitation of direct liability:
Subject to the statutory safeguards above and any express contractual provision agreeing a different liability limit, the total aggregate liability of FICME and its directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors and other authorised representatives acting in connection with the services to you for direct loss arising from the services, whether in contract, delict (including ordinary negligence) or otherwise, shall not exceed twice the aggregate of:
(a) the subscription fee paid or payable for the affected account for the calendar month in which the event giving rise to the claim first occurred; and
(b) the amount paid for credits purchased for that account during that same calendar month.
This combined amount constitutes a single cap for all claims arising from events first occurring in that month, collectively against FICME and the representatives identified above, and not a separate cap for each claim or representative. Claims arising from the same event or a series of related events shall be attributed to the month in which the first such event occurred, irrespective of when the loss was discovered or the claim was made. Credit purchases are counted once, irrespective of when the credits are used; balances carried forward from earlier months and free or promotional credits are excluded. Credits included in the subscription fee are not counted again as a separate purchase. Where a subscription is paid in advance for several months, only the proportion attributable to the relevant month is included.
This limitation does not apply to fraud, wilful misconduct, gross negligence or any liability that may not lawfully be limited. It does not reduce any refund or repayment or restoration of incorrectly deducted credits to which you are otherwise entitled under the applicable agreement or law.
7. Related documents
Read this disclaimer with the Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, Core Privacy Policy, General Privacy Statement, General POPIA Notice and Cancellation and Refund Policy. The applicable service agreement governs agreed service standards, charges, remedies and any liability cap; this disclaimer does not override an express contractual commitment or mandatory law. Privacy matters are addressed in the privacy policies. These documents are available through the Legal section of the FICME website.