1. What FicMe is
FicMe is a compliance-passport platform that lets individuals, businesses and accountable institutions store, keep current, and share FICA/KYC documents. FicMe provides a secure electronic platform for the collection, verification, management, storage and controlled sharing of information and supporting documentation required for customer due diligence, know-your-customer ("KYC"), anti-money laundering ("AML"), counter-terrorist financing ("CTF"), beneficial ownership verification and related compliance processes. FicMe is not itself an accountable institution under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 38 of 2001 ("FIC Act"), and does not perform customer due diligence on behalf of any institution. Accountable institutions remain solely responsible for their own FICA obligations.
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be 18 years or older, or a duly authorised representative of a legal entity.
You must provide accurate registration details and keep them current.
You are responsible for the confidentiality of your credentials, OTPs and share links.
We may suspend or close accounts that we reasonably believe are fraudulent, dormant or in breach of these Terms.
You warrant that you possess full legal capacity and authority to enter into these Terms.
Where you act on behalf of another person or entity, you warrant that you possess the authority to bind that person or entity.
Plans, billing and free tier
Every account is free to create. Paid features are charged in South African Rand as published on our pricing page. Business and Institution plans are billed monthly per entity or per linked-client bracket. Fees are non-refundable except where required by law. We may change pricing on 30 days' notice; continued use after the change means you accept it.
Your content and consent-based sharing
You retain ownership of everything you upload ("Your Content"). You grant FicMe a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, process, encrypt, back up and transmit Your Content strictly for the purpose of providing the Service to you.
Sharing with accountable institutions or other third parties only happens when you approve it — typically through an OTP-verified consent step or a signed, time-limited share link. Every approval is logged. You are responsible for ensuring you have the lawful authority to share any document that relates to another person or entity.
5. Acceptable use
Use of the Service is governed by the Acceptable Use Policy, which forms part of these Terms.
6. Privacy and POPIA
Our handling of personal information is described in the Core Privacy Policy, General Privacy Statement and POPIA Notice. Business, trust, institutional and accountable institution users acknowledge that they remain independently responsible for ensuring that their collection, disclosure and use of personal information comply with POPIA and all other applicable legislation. The respective rights and responsibilities of users and FicMe in relation to the processing of personal information are described in the General Privacy Statement and the Core Privacy Policy.
7. Availability
We aim for high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. We may perform scheduled maintenance, and we may temporarily suspend the Service to protect its integrity or security. We may modify, discontinue or replace any feature at any time. Beta functionality may be withdrawn without notice.
8. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is". FicMe does not give legal, financial, tax or compliance advice. Institutions must still form their own view on whether documents shared via FicMe meet their regulatory obligations.
FicMe does not warrant:
authenticity of documents
identity of users
legal validity
regulatory acceptance
suitability
completeness
ongoing compliance
uninterrupted availability
virus-free operation
Nor does it verify documents unless expressly stated.
No Endorsement or Certification:
The storage, verification, availability or sharing of any information or documentation through the FicMe platform shall not constitute a representation, certification, endorsement or guarantee by FicMe as to the authenticity, legal validity, accuracy, completeness or regulatory acceptability of such information or documentation. Users and accountable institutions remain solely responsible for independently assessing whether any information or documentation is sufficient for their particular legal, commercial or regulatory purposes.
9. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, FicMe shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, business opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill, reputation, contracts, production, data or business interruption arising from or in connection with the use of, or inability to use, the Service, whether arising in contract, delict (including negligence) or otherwise.
Without limiting the generality of the clause above, FicMe shall not be liable for any loss, damage, liability, cost or expense arising directly or indirectly from:
the submission, storage, sharing, accuracy, completeness, authenticity, validity or legality of any information, document or record uploaded to the FicMe platform by any user or third party;
any reliance placed by a user, accountable institution or any other person on information or documentation made available through the FicMe platform;
any decision, determination or action taken by an accountable institution, regulatory authority, financial institution or any other third party in connection with customer due diligence, onboarding, verification, risk assessment or compliance with applicable legislation;
any unauthorised disclosure of information resulting from the user's own acts or omissions, including the sharing of login credentials, passwords, one-time passwords (OTPs), authentication credentials, access devices or share links, or any failure by the user to maintain appropriate security over their account;
interruptions, delays, failures or degradation of the Service caused by telecommunications failures, internet outages, utility interruptions, cloud service failures, denial-of-service attacks, malicious software, ransomware, cyber-attacks, hacking incidents or other events beyond the reasonable control of FicMe;
any force majeure event, including acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labour disputes, epidemics, pandemics, governmental action, changes in applicable law or any other circumstance beyond the reasonable control of FicMe;
any act or omission of a third-party service provider, integration partner, payment processor, telecommunications provider, hosting provider or other independent third party upon whom the Service may rely;
the temporary suspension, restriction or unavailability of the Service where reasonably necessary to perform maintenance, protect the integrity or security of the platform, comply with legal or regulatory obligations, investigate suspected unlawful activity, or respond to an actual or suspected security incident; or
any loss arising from the user's failure to comply with these Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, the General Privacy Statement, the Core Privacy Policy or any applicable law.
FicMe's total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the Service, whether arising in contract, delict (including negligence) or otherwise, shall not exceed the total fees actually paid by the user to FicMe during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
Nothing contained in these Terms shall exclude or limit any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including liability arising from fraud or wilful misconduct, or any liability that may not be excluded under applicable consumer protection legislation.
10. Indemnity
You indemnify, defend and hold harmless FicMe, its directors, officers, employees and agents against any loss, damage, liability, claim, action, administrative fine, penalty, cost or expense (including reasonable legal costs) arising from or relating to:
your breach of these Terms or any applicable law;
your use or misuse of the Service;
any information or content uploaded, submitted or shared by you through the Service;
your breach of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 38 of 2001 ("FICA"), any applicable tax legislation, or any other applicable law;
any infringement or alleged infringement of the intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any person;
any claim by a data subject or third party arising from your collection, disclosure or processing of personal information; or
any investigation, enforcement action, administrative proceedings or court proceedings instituted by any regulatory authority or competent court arising from your acts or omissions.
11. Suspension and termination
Either party may terminate these Terms on thirty (30) days' written notice. FicMe may, with immediate effect and without prior notice where reasonably necessary, suspend, restrict or terminate your access to the Service, freeze your account, disable sharing functionality or preserve account records where it reasonably believes that you have breached these Terms, any applicable law or where such action is necessary to protect the integrity or security of the Service, comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, investigate suspected unlawful activity or cooperate with a competent authority. FicMe may report any suspected unlawful conduct to the appropriate authorities. Upon termination, you may export your information for thirty (30) days, after which it may be deleted in accordance with our data retention policies.
12. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email or in-app at least 14 days before they take effect.
13. Governing law and disputes
These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
Should any dispute arise out of or in connection with these Terms or the Service, the parties shall first endeavour to resolve the dispute through good faith negotiations between senior representatives within thirty (30) days after written notice of the dispute.
Should the dispute remain unresolved, the parties shall attempt to resolve it by mediation before a mediator agreed upon between them, failing agreement, appointed by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa ("AFSA").
If the dispute is not resolved by mediation within thirty (30) days after the appointment of the mediator, it shall be finally resolved by arbitration administered by AFSA in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in English, before a single arbitrator appointed in accordance with the AFSA Rules.
Nothing in this clause shall prevent either party from approaching a court of competent jurisdiction for urgent interim or interlocutory relief..
14. Contact
Questions about these Terms: legal@ficme.app.