Terms & Conditions

About these terms

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of GCOFEE (The digital operating system for community finance), available at gcofee.com, together with any related pages, features and services (the "Platform"). "We", "us" and "our" refer to the operator of the Platform; "you" refers to the person using it.

Who can use the Platform

• You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live.
• You must provide accurate registration details and keep them up to date. Groups rely on your identity details to manage money that belongs to their members.
• One person, one account. Do not create an account on behalf of somebody else without their knowledge and permission.
• You must verify your email address before your account becomes active.

Your account and its security

You are responsible for everything done through your account. Keep your password private, enable multi-factor authentication where offered, and tell us immediately if you believe someone else has gained access. Sensitive actions may require you to re-confirm your identity (step-up authentication) even while you are signed in.

Groups govern themselves

GCOFEE is built on the principle that a group belongs to its members, not to whoever registered it first. Accordingly:

• Creating a group is a historical fact, not a permanent grant of authority. Officers hold their roles because members elected them.
• Each group sets its own constitution — contribution cycles, loan products, welfare programs, quorum and voting thresholds — and those rules bind its members.
• Decisions about money inside a group (approving a loan, paying a welfare claim, distributing a dividend, removing an officer) are made by the group under its own rules. We provide the tools; we do not make those decisions for you.
• Officers must act in the interest of the members and within the group's constitution.

What GCOFEE is — and is not

We provide software for recording and governing money that communities manage among themselves. We are not a bank, a licensed deposit-taking institution, an insurer or an investment manager. We do not:

• take deposits from you or hold your money on our own account;
• lend you money or guarantee that a group will approve your loan;
• promise any return, profit, dividend or interest rate;
• guarantee that a group will repay you, remain solvent, or continue operating.

Money you contribute belongs to your group and is dealt with according to your group's constitution. You take on the risks of participating in a community financial group, including the risk that other members default or that the group is wound up.

Contributions, savings and the ledger

Every financial event is recorded in a double-entry ledger. Entries are append-only: a mistake is corrected by a new, traceable entry rather than by editing or deleting history. This protects every member, including you. Balances shown on the Platform are derived from that ledger and reflect what has been recorded — you should still raise any figure you believe is wrong with your group's officers, and with us if the problem looks technical.

Loans

Where a group enables loans, the group defines each product's limits, interest, approval stages and repayment schedule. Applying does not entitle you to a loan. If a loan is approved you owe it to the group on the agreed terms, including any late penalties set out in the group's rules. Enforcement of repayment is a matter between you and your group.

Welfare programs and dividends

Welfare programs (bereavement, medical, new baby, wedding and similar) and dividend distributions are optional features. Eligibility, amounts, waiting periods and distribution methods are set by the group, and payouts depend on the group actually having funds. Nothing on the Platform is insurance and no payout is guaranteed by us.

Fees for using the Platform

The Community plan is free within its stated limits. Paid plans are billed as shown on the pricing page at the time you subscribe. We will give reasonable advance notice before changing the price of a plan you are on. Platform fees are separate from any money you contribute to your group, and they are not refundable for periods already used unless the law requires otherwise.

Payments and third-party providers

Collections and payouts may be processed by third-party payment providers. Their own terms and fees apply to those transactions, and they may hold or move funds. We are not responsible for delays, failures or charges caused by a payment provider, a mobile network, or a bank, though we will help you trace what happened.

Acceptable use

You must not use the Platform to:

• launder money, finance terrorism, evade sanctions or tax, or run a pyramid, Ponzi or similar scheme;
• misrepresent a group's purpose, or collect money from people you have misled;
• impersonate anyone, or access an account or group you have not been admitted to;
• probe, scrape, overload, reverse-engineer or interfere with the Platform's security;
• upload unlawful content, or use another member's personal data for anything other than the group's legitimate business.

Suspension and closing accounts

We may suspend or close an account or a group where we reasonably believe these Terms have been breached, where required by law, or where there is a genuine risk of harm to members. Where practical we will explain why and give you a chance to respond. You may close your own account at any time, but obligations you already owe your group (such as an outstanding loan) survive closure, and ledger records are retained as described in our Privacy Policy.

Your data

How we handle personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. Note that members of a group can see group financial activity — that transparency is the point of the Platform.

Intellectual property

The Platform, its software, design and brand are ours or our licensors'. You get a personal, non-exclusive, revocable right to use the Platform under these Terms. Your group's own data and content remain yours and your group's.

Availability

We work to keep the Platform available and accurate, but we provide it "as is". We do not warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation, and we may carry out maintenance, change features, or discontinue parts of the service with reasonable notice.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, lost profit, lost savings, or loss arising from decisions your group made, from another member's default or dishonesty, or from a third-party payment provider. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

Disputes

Disputes between members, or between a member and a group, should first be resolved through the group's own constitution and governance process — that is what it is for. For disputes with us, contact us first at info@gcofee.com so we can try to resolve the matter directly.

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. We will change the "Last updated" date at the top and, for material changes, give notice through the Platform or by email. Continuing to use the Platform after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Platform's operator is established, without affecting any mandatory consumer protections available to you where you live.

Contact

General enquiries: info@gcofee.com
Support: support@gcofee.com