1. The parties
- Sender — the person or business paying into the deal.
- Receiver — the person or business meant to receive the funds once conditions are met.
- Chama — a group of members who contribute jointly; the group's rules define who plays the Sender or Receiver role for each payout.
- Ahadi — the neutral escrow agent that holds the funds and enforces the agreed release condition.
2. Funds are held in trust
Once a Sender pays into a deal, the money is held by Ahadi on trust for the Sender and Receiver jointly. It is not Ahadi property, is not available to our creditors, and is kept in a segregated account with our regulated banking partner.
3. Release conditions
Every deal is created with one of these release conditions, chosen at setup:
- Manual confirmation — the Sender confirms delivery / satisfaction inside Ahadi.
- Delivery proof — the Receiver uploads proof (tracking, receipt, signed handover) and the Sender approves.
- Auto-release — funds release automatically at the end of the agreed inspection window if no dispute is raised.
Once the deal is funded, these conditions are locked and cannot be changed by either party without a dispute or written mutual agreement.
4. Inspection window
Where an inspection window is agreed, it begins when the Receiver marks the deal as delivered. The Sender then has that period to confirm, request changes, or open a dispute. If they do nothing, funds release to the Receiver at the end of the window and the event is written to the audit log.
5. Refunds
Funds are refunded to the Sender in these situations:
- The Receiver cancels or the deal expires before funding conditions are met.
- Both parties agree to a refund in-app.
- Ahadi decides a dispute in the Sender's favour.
Refunds go back to the payment method used to fund the deal where possible.
6. Disputes
Either party may open a dispute before the inspection window closes. When a dispute is open, funds are frozen. We may ask both sides for evidence and will decide within a reasonable time (target: five business days). We may release, refund, or split the funds. Our decision is administrative — it does not prevent either party from taking the matter to court.
7. Chama-specific terms
For Chama deals, the group's internal rules — contribution schedule, payout order, approval thresholds — form part of this agreement. Ahadi enforces the rules the group set, and each member remains individually responsible for their own contributions.
8. Fees
Ahadi deducts the disclosed service fee from the amount released to the Receiver (unless the Sender chose to absorb fees at checkout). Third-party costs (M-Pesa, card networks) are shown before payment.
9. Failure of a payout method
If a payout to the Receiver fails (wrong number, closed account, etc.), we retry on a schedule and notify the Receiver. Funds remain in escrow until a valid payout method is provided or a refund is agreed.
10. Termination
This agreement ends when the deal is fully released, refunded, or cancelled. Records are kept as required by law (see the Privacy policy).