Terms of Service

1.The Parties and This Agreement

These Terms of Service constitute a legally binding agreement between you and MaestroHive Solutions Limited ("CollabBuy", "we", "us", "our"), a company registered in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, operating the collaborative commerce platform accessible at collabbuy.com and through the CollabBuy mobile application.

By creating an account, accessing the platform, joining a collab, or completing any transaction on CollabBuy, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. These Terms apply to all users of the platform including collab creators, collab members, and any person who browses the platform without completing a transaction.

2.Eligibility

To use CollabBuy you must meet all of the following requirements:

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must have the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts under Nigerian law
• Financial features — including wallet funding, escrow, and collab creation and participation — are available only to users physically located in Nigeria and holding a Nigerian bank account. Users in other countries may browse the platform only
• You must not have been previously suspended or permanently banned from CollabBuy
• You must provide accurate, truthful, and current information during registration and throughout your use of the platform
• You must not be the subject of any sanction, embargo, or restriction under Nigerian law, or any applicable international sanctions list maintained by OFAC, FATF, or equivalent bodies

By using CollabBuy, you represent and warrant that all of the above requirements are satisfied at all times during your use of the platform.

3.Account Registration and Security

To access CollabBuy's financial features, you must register an account and complete identity verification (KYC) as required under CBN guidelines. This includes providing your Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) and any other documentation we may require.

You are solely responsible for the security of your account. You must:

• Maintain the confidentiality of your login credentials at all times
• Never share your password, OTP codes, or PIN digits with any other person for any reason
• Ensure that your registered phone number remains under your sole control, as it is the primary authentication channel for your account
• Immediately notify us at security@collabbuy.com if you suspect unauthorised access to your account or any security breach involving your credentials
• Maintain only one account. Multiple accounts are prohibited and will result in suspension

4.Nature of the Platform

CollabBuy is a technology platform that facilitates collaborative purchases between groups of users. We are not a bank, a financial institution, or a payment service provider. We are a technology intermediary that connects users for the purpose of group commerce.

Payment and financial infrastructure is provided by our licensed Banking-as-a-Service and payment service partners operating under CBN authorisation. CollabBuy operates as an application layer on top of this licensed infrastructure.

CollabBuy is not a party to any commercial transaction between collab members and sellers. We are not responsible for the quality, safety, legality, delivery, or fitness for purpose of any goods or services purchased through a collab. Merchants and sellers are solely responsible to you for the goods and services they provide.

5.How CollabBuy Works

CollabBuy enables groups of users to pool funds for collaborative purchases. Every collab passes through the following lifecycle stages:

1. OPEN: A collab is created and accepting members. Users join and commit to locking their contributions.
2. FULL: All available slots are filled. No further members may join. The creator adds the seller's bank account details.
3. READY: Seller details have been added. All members must verify and confirm the seller's account details before proceeding to authorisation.
4. ACTIVE: All members have verified the seller. Split-PIN authorisation begins.
5. PAYING: The Split-PIN has been successfully verified. A bank transfer to the seller has been initiated.
6. COMPLETED: The bank transfer has been confirmed by our payment partner's webhook. The collab is permanently closed.

A collab may also reach CANCELLED status (at any stage before PAYING, subject to the cancellation terms in Section 9) or EXPIRED status (if the timer elapses before the collab reaches FULL).

6.The Split-PIN Authorization System

The Split-PIN is CollabBuy's proprietary cryptographic payment authorisation system and the core trust mechanism of the platform. By using CollabBuy, you acknowledge and agree to all of the following:

• When a collab reaches ACTIVE status, a payment PIN is generated server-side and the digit positions distributed proportionally across all members based on each member's contribution percentage
• No individual member receives the complete PIN. No member can authorise payment alone under any circumstances
• Each member must submit only their assigned digit positions. The platform verifies submissions server-side by comparing the reconstructed PIN against the stored cryptographic hash
• Payment is executed only when all members have submitted the correct digits and the complete PIN passes verification. This collective participation requirement cannot be bypassed
• The plain text PIN is never stored anywhere in CollabBuy's systems at any point. Only the SHA-256 hash of the PIN is retained
• PIN submission is subject to rate limiting. Repeated failed submissions will result in temporary lockout of the authorisation process
• PIN authorisation is irreversible once the bank transfer has been initiated. You must verify all seller details carefully and completely before submitting your digits

7.Wallet and Escrow

7.1 Your Wallet

Your CollabBuy wallet holds funds you have deposited for use on the platform. Wallet balances are denominated in Nigerian Naira (NGN). All balances are stored as integer values in kobo to ensure absolute precision. No floating-point arithmetic is applied to any financial value.

Funds in your wallet are not a bank deposit, do not earn interest, and are not protected by any deposit insurance scheme. CollabBuy is not a bank. Payment infrastructure is provided by our licensed service partners.

7.2 Escrow

When you join a collab and confirm your contribution, your contribution amount is locked in escrow from your wallet balance. Locked funds:

• Are reflected as "locked balance" in your wallet and are unavailable for other transactions or withdrawal while locked
• Cannot be accessed by any individual collab member, including the creator
• Cannot be accessed or moved by CollabBuy staff outside the authorised platform transaction flow
• Are released to the seller upon successful PIN verification, or returned to members (less any applicable cancellation penalty) upon valid cancellation
• Generate an immutable transaction record showing the balance before and after every movement. These records cannot be modified

7.3 Wallet Withdrawals

You may withdraw your available wallet balance (funds not locked in active escrow) to your registered Nigerian bank account at any time, subject to KYC verification requirements and any applicable withdrawal processing times. Withdrawals to accounts not registered under your verified identity are not permitted.

8.Fees and Charges

CollabBuy charges the following fees. All fees are displayed to you before you confirm any transaction.

Worked example — ₦100,000 collab, 4 equal members:

Seller receives: ₦100,000 (full goods price). CollabBuy retains: ₦3,000 platform fee.

Before confirming participation in any collab, you will see a clear breakdown showing your share of the goods price and your share of the platform fee, with your total contribution amount displayed before you confirm. You must actively confirm this breakdown before your funds are locked.

CollabBuy reserves the right to amend its fee structure. Changes to fees will be notified to registered users at least 30 days in advance by email or in-app notification. Continued use of the platform after the effective date of any fee change constitutes acceptance of the revised fees.

9.Cancellation and Penalties

9.1 Cancellation Before Locking Funds

You may leave a collab at no cost before your contribution has been locked into escrow. Once you lock your contribution, the cancellation penalty in Section 9.2 applies.

9.2 Cancellation After Locking Funds

If you cancel your participation after your contribution has been locked, a 5% cancellation penalty is automatically applied to your locked contribution amount:

• 60% of the penalty amount is distributed proportionally among the remaining collab members as compensation for the disruption to their collab
• 40% of the penalty amount is retained by CollabBuy as a platform fee
• The remaining 95% of your locked contribution is returned to your CollabBuy wallet

9.3 Creator Cancellation

The collab creator may cancel a collab before it reaches PAYING status. If the creator cancels after any members have locked funds, the creator is subject to the same 5% penalty on their own locked contribution. All other members whose funds were locked receive their full locked amounts back with no penalty deduction.

9.4 Expiry

If a REACTIVE collab does not fill within 4 hours of creation, it expires automatically. All locked contributions are returned in full with no penalty applied. Planned collabs expire on the scheduled date if not filled.

10.Seller Payment and Verification

CollabBuy pays sellers by direct bank transfer to any Nigerian bank account. The following terms govern the seller payment process:

• Seller bank account details are entered by the collab creator after the collab is full. The creator warrants that the details entered are accurate and correspond to the intended seller
• Before PIN authorisation can begin, all collab members must individually confirm the seller's full account number, account name, and bank name as displayed in the platform
• CollabBuy verifies the account name via our payment partner's account lookup service when seller details are entered. This verification confirms the account name registered with the receiving bank but does not verify the legitimacy of the underlying commercial transaction
• By confirming seller details, each member represents that they have checked the displayed information and authorise payment to that account
• The seller is not required to be registered on CollabBuy. Any individual or business with a valid Nigerian bank account can receive payment
• CollabBuy is not liable for payments made to seller accounts that members have confirmed as correct

11.CollabSafe

CollabSafe is an optional safety feature available to collab members from READY status onwards. It allows members to send group transaction details to a trusted contact outside the platform before completing an in-person collab transaction.

• CollabSafe messages always include the collab creator's full name, phone number, and contribution amount. This cannot be opted out of by the creator
• For all other members: full names and phone numbers are included if the member has given explicit prior consent. Members who have not consented appear as "Member [N] — details withheld by request"
• All messages include: the purchase description, meeting location if provided, each member's contribution amount, the seller's verified bank details, a unique CSF-reference number, and the date and time of sending
• A completion message is sent automatically to the same trusted contact when the bank transfer is confirmed, confirming the transaction is complete
• CollabBuy is not responsible for how third-party recipients of CollabSafe messages use, store, or share the information they receive
• Non-creator members may withdraw their CollabSafe consent at any time in account settings. Withdrawal applies to future collabs and does not affect messages already sent
• By creating a collab on CollabBuy, the creator acknowledges and irrevocably consents to their identity being included in any CollabSafe message sent by any member of that collab

12.Prohibited Conduct

You may not use CollabBuy for any of the following purposes or in any of the following ways:

• Engaging in or facilitating money laundering, terrorist financing, or any activity prohibited under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, or any other applicable Nigerian law
• Creating collabs for fictitious, non-existent, or sham purchases with the intent of misappropriating other members' funds or committing fraud
• Entering false, inaccurate, or fabricated seller bank details to redirect payment to an unintended account
• Attempting to intercept, reconstruct, or guess another member's PIN digit positions
• Using another person's identity, verification documents, or bank account to register or transact
• Attempting to reverse-engineer, circumvent, or interfere with the Split-PIN mechanism, escrow system, or any other security feature of the platform
• Creating multiple accounts to evade suspension, penalties, or platform restrictions
• Using automated tools, bots, scripts, or data extraction technologies to access or interact with the platform
• Harassing, threatening, defaming, or abusing other users of the platform
• Engaging in any conduct that violates applicable Nigerian law or the rights of any third party

Violations of these prohibitions will result in immediate account suspension, forfeiture of any applicable pending amounts, and referral to law enforcement authorities where appropriate. CollabBuy cooperates fully with CBN, EFCC, NFIU, and Nigerian law enforcement in investigations of suspected financial crimes.

13.Intellectual Property

CollabBuy, the CollabBuy name and logo, the Split-PIN mechanism, CollabSafe, and all platform technology, software, database structures, user interfaces, and content are the intellectual property of MaestroHive Solutions Limited. All rights are reserved.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the CollabBuy platform for your personal, non-commercial purposes, subject to these Terms. You may not copy, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, sell, lease, sublicense, or otherwise exploit any part of the platform or its underlying technology without our express written consent.

By submitting content to the platform, including reviews and collab descriptions, you grant CollabBuy a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, display, and reproduce that content for the purpose of operating and improving the platform.

14.Third-Party Services

CollabBuy integrates third-party services to operate the platform, including payment processors, BaaS infrastructure providers, SMS services, and cloud infrastructure. Your use of these services through the platform is subject to the respective terms and privacy policies of those providers. CollabBuy is not responsible for the conduct, policies, or security of third-party services beyond the contractual obligations we impose on our service providers.

The platform may contain links to third-party websites. CollabBuy does not endorse and is not responsible for the content, terms, or privacy practices of any linked third-party website.

15.Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

15.1 Platform as Technology Facilitator

CollabBuy provides a technology platform. We are not a party to any transaction between collab members and sellers. We make no representations or warranties regarding the quality, safety, legality, fitness for purpose, or delivery of any goods or services purchased through a collab.

15.2 No Financial Advice

Nothing on the CollabBuy platform constitutes financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. You use the platform and make all purchase decisions entirely at your own risk.

15.3 As Is and As Available

The CollabBuy platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by Nigerian law. We do not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from harmful components.

15.4 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by Nigerian law, CollabBuy's total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising from or in connection with your use of the platform is limited to the total platform fees you have paid to CollabBuy in the three calendar months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

CollabBuy is not liable for any indirect, consequential, incidental, special, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, loss of data, or business interruption, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by Nigerian law.

16.Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless MaestroHive Solutions Limited, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and successors from and against all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to: (a) your use or misuse of the platform; (b) your breach of these Terms; (c) your violation of any applicable law or regulation; (d) your violation of any third party's rights; or (e) any content or information you submit to the platform.

17.Suspension and Termination

CollabBuy may suspend or permanently terminate your account immediately and without prior notice if:

• You breach these Terms in any material respect
• We are required to do so by applicable law or a lawful order from a regulatory or law enforcement authority
• We reasonably suspect fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity on your account
• You provide false, inaccurate, or misleading information during registration or KYC
• Your account falls into extended inactivity as defined in our operating policies

Upon termination, any available wallet balance will be returned to your registered bank account within 14 working days, after deduction of any amounts owed to CollabBuy. Funds locked in active collabs at the time of termination will be handled in accordance with the cancellation provisions in Section 9.

You may close your account voluntarily at any time by contacting hello@collabbuy.com, provided you have no outstanding active collab commitments and no funds locked in escrow.

18.Force Majeure

CollabBuy will not be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, fire, flood, epidemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, regulatory orders, power failures, internet disruptions, or failures of third-party infrastructure providers. Where a force majeure event affects our ability to provide the platform, we will notify you as soon as practicable and take all reasonable steps to restore normal service.

19.Dispute Resolution

19.1 Disputes Between Users

CollabBuy is a platform. Disputes between collab members regarding the commercial terms of a purchase, or between members and sellers regarding product quality or delivery, are between those parties. CollabBuy will provide transaction records and collab logs to assist in resolution but does not act as a mediator, arbitrator, or adjudicator of commercial disputes between users.

19.2 Disputes Between You and CollabBuy

If you have a complaint about CollabBuy's services, please contact us at hello@collabbuy.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 business days and aim to resolve it within 14 business days. If unsatisfied, you may escalate to the Consumer Protection Department of the CBN or the FCCPC.

19.3 Arbitration

Any dispute arising from or in connection with these Terms that cannot be resolved through the complaint process shall be finally settled by binding arbitration conducted in Lagos, Nigeria, under the Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023. The arbitration shall be conducted in English by a single arbitrator. The arbitral award shall be final, binding, and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

20.Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Subject to the arbitration clause in Section 19, you submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of Nigeria for any matter not resolved by arbitration.

21.Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed if modification is not possible, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms applicable to specific features, constitute the entire agreement between you and CollabBuy relating to your use of the platform and supersede all prior agreements, representations, or understandings. No failure or delay by CollabBuy in exercising any right under these Terms shall constitute a waiver of that right.

22.Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, applicable law, or operating practices. Where changes are material, we will notify you by email, SMS, or in-app notification at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

The updated Terms will show the revised "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of CollabBuy after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept the revised Terms, you must stop using the platform before the effective date and may close your account.

23.Contact

For questions, disputes, or legal notices regarding these Terms: