Terms & Conditions of Service
These Terms and Conditions of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you") and Sanaga Digital (trading as instantcards), the operator of the instantcards mobile application and the websites instantcards.app and sanagadigital.app (collectively, the "Service"). By downloading, installing, registering for, or using the Service in any way, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and all policies incorporated by reference (including our Privacy Policy and AML/CFT Policy).
If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service. These Terms contain important provisions on fees, liability limitations, dispute resolution, and your obligations as a user. Please read them carefully.
1. About instantcards
instantcards is a financial technology platform that enables users to convert mobile money balances into virtual Visa and Mastercard payment cards for use in online transactions. instantcards is a product of Sanaga Digital. The Service is available at instantcards.app and advertised at sanagadigital.app.
instantcards operates as a technology aggregation layer. It is not a bank, an e-money institution, or a card issuer. Mobile money collection is provided by licensed payment aggregators (Flutterwave and CinetPay). Card issuance is provided by Sudo Africa, a licensed Visa and Mastercard programme manager. instantcards does not hold client funds in its own accounts.
2. Eligibility Requirements
To register for and use the Service, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age at the time of registration
- Be a natural person (not a corporation or other legal entity, unless expressly agreed in writing)
- Be a resident of a country in which instantcards operates and has made the Service available
- Hold a valid, active mobile money account with a mobile money provider supported by instantcards in your country
- Have the full legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement under the laws of your country of residence
- Not be subject to any international sanctions, financial crime conviction, or regulatory prohibition that would prevent you from receiving financial services
- Not be a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) at an elevated risk level, unless you have disclosed this and received written approval
By registering, you represent and warrant that you meet all of the above requirements and will continue to do so throughout your use of the Service. We reserve the right to verify your eligibility at any time and to suspend or terminate your account if eligibility requirements are not met.
3. Account Registration and Security
3.1 Registration
You must provide accurate, complete, and current information at registration, including your legal name, phone number, and country of residence. You agree to update your information promptly if it changes. Providing false registration information is a ground for immediate account termination and may constitute a criminal offence.
3.2 PIN Security
Your account is secured by a 4–6 digit PIN. You are solely responsible for keeping your PIN confidential. You must not:
- Share your PIN with any third party, including family members or agents
- Use a PIN that is easily guessable (e.g. 1234, 0000, your birth year)
- Write your PIN down in an insecure location
- Enter your PIN on any device you do not control or trust
3.3 Unauthorised Access
You must notify us immediately at support@instantcards.app if you become aware or suspect that your PIN or account has been compromised. You accept responsibility for all transactions and activities that occur under your account credentials, whether or not authorised by you, until you have notified us and we have taken remedial action. We will not be liable for losses arising from your failure to keep your credentials secure.
3.4 One Account Per User
You may hold only one instantcards account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent transaction limits, KYC thresholds, or any other restriction is a material breach of these Terms and grounds for permanent suspension of all associated accounts.
4. The Service — Wallet Top-Up
4.1 How Top-Up Works
You may fund your instantcards wallet by initiating a mobile money transfer from a supported provider in your country. Upon initiating a top-up:
- The Service sends a USSD prompt to your mobile handset via Flutterwave or CinetPay
- You confirm the transaction by entering your mobile money PIN on your handset (we never receive this PIN)
- Flutterwave or CinetPay confirms the transaction to our backend via a cryptographically verified webhook
- Our settlement engine independently verifies the transaction via the payment provider's verification API before crediting your wallet
- Your wallet balance is updated atomically — the credit cannot partially complete
4.2 Top-Up Fees
A service fee of 1.5% of the top-up amount is charged on every successful top-up. This fee is clearly displayed before you confirm any transaction. The fee is non-refundable once the transaction has settled.
4.3 Currency
Your wallet is denominated in the local currency of your country of residence (e.g. XAF for Cameroon, GHS for Ghana, KES for Kenya). The currency is fixed at registration and cannot be changed. Wallet balances cannot be converted between currencies within the platform.
4.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts
Minimum and maximum top-up amounts are determined by your KYC tier, your mobile money provider's own limits, and our platform limits. These limits are displayed in-app and may be updated from time to time. We reserve the right to reject any top-up that falls outside permitted limits without liability.
4.5 Failed Top-Ups
If a mobile money deduction is confirmed by your provider but your wallet is not credited within 10 minutes, contact support@instantcards.app with your transaction reference number. We will investigate within 3 business days. In confirmed cases of failed settlement due to our error, the full amount (including fee) will be refunded to your mobile money account within 5 business days.
5. The Service — Virtual Card Issuance and Management
5.1 Card Issuance
You may use your wallet balance to generate a virtual Visa or Mastercard payment card. Each card is issued by Sudo Africa, a licensed Visa and Mastercard programme manager. A flat card generation fee (displayed at the time of generation) is deducted from your wallet balance. You must have sufficient wallet balance to cover the generation fee plus any minimum card load amount required by Sudo Africa.
5.2 Card Details and Security
Upon issuance, you will receive a virtual card number (PAN), CVV code, and expiry date. These details are:
- Encrypted with AES-256-CBC before storage — never held in plain text
- Accessible only via a PIN-gated reveal endpoint
- Displayed in-app for a maximum of 60 seconds after PIN authentication, then automatically masked
- Never included in any log files, error reports, or monitoring tools
You are responsible for keeping your card details confidential. Do not share your PAN, CVV, or expiry date with any party you do not trust to process a legitimate payment.
5.3 Permitted Uses
Your virtual card may be used for:
- Online purchases at merchants that accept Visa or Mastercard
- Digital subscriptions (streaming services, software, cloud services, etc.)
- Online service payments (freelance platforms, educational platforms, travel booking, etc.)
- Any other lawful online commercial transaction
5.4 Prohibited Uses
Your virtual card must not be used for:
- Any illegal activity or transaction that violates applicable law in any jurisdiction
- Money laundering, terrorist financing, or any other financial crime
- Circumventing international sanctions or export controls
- Online gambling in jurisdictions where it is prohibited or where the card network prohibits such use
- Purchase of illegal goods or services, including those prohibited by Visa/Mastercard operating regulations
- Cash advances, peer-to-peer money transfers where prohibited by the card network
- Any transaction designed to circumvent transaction monitoring controls
- Providing the card to a third party for their use (cards are personal-use only)
Violation of these prohibited uses may result in immediate card termination, account suspension, freezing of wallet funds pending investigation, and reporting to relevant authorities.
5.5 Card Management
| Operation | Effect | Reversible? | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeze card | All transactions declined immediately; card cannot be used until unfrozen | Yes | Free |
| Unfreeze card | Card restored to active status; transactions permitted again immediately | Yes | Free |
| Terminate card | Card permanently deactivated; cannot be restored; any unspent card balance may be lost | No — permanent | Free |
| Reveal PAN/CVV | Decrypted card details displayed for 60 seconds; PIN verification required | N/A | Free |
5.6 Card Spending Limits and FX
Virtual cards are denominated in USD (Sudo Africa requirement). When you generate a card with a spending limit set in your local currency, a foreign exchange conversion is applied. instantcards applies a 2% markup over the interbank rate on this conversion. This FX markup is a revenue stream for instantcards and is displayed before you confirm card generation. For XAF (Central African CFA Franc), note that XAF is pegged to EUR at a fixed rate, which affects the EUR/XAF leg of the XAF/USD conversion.
5.7 Card Spend Disputes
If you identify a transaction on your virtual card that you did not authorise:
- Freeze the card immediately in-app to prevent further unauthorised use
- Contact support@instantcards.app within 30 days of the transaction date
- Provide: your account phone number, the card's masked PAN, the transaction date, amount, and merchant name
- We will raise a dispute with Sudo Africa under Visa/Mastercard chargeback procedures
- Dispute resolution typically takes 30–90 days
Failure to report within 30 days may limit our ability to pursue a chargeback on your behalf. We cannot guarantee a successful chargeback outcome as this is determined by Visa/Mastercard rules and the merchant's bank.
6. Fees and Charges
| Service | Fee | When charged | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile money top-up | 1.5% of top-up amount | On successful settlement | No (except in cases of our error) |
| Virtual card generation | Flat fee (displayed at generation; varies by market) | On card issuance | No |
| FX conversion (card spend in non-local currency) | 2% markup over interbank rate | At card generation / spend event | No |
| Card freeze / unfreeze | Free | N/A | N/A |
| Card termination | Free | N/A | N/A |
| Card reveal (PAN/CVV) | Free | N/A | N/A |
| Account registration | Free | N/A | N/A |
| Account maintenance | Free | N/A | N/A |
We reserve the right to modify our fee schedule with 30 days' written notice to users via push notification and/or email. Continued use of the Service after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the revised fees.
7. Know Your Customer (KYC) and Verification
We are required by applicable financial services legislation, including COBAC Regulation R-2019/02 and the FATF Recommendations, to verify the identity of our users. Our KYC programme is tiered:
| Tier | Verification required | Monthly top-up limit | How to achieve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 0 (default) | Phone number only (inherited from mobile money KYC performed by your MNO) | XAF 150,000 / GHS 500 / KES 5,000 or local equivalent | Automatic at registration |
| Tier 1 (standard) | National ID number or passport number (self-declared) | 3× Tier 0 limit | Submit in Profile → KYC |
| Tier 2 (enhanced) | Document photograph + biometric verification via Smile Identity | 10× Tier 0 limit | Submit in Profile → KYC |
You agree to provide accurate, genuine KYC information. Providing false documents is a criminal offence. We reserve the right to request additional information at any time for Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) purposes, including for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) or users transacting at elevated volumes. Failure to complete required KYC may result in transaction limits being enforced or your account being suspended.
8. Prohibited Activities and Acceptable Use
In addition to the card-specific prohibitions in Section 5.4, you must not:
- Use the Service to commit or facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, or any other financial crime
- Provide false or misleading information to us or our partners at any stage
- Impersonate another person or register on behalf of another person without their explicit written consent
- Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or compromise any part of the Service or its underlying technology
- Attempt to access accounts, data, or systems that you are not authorised to access
- Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to access or interact with the Service
- Conduct denial-of-service attacks or any other activity that degrades the performance of the Service
- Use the Service in a manner that violates the acceptable use policies of Flutterwave, CinetPay, Sudo Africa, Visa, or Mastercard
- Use the Service for any purpose not expressly permitted by these Terms
9. Account Suspension, Restriction, and Termination
9.1 By Us
We may immediately and without prior notice suspend, restrict, or terminate your account if:
- We reasonably suspect your account is being used for money laundering, fraud, or any other illegal activity
- You have materially breached these Terms
- You have provided false KYC or registration information
- We are required to do so by applicable law, court order, or regulatory direction
- Your account appears on or is associated with a person on a sanctions list
- You have not completed required KYC verification within a reasonable period after a request
In cases of account suspension for investigation, we will communicate the suspension and expected timeline to you unless prohibited from doing so by law (e.g. due to the AML tipping-off prohibition).
9.2 By You
You may close your account at any time by contacting support@instantcards.app. Before closure:
- Any remaining wallet balance will be refunded to your registered mobile money account within 5 business days, less any applicable fees or outstanding charges
- All active cards must be terminated or allowed to expire
- Any unspent card balances may be irretrievable after card termination — you are responsible for spending or transferring these before requesting closure
9.3 Effect of Termination
Upon termination, all licences granted to you under these Terms are immediately revoked. Data is retained for the periods set out in our Privacy Policy. Termination does not affect any rights or obligations that accrued before termination.
10. Service Availability and Interruptions
We target 99.5% monthly uptime for the API. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to:
- Scheduled maintenance (we will provide advance notice where possible)
- Emergency security patches or system upgrades
- Outages affecting Flutterwave, CinetPay, Sudo Africa, or mobile network operators
- Force majeure events (see Section 16)
- Actions by regulatory or governmental authorities
We are not liable for losses arising from service interruptions beyond our reasonable control. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to restore service as promptly as possible.
11. Intellectual Property
All intellectual property rights in the instantcards application, brand, website, source code, algorithms, designs, trademarks, documentation, and all other proprietary materials are owned exclusively by Sanaga Digital or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right, title, or interest in our intellectual property. You may not:
- Copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, or create derivative works of any part of the Service
- Use our trademarks, logos, or brand names without our prior written consent
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the application
- Sublicence or transfer any rights granted to you under these Terms
12. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. We do not warrant that:
- The Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from viruses or other harmful components
- Any specific transaction will be accepted by a merchant
- Exchange rates applied will be the most favourable available
- The Service will meet your specific requirements or expectations
- Data stored through the Service will never be lost or corrupted (although we maintain commercially reasonable backup procedures)
13. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:
- Aggregate liability cap: Our total aggregate liability to you for any and all claims arising from your use of the Service shall not exceed the total fees paid by you to instantcards in the three calendar months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
- Exclusion of consequential loss: We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of data, loss of business opportunity, or reputational damage, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
- Third-party actions: We are not liable for the acts, errors, omissions, insolvency, or regulatory actions of Flutterwave, CinetPay, Sudo Africa, Smile Identity, mobile network operators, Visa, Mastercard, or any other third party.
- User fault: We are not liable for losses arising from your failure to keep your PIN confidential, your provision of false KYC information, your violation of these Terms, or your failure to follow security guidance.
- Force majeure: We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform our obligations due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our gross negligence, fraud, or any other matter that cannot be excluded by law.
14. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sanaga Digital, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and partners from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to: (a) your use of the Service in violation of these Terms; (b) your violation of any applicable law; (c) your provision of false, misleading, or inaccurate information; (d) any third-party claim arising from your actions on the platform.
15. Governing Law, Jurisdiction, and Dispute Resolution
15.1 Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Cameroon, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.
15.2 Informal Resolution
Before commencing formal proceedings, you agree to contact us at legal@instantcards.app and attempt to resolve the dispute informally. We will use good faith efforts to resolve the dispute within 30 calendar days.
15.3 Formal Proceedings
If informal resolution fails, any dispute, controversy, or claim arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of Douala, Cameroon. Each party irrevocably submits to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
15.4 Emergency Relief
Nothing in these Terms prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive, interim, or emergency relief before any court of competent jurisdiction anywhere in the world, including to protect intellectual property rights or prevent irreparable harm.
16. Force Majeure
We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms to the extent that such failure or delay is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic or epidemic, war, civil unrest, government action, regulatory changes, telecommunication network failures, power outages, or actions of mobile network operators. We will notify you of such circumstances promptly and use commercially reasonable efforts to minimise their impact and resume normal service.
17. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms at any time. We will provide at least 14 days' advance notice of material changes via push notification and/or email (if provided). The updated Terms will be posted on our website with a revised "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not accept material changes, you must stop using the Service and request account closure before the effective date.
18. Severability and Waiver
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, 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.
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms on any occasion does not constitute a waiver of that provision or our right to enforce it in the future.
19. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and AML/CFT Policy (each incorporated by reference), constitute the entire agreement between you and instantcards with respect to the Service and supersede all prior negotiations, representations, agreements, or understandings, whether oral or written.
20. Contact
Legal enquiries: legal@instantcards.app
Support: support@instantcards.app
instantcards — a product of Sanaga Digital — sanagadigital.app