1Who we are
Sargo is operated by Sargo Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with its registered office at 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom ("Sargo", "we", "us"). You can reach us at support@sargo.io. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the agreement between you and Sargo for your use of the Sargo websites and the Sargo marketplace at app.sargo.io (together, the "Platform").
2Accepting these Terms
By using the Platform you accept these Terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the Platform. We may update these Terms; for material changes we will give at least 30 days' notice through the Platform, except where changes are required immediately for security, fraud-prevention or legal reasons. If you do not accept a change, you must stop using the Platform, completing any live orders and withdrawing any locked assets first.
3What Sargo is — and is not
Sargo is a non-custodial, peer-to-peer marketplace for swapping stablecoins and Kenyan shillings. Merchants publish adverts with their own rates; clients accept them; the stablecoins lock in an on-chain escrow smart contract on a supported network (currently Base and Celo) until the trade completes. Sargo never takes custody of your stablecoins or your shillings: digital assets remain on their blockchains, controlled by the escrow contract and the parties; fiat payments travel directly between counterparties over M-Pesa or bank rails. Sargo is not a party to any trade, not a payment processor, not a custodian, and not a counterparty. We provide the venue, the escrow contract, the pricing and matching tools, and the dispute mechanism described in section 8.
4Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old, able to form a binding contract, and not barred from using services like ours under the laws of Kenya, your country of residence, or any sanctions regime. One person, one account: you may not open multiple accounts, share your account, or trade on behalf of anyone else.
5Identity verification (KYC) and monitoring
To trade you must complete identity verification once. This may include your identity document, a selfie photograph, a liveness check and face matching, carried out with licensed third-party identity-verification providers. We may ask you to re-verify, and we may refuse, restrict or close accounts that cannot be verified to our satisfaction. We monitor transactions to meet anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorism-financing and sanctions obligations, and we may impose limits, request information, delay or decline activity, or report and disclose information to competent authorities where the law requires or permits it. How we handle the personal data involved is set out in the Privacy Policy.
6Your account and security
Your wallet is yours: you control its keys and you are responsible for them. You are also responsible for the security of the email, devices and credentials you use with the Platform, and for everything done through them. Tell us immediately at support@sargo.io if you suspect unauthorised use. We are not responsible for losses caused by your failure to secure your wallet, keys or credentials.
7How trades work
Adverts. Merchants set their own buy and sell rates, sizes, payment rails and terms. An advert's terms bind both sides once accepted, so far as they are consistent with these Terms and applicable law. Escrow. On acceptance, the stablecoins lock in the escrow contract. Payment. The paying party sends shillings directly to the other party's M-Pesa or bank account exactly as instructed in the order. Release. The escrow releases when the receiving party confirms payment, when an unchallenged order completes under the contract's rules, or on the outcome of a dispute under section 8. Release is final. Once assets leave escrow the transfer cannot be cancelled, reversed or recovered through the Platform. Off-platform dealing — arranging, soliciting or settling trades outside the Platform — is prohibited and may lead to suspension or closure.
8Disputes between counterparties are settled by proof
If a payment is contested, the question is decided by evidence, not by argument. The paying party may submit a zero-knowledge proof of the real bank or mobile-money transfer, generated from their own session and verified cryptographically; order records on the Platform also count. Screenshots and off-platform messages do not. Each side must respond to a dispute within 48 hours; an unresponsive party may lose the dispute for that reason alone. Outcomes follow the evidence: a verified proof of correct payment releases escrow to the payer's benefit; absence of payment returns the assets. Sargo's dispute mechanism applies the rules — it is not a guarantee against counterparty failure, and nothing here limits your right to pursue remedies under Kenyan law.
9Fees
Any Sargo fees are shown to you in the order flow before you commit, and merchants' rates are always displayed in their adverts. Network (gas) fees are set by the blockchains, not by us. Taxes on your trading are your responsibility.
10Acceptable use
You must not use the Platform: for anything unlawful, including money laundering, terrorism financing, sanctions evasion, fraud or dealing in stolen assets; to harass, deceive or impersonate; to interfere with the Platform, probe or attack its contracts or infrastructure, or scrape it; to trade with yourself or manipulate ratings; or to collect other users' personal data beyond what a trade requires. We may suspend or close accounts, cancel adverts and restrict access for breach, for legal or security reasons, or where we reasonably suspect fraud — where assets can lawfully be returned to their owner, they will be, and live orders complete under the contract's rules.
11Risk disclosure
Digital-asset prices are volatile and can fall as well as rise. Smart contracts, blockchains and the internet can fail in ways nobody can fully prevent. Counterparties can fail to perform. You alone decide whether trading is appropriate for you; Sargo does not provide financial, tax or legal advice, and nothing on the Platform is a recommendation. If in doubt, take professional advice.
12Intellectual property
The Platform, its software, design, marks and content belong to Sargo or its licensors. We grant you a personal, revocable, non-transferable licence to use the Platform as intended by these Terms — nothing more. Feedback you choose to send us may be used by us without obligation.
13Availability and changes
The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". We work to keep it running but do not promise uninterrupted or error-free service, and we may change, suspend or withdraw features. Where reasonably possible we will give notice of material withdrawals.
14Liability
What we never exclude: nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. Otherwise: we are not liable for losses arising from the acts or omissions of counterparties; from blockchains, wallets, payment rails or other third-party systems; from your equipment or connectivity; from volatility; or from your breach of these Terms — and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, or loss of data. To the extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability to you is limited to the greater of the fees you paid Sargo in the 12 months before the claim and USD 100.
15Indemnity
You will indemnify Sargo against third-party claims, losses and reasonable costs arising from your breach of these Terms, your unlawful use of the Platform, or your trades — except to the extent caused by our own breach, negligence or fraud.
16Force majeure, assignment, waiver, severance
We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control. You may not assign this agreement; we may assign it on notice, including in a reorganisation or sale. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of it. If any part of these Terms is found invalid, the rest remains in force. These Terms are the entire agreement between us about the Platform.
17Resolving disputes with Sargo, and governing law
Contact support@sargo.io first — most issues resolve quickly. If a dispute between you and Sargo is not settled within 30 days, either of us may propose mediation; failing settlement, the courts of Kenya have exclusive jurisdiction. These Terms, and trades on the Platform, are governed by the laws of Kenya.
18Contact
Sargo Ltd · 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom · support@sargo.io · privacy matters: privacy@sargo.io.