Terms of Service

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of AjoCircle, a rotating savings circle platform operated by Heycube (“we”, “us”, “our”), a sole trader registered in England and Wales trading as AjoCircle.

By creating an account or using AjoCircle in any way, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

2. Description of Service

AjoCircle is a digital platform that facilitates rotating savings circles — known variously as Ajo, Esusu, Susu, or Pardner — among groups of trusted individuals in the United Kingdom.

The platform enables users to:

• Create and manage savings circles with a defined contribution amount, frequency, and membership
• Invite trusted individuals to join their circles
• Make regular contributions via Stripe's payment infrastructure
• Receive the full accumulated pot on their assigned payout turn
• Resolve disputes through a structured mediation process

AjoCircle acts solely as a technology platform facilitating agreements between members. We do not hold, pool, or manage member funds directly. All payments are processed by Stripe, Inc., pursuant to their own terms of service.

3. Eligibility

To use AjoCircle you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a resident of the United Kingdom
• Hold a valid UK mobile phone number
• Successfully complete our identity verification process via Stripe Identity
• Have the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts
• Not be prohibited from using financial services under applicable law

By registering, you represent and warrant that you meet all eligibility requirements. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts where eligibility requirements are not met or are misrepresented.

4. User Accounts

You must register for an account to use AjoCircle. Registration requires verification of your UK mobile number via one-time passcode (OTP). You must then complete our onboarding process, which includes providing your name, address, date of birth, and passing identity verification.

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the security of your account and device
• All activity that occurs under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorised use at legal@ajocircle.com
• Keeping your contact and payment details accurate and up to date

Accounts are personal and non-transferable. You may not create more than one account. We may require re-verification of your identity at any time.

5. Circle Creation & Participation

A “circle” is a group savings arrangement created on the platform. The member who creates a circle (“Circle Admin”) sets the contribution amount, payment frequency, maximum number of members, and invites participants via a unique link.

By joining a circle, you agree to:

• Make all scheduled contributions on time for the full duration of the circle
• Participate in payout order elections when required
• Comply with the circle rules and these Terms throughout
• Accept that your payout position may be determined by group vote

A circle begins once all member slots are filled and the Circle Admin locks the payout order. Circles may be paused or terminated by AjoCircle if a member defaults or if we determine that the circle is being used improperly.

Circle Admins have additional responsibilities including managing disputes at the first instance and maintaining group integrity. AjoCircle may remove Circle Admin privileges where we determine they are not being exercised appropriately.

6. Contribution Obligations

Each circle has a fixed contribution amount and payment schedule set at creation. By joining a circle, you make a binding commitment to pay every contribution for the full duration of the circle, including rounds in which another member receives the pot.

Contributions are collected by AjoCircle via Stripe at the start of each round. You must ensure that valid payment credentials are linked to your account and that sufficient funds are available when contributions fall due.

You may not withdraw from a circle after it has begun without the unanimous consent of all other circle members. Withdrawal without consent constitutes a default (see Section 9).

7. Payouts

When it is your turn to receive the pot, the full amount contributed by all members in that round will be transferred to your connected bank account via Stripe Connect. Payout timing is subject to Stripe's processing schedule, typically within 2–5 business days.

Payouts will only be made to verified members who have passed identity verification and connected a valid UK bank account. We reserve the right to delay or withhold a payout where we have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud, money laundering, or a breach of these Terms.

The payout order for each circle is determined by group vote amongst circle members. Once locked, payout positions cannot be changed unless all members consent, or AjoCircle determines it is necessary to do so to resolve a dispute.

8. Platform Fees

AjoCircle is currently in beta and charges no platform fee — recipients receive the full pot amount at payout. Once beta ends, we plan to introduce a platform fee of up to 0.5% of each payout amount, deducted at the point of payout. We will give at least 30 days' notice, in writing, before any fee takes effect, and the current fee (if any) will always be shown to you before you create or join a circle.

There are no fees for joining a circle, making contributions, or using the platform in any other way. Stripe's own payment processing fees are separate and are absorbed within the platform fee structure.

We reserve the right to change our fee structure with 30 days' notice. Existing active circles will not be subject to fee changes until they complete.

9. Missed Payments & Defaults

Failing to make a contribution when due is a serious breach of your obligations to your circle members. If a contribution payment fails:

• The circle will be automatically paused
• Your account status will be set to “Frozen”
• You will be notified and given a short grace period (typically 72 hours) to resolve the payment
• Other circle members may raise a formal dispute

If the payment is not resolved within the grace period, AjoCircle may:

• Remove you from the circle
• Suspend or permanently ban your account
• Refer the matter to a debt recovery service
• Pursue civil action to recover losses suffered by other circle members
• Report the matter to relevant authorities where required by law

Your trust tier on AjoCircle will be negatively affected by defaults and this information may be visible to other platform users.

10. Prohibited Conduct

You must not:

• Use AjoCircle for any unlawful purpose, including money laundering or fraud
• Create circles with no genuine savings purpose
• Provide false or misleading identity information
• Impersonate another person or create multiple accounts
• Use stolen, fraudulent, or unauthorised payment methods
• Harass, threaten, or intimidate other circle members
• Attempt to circumvent our identity verification or anti-money laundering controls
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the platform
• Use automated tools to access or scrape the platform
• Interfere with the security or integrity of the platform
• Use the platform if you are under 18 or not a UK resident

Breach of this section may result in immediate account suspension, civil action, and/or referral to law enforcement.

11. Intellectual Property

All content, features, design, trademarks, and technology on the AjoCircle platform are owned by Heycube or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms grants you any rights in our intellectual property other than the limited right to use the platform as described herein.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the platform or its content without our prior written consent.

12. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

AjoCircle is provided “as is”. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation of the platform. We are not responsible for the conduct of other users or the outcome of any circle where another member defaults.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability to you in connection with the platform will not exceed the greater of: (a) the total platform fees you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim; or (b) £100.

We will not be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including loss of profit, loss of data, or loss of savings resulting from another member's default.

Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by English law. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.

13. Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at legal@ajocircle.com, provided you have no active circle obligations. You cannot close your account while you are a member of an active circle.

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time if:

• You breach these Terms
• We are required to do so by law or regulatory obligation
• We suspect fraud, money laundering, or misuse of the platform
• You provide false information during registration or verification

On termination, any pending obligations to circle members remain enforceable. Sections 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 survive termination.

14. Dispute Resolution

If a dispute arises between circle members, we operate a three-stage resolution process:

1. Direct resolution — members are encouraged to resolve disputes amongst themselves first.
2. Circle Admin mediation — the Circle Admin may intervene to mediate.
3. AjoCircle escalation — either party may escalate to us via the dispute form. Our decision in escalated disputes is final.

For disputes between you and AjoCircle, these Terms and any dispute arising from them are governed by English law. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Where we are unable to resolve a dispute informally within 30 days, either party may refer the matter to the courts. We encourage you to contact us at legal@ajocircle.com before initiating any legal proceedings.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via SMS or email at least 14 days before they take effect. Your continued use of AjoCircle after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

If you do not accept updated Terms, you must stop using the platform and close your account before the changes take effect, subject to any active circle obligations.

16. Contact

For questions about these Terms, please contact us: