Draft for review by qualified lawyers in each country where TeePay operates (starting with Tanzania) before publication. Items marked [TO CONFIRM] must be completed or checked before this page is published.
Effective date: [TO CONFIRM: effective date]
This Acceptable Use Policy explains what you can and cannot use TeePay for. It forms part of our Terms of Service and applies to every merchant account, every payment page, product, payment link, invoice and Control Number, and every use of our API and MCP server, including by AI agents you connect.
It is not a complete list of everything that is unlawful. You must always comply with the laws of every country where you operate, sell or receive payments.
1. Prohibited businesses and activities
You must not use TeePay to sell, advertise or collect payment for any of the following.
Adult sexual content and services
Pornography or sexually explicit material, including videos, photos and subscriptions.
Sexual services, escort services or erotic massage.
Sexual and reproductive health products, clinical services, family planning and health education are allowed.
Illegal goods and services
Anything that is illegal where you or your customer are located, or that helps someone break the law.
Stolen goods, or goods or data obtained unlawfully, including personal data, login details or payment details.
Weapons and dangerous goods
Firearms, ammunition, firearm parts and other weapons.
Explosives, detonators and fireworks sold without the required licence.
Hazardous or banned chemicals, banned pesticides, and banned cosmetics such as skin-lightening products containing mercury or prohibited ingredients.
Drugs
Illegal drugs and controlled substances, including cannabis and khat (mirungi).
Prescription medicines sold without a prescription or without the required licence.
Licensed pharmacies, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention services may be allowed after review (see section 2).
Counterfeit and infringing goods
Counterfeit, replica, "first copy", "master copy" or other unauthorised copies of branded goods.
Goods or content that infringe someone else's copyright, trademark or other rights.
Fraud and scams
Investment, "doubling", pyramid, Ponzi or get-rich-quick schemes, or anything promising guaranteed returns.
Advance-fee schemes and storefronts set up to take money without delivering the promised goods or services.
Miracle cures, guaranteed medical outcomes, fake giveaways and misleading earnings promises.
Misleading payment requests
Asking for payment for fictitious prizes, winnings or lottery wins.
Fake clearance, release, activation or processing fees, or fees to "release" a loan or funds.
Any payment page, link, invoice or Control Number that misrepresents who is collecting the money or why.
Sending mobile money payment prompts to people who have not asked to pay you.
Impersonation
Pretending to be TeePay, a bank, a mobile network operator, a payment provider, a utility, a government body or any other organisation or person.
Implying an official status, partnership or endorsement you do not have. Authorised resellers and agents must be able to show their authorisation.
Abuse of TeePay
Opening more than one account, or using another person's account or identity, to get around limits, reviews, restrictions or a previous closure.
Providing false or misleading information, or forged or altered documents, during verification.
Processing payments for another business that is not verified on TeePay (for example acting as an unlicensed payment aggregator), or letting someone else use your account.
Moving money through TeePay that does not relate to a genuine sale, for example to disguise where money came from.
Attacking, probing, overloading or trying to bypass the security of TeePay, our API or our MCP server, or uploading malware.
2. Restricted businesses
The businesses below are not automatically prohibited, but you need our written approval before you accept payments for them. We will usually ask for your licence or other evidence, and we may set conditions or limits. Without approval, they are treated as prohibited.
Gambling, betting, lotteries and gaming for money. You must hold a valid licence from the gaming regulator in each country where you offer it (for example, the Gaming Board of Tanzania) and any other required authority, and show it to us. [TO CONFIRM: whether TeePay will accept licensed gambling merchants at all.]
Cryptocurrency and virtual assets. Buying, selling, exchanging or holding crypto-assets, or accepting payment for them, is restricted. We will only consider it where it is lawful and you can show any authorisation required. [TO CONFIRM: TeePay's position on crypto-assets in light of current central bank guidance in each country where TeePay operates, for example the Bank of Tanzania.]
Money services. Money transfer, remittance, currency exchange (bureau de change), lending, savings and credit groups, e-money, mobile money agency, payment aggregation and other financial services that require a licence or registration.
Pharmacies and health services that sell prescription medicines or offer medical treatment.
Alcohol and tobacco, where you must hold the required licences and must not sell to minors.
Charities, religious organisations and fundraising, where we may ask for registration details and how funds are used.
Travel, events and ticketing where customers pay well in advance of delivery.
Hunting, security services and licensed dealers of items that are otherwise prohibited above.
We may add to or change this list. If you are not sure whether your business is allowed, ask us at info@teepay.me before you start.
3. How we review
We review accounts and content to keep customers safe and to meet our legal obligations, including under the anti-money laundering laws of each country where we operate.
Verification. Our staff review identity and business information and documents before you can use live payments and payouts, and may review them again later.
Content review. We check the text you publish through TeePay, such as payment page titles and descriptions, product and category names, issued payment links and invoices, checkout profile names and business names, against the categories in this policy. We may also look at images, files and linked pages during a review.
Activity review. We monitor payments, payouts, sign-in activity and other account activity for signs of fraud, abuse or breaches of this policy.
Automated checks, such as keyword and pattern matching, only flag items for a person to look at. An automated flag on its own never decides that you have broken this policy. A trained member of staff reviews the item in context. For example, text about health, education, fraud awareness or an authorised reseller is not treated as a violation just because it contains a flagged word.
Before we restrict a specific item of content because of this policy, a second, different member of staff must approve the restriction.
4. What we may do
If we decide that you have broken this policy, or we need more information to decide, we may take one or more of the following actions, depending on how serious the issue is:
ask you to explain, provide documents, or change your content;
unpublish a payment page, disable a product, or stop a payment link from starting new payments. Your content is not deleted and can be restored;
limit features such as new collections or payouts, or set lower limits;
hold funds under review, as described in our Terms of Service;
suspend or close your account, and in serious cases refuse to open a new one; and
report the matter to the relevant authorities where the law requires or allows it.
We record every decision with the reason. We will normally tell you what we have done and why, unless the law or an authority prevents us, or telling you would compromise an investigation.
5. Appeals
If you think we have made a mistake, you can appeal by emailing info@teepay.me with the subject "Appeal" within [TO CONFIRM: appeal window, for example 30 days] of being told about the decision. Tell us which decision you are appealing, why you think it is wrong, and attach any evidence, such as licences or proof of authorisation.
A person reviews every appeal and, where practical, it is someone who did not make the original decision. If the appeal succeeds, we will restore your content or account access as far as we reasonably can. We aim to respond within [TO CONFIRM: appeal response time].
6. Reporting a merchant
If you think a TeePay merchant is breaking this policy, or you were asked to pay for something misleading, email info@teepay.me with the payment page or link address, the merchant name, and what happened. Do not share your mobile money PIN with anyone. TeePay will never ask for it.
7. Changes
We may update this policy from time to time. We will tell merchants about material changes in advance as described in our Terms of Service, unless a change is needed urgently to comply with the law or protect customers.