1. Acceptance

These Terms form a binding agreement between you ("User", "you") and MarketRada Ltd. ("MarketRada", "we", "us"). If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

2. Definitions

Platform / Service: MarketRada website, apps, APIs, and related services.
User: any person or entity using the Platform (buyers, vendors, service providers, riders, collection partners, admins).
Buyer: a user who purchases goods or services through the Platform.
Vendor: a user who lists goods or services for sale on the Platform.
Rider: independent delivery person who may fulfil deliveries.
Order: a purchase request created on the Platform.
Wallet: in-platform balance held for a user.
Escrow: funds held by the Platform on behalf of a Buyer pending delivery confirmation or resolution.
KYC: identity verification (BVN, NIN) required of certain users before shop, service, or withdrawal features unlock.
CAC verification: optional business-registration review for verified vendors; approved vendors may receive a CAC Registered trust badge.
Licence verification: optional professional-licence review for service providers; approved providers may receive a licence trust badge on their profile.
Trust badge: a platform-displayed label (e.g. KYC Verified, CAC Registered, Licence Verified) shown on shop or service pages after successful verification review — not self-asserted by the user.
Price Lock / expectedPrice: the cart-time snapshot price used to validate price change at checkout.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable to enter a contract.
Vendors, service providers, and riders must complete identity verification (KYC) where required by the Platform.
Vendors and service providers may optionally pursue CAC or professional-licence verification to earn public trust badges after KYC is complete.
We may refuse or restrict access at our discretion.

4. Account responsibilities

You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure.
You must keep contact details, KYC data, and any submitted CAC or licence records accurate and current.
You are responsible for any activity under your account.
If you suspect unauthorized access, notify us immediately at support@marketrada.com.

5. Permitted Use

You may use the Platform to discover products and services, create listings (if a vendor), place orders, and use related features consistent with these Terms and the PRD-defined platform flows.

6. Prohibited Use

You must not:

Commit fraud, impersonate others, create fake reviews, or bypass KYC checks.
Scrape, bulk-download, or circumvent Platform rate limits or APIs without authorization.
Manipulate prices or stock to mislead buyers.
Attempt to extract or decrypt other users' PII or protected data.

Violations may lead to suspension, account termination, and legal action.

7. Marketplace role

MarketRada is a neutral intermediary and discovery platform. Vendors are the sellers of goods and services listed on the Platform unless explicitly stated otherwise. We facilitate discovery, payments, escrow, logistics matching, and dispute support but do not assume ownership of listed goods.

8. Vendor obligations

Provide accurate product descriptions, pricing, stock quantities and images.
Maintain price and stock data in good faith and update promptly (via dashboard, catalog sheet link, bulk create, or API).
Comply with KYC requirements when requested (BVN, NIN); duplicate BVN/NIN use across accounts is prohibited.
May submit CAC registration for business trust-badge review only after identity KYC is verified; false or misleading CAC submissions are prohibited.
Must not display or imply CAC Registered, KYC Verified, or licence trust badges unless granted by the Platform after review.
Fulfil orders or accurately indicate if an item is unavailable.

Failure to meet these obligations may result in penalties, listing removal, suspension, or account termination.

9. Pricing & price changes

Prices shown on the Platform are set by Vendors and may change.
We strive for real-time accuracy, but we do not guarantee price correctness at all times.
Price Lock: when you place items in cart you receive an expectedPrice. If the vendor's current price at order creation deviates from expectedPrice by more than 10% (the PRD deviation threshold), the Platform may block the order and return a PRICE_CHANGED response. You may re-confirm the order at the new price.
VAT: A 7.5% VAT is applied to platform delivery orders and full-upfront waybill orders only — not to in-person pickup orders.

10. Payments, Wallets & Escrow

Wallet deposits and subscription payments are processed through Paystack. Moniepoint is not available for wallet top-ups at this time; additional payment providers may be added later.
Wallet payments for delivery orders: funds are debited from the Buyer's Wallet and moved to Escrow until delivery is confirmed or the auto-release window applies. In-person pickup orders are paid at the point of collection and do not use wallet escrow.
Escrow release: Escrow funds are released to the Vendor upon Buyer confirmation of delivery. If the Buyer does not confirm delivery within 7 days of delivered status, the Platform may automatically release Escrow to the Vendor (auto-release rule).
Disputes: If a dispute is raised within the release window, Escrow is frozen until admin resolution.
Refunds: Refunds are processed per the Platform’s refund policies and provider capabilities.
Idempotency keys: Orders should include an idempotency key to prevent duplicate charges; duplicate order attempts may be rejected.
Vendor & Service Provider Subscription: The first-year platform subscription fee is ₦1,200. Each subsequent annual renewal is ₦600. A 90-day free trial applies on first registration. If the fee is unpaid, listings are paused (not deleted) and reactivate immediately on payment. Referrers earn ₦200 when a referred vendor or service provider completes their first subscription payment, and ₦100 on each renewal payment, credited to their MarketRada wallet.

11. Logistics & Delivery

Riders are independent contractors; MarketRada is not the employer of riders unless expressly stated.
Delivery times, routes and outcomes depend on vendors, riders and third-party logistics; we do not guarantee delivery performance.
Collection points are third-party locations; availability and storage rules apply and may incur fees.

12. User-generated content & media ownership

Users grant MarketRada a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display reviews, listings, images, and other content posted on the Platform.
Users must not post illegal, infringing, or abusive content. We may remove content at our discretion without notice.

Media ownership obligations

By uploading or linking any image, video, or other visual media to a product listing, service profile, or any other listing on the Platform, you represent and warrant that:

You are the original creator of the media, or you hold a valid licence or written authorization from the copyright owner that permits use in commercial marketplace listings.
Manufacturer or brand-supplied images are only used where the manufacturer or brand explicitly permits third-party use in online marketplaces.
You have verified that any stock media licence you hold extends to commercial marketplace use before uploading.
The media does not violate any third-party intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or applicable law.

Consequences of unauthorized media

MarketRada takes copyright compliance seriously. If a verified complaint is received regarding media you uploaded, MarketRada may, at its sole discretion and without prior notice:

Remove the infringing content immediately from all public-facing pages.
Reject or delist the affected product or service listing.
Apply temporary restrictions to your account, including preventing new listing creation.
Suspend your vendor page, service profile, or account after repeated or egregious violations.
Share information required by law with the complaining rights-holder or relevant authorities.

You indemnify and hold MarketRada harmless against any claims, losses, or costs arising from your use of media you did not have the right to upload. MarketRada reserves the right to pass on any legal costs incurred defending third-party IP claims arising from your content.

Prohibited media examples

Images or videos scraped from competitor or other marketplace listings without authorization.
Downloads from Google Images, Bing Images, or similar search engines where you do not hold the underlying licence.
Social media reposts (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, TikTok) without explicit written permission from the original creator.
Watermarked stock images where a subscription or licence has not been purchased.
AI-generated images depicting real identifiable persons without their consent.

Consent acknowledgement

When creating or updating a listing that includes media, the Platform prompts you to confirm "I own this content or have permission to use it." Ticking this confirmation constitutes a binding declaration. Providing a false declaration is a material breach of these Terms and may result in immediate account termination.

13. Intellectual property

The Platform and its content (brand, software, documentation) are owned by MarketRada and protected by IP laws. Vendors retain ownership of their listings’ original content, subject to the license granted to MarketRada above.

14. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, MarketRada’s liability for direct damages arising from these Terms is limited to the total fees paid to MarketRada in the 6 months preceding the claim. MarketRada is not responsible for vendor breaches, product defects, or rider conduct. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages.

15. Disclaimers

The Platform is provided "as-is" and "as-available". We make reasonable technical efforts to ensure uptime and accuracy, but do not guarantee uninterrupted access or error-free operation.

16. Termination & suspension

We may suspend or terminate accounts for fraud, KYC failure, breach of these Terms, or abuse. Termination may include removing listings and withholding funds while investigations occur.

17. Privacy

Our collection and use of personal data is governed by the Privacy Policy (see /privacy or contact privacy@marketrada.com). PII such as BVN, NIN, CAC registration details, and professional-licence documents is encrypted at rest as described in our security controls.

18. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Any dispute should first be addressed through good-faith negotiation and mediation. If unresolved, parties agree to arbitration in Lagos, Nigeria (seat of arbitration), unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

19. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms; we will provide notice in-app or by email. Continued use after notice constitutes acceptance.

20. Contact

For support: support@marketrada.com
For legal: legal@marketrada.com

21. Looking For Requests

The "Looking For" feature lets buyers broadcast a request for a product or service to nearby vendors. By submitting a request you confirm that:

The item or service sought is legal and available for sale in your jurisdiction.
You will not submit duplicate or substantially similar requests within a 24-hour window.
Requests expire automatically after 30 days; you may reactivate a found request with Mark as Active or post a new request.
Vendors who respond to your request do so voluntarily — MarketRada does not guarantee any response or match.
You may post up to 5 requests per day; abuse may result in temporary suspension.

22. Prohibited Content (Expanded)

In addition to section 6, the following content is strictly prohibited on MarketRada:

Contraband and controlled goods — firearms, ammunition, narcotics, counterfeit currency, and any item illegal under Nigerian law or sanctioned by NAFDAC, SON, or equivalent agencies.
Misleading listings — product names, descriptions, or images that misrepresent the item being sold.
Stolen property — listing or facilitating the sale of property reasonably suspected to be stolen.
Adult content — explicit sexual material in product images, descriptions, or service profiles.
Hate speech — content that targets individuals based on ethnicity, religion, gender, or disability.

MarketRada employs automated content scanning (including AI-assisted moderation) alongside human review. Flagged content will be removed without notice. Repeated violations result in permanent account termination.

23. Professional & Business Verification

Vendors and service providers may pursue additional trust-badge verification after completing identity KYC (BVN/NIN):

CAC (vendors): submit a valid CAC registration number and supporting document for admin review. A CAC Registered badge is granted only on approval.
Professional licence (service providers): submit licence type, issuing body, and supporting document for admin review. A licence trust badge is granted only on approval.
Displaying CAC, KYC, or licence badges you have not been granted — or credentials you do not hold — is fraud and may be reported to the relevant authority.
MarketRada may suspend a shop or service listing pending verification at any time.
Trust badges do not constitute endorsement by MarketRada — buyers should independently confirm qualifications and business registration.

24. Automated Moderation

MarketRada uses automated tools to assist with content moderation, listing quality checks, and fraud detection. You acknowledge that:

Automated moderation decisions may be appealed by contacting support within 14 days of a content removal notice.
Automated listing suggestions are advisory only — you remain solely responsible for the accuracy and legality of your listings.
MarketRada does not guarantee the accuracy of automated suggestions and accepts no liability for losses arising from reliance on them.
Attempting to circumvent safety filters (e.g., through deliberate misspellings of prohibited terms) will be treated as a violation of these Terms.

*These Terms reflect platform features defined in docs/PRD.md (escrow, KYC, CAC/licence trust badges, wallet, price-lock, VAT). Replace contact addresses with your legal contacts before publishing.*

Terms of Service