Terms of service

1 Service description

1.1 SilkBridge (the "Company") receives, reviews, and helps coordinate RMB payment requests for users in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania who wish to pay suppliers, agents, factories, consolidators or freight contacts in China.

1.2 SilkBridge v1 does not itself execute the transfer of funds. Reviewed requests are passed to licensed payment or remittance partners where applicable.

2 Eligibility

2.1 You must be at least 18 years old, resident in Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania, and acting on lawful business or personal trade purposes.

3 Customer responsibilities

3.1 You must provide accurate, complete information about yourself, the supplier, and the payment purpose.

3.2 You must upload genuine, unaltered trade documents.

3.3 You must respond to SilkBridge's WhatsApp or email follow-up within the time we indicate.

3.4 SilkBridge has no relationship with your supplier or any other beneficiary you name. We have not traded with them, we hold no contact details for them, and we make no representation or warranty as to their identity, legitimacy, solvency, or their willingness or ability to supply the goods or services you are paying for.

3.5 Any screening SilkBridge carries out under clause 5 is for our own regulatory compliance only. It is not a commercial check on the beneficiary, it is not performed for your benefit, and it must not be relied on by you as verification of a supplier.

3.6 Verifying the beneficiary is your responsibility alone — who they are, that the bank account or wallet details you give us belong to them, and that they will perform. This must be completed before you submit a request.

3.7 Payments to a beneficiary are irreversible. Once funds have been sent, SilkBridge cannot reverse, recall, cancel or refund them, and has no means of recovering them from the beneficiary. Any dispute about goods, quality, delivery, or non-performance is a matter between you and the beneficiary.

4 Documentation requirements

4.1 SilkBridge may require an invoice, proforma invoice, purchase order, supplier payment instruction, business certificate, or identity document before progressing a request.

5 Compliance and AML

5.1 SilkBridge performs commercially reasonable checks consistent with Kenyan anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing expectations and the requirements of our licensed partners.

5.2 SilkBridge may refuse or delay any request that fails screening, lacks documentation, or appears to involve sanctioned parties or prohibited purposes.

6 Acceptance and refusal of requests

6.1 Submission of a request does not create a binding obligation to settle. Settlement is conditional on SilkBridge's review, partner availability, and the customer's written acceptance of the prepared quote.

6.2 SilkBridge may decline any request, in whole or in part, at our discretion.

7 Fees

7.1 Fees are quoted in your local currency (KES, UGX or TZS) before settlement.

7.2 Quoted exchange rates are indicative until the request enters Processing.

7.3 Late or disputed amounts attract interest at the rate permitted by law.

8 No money movement by SilkBridge in v1

8.1 In v1, SilkBridge does not collect customer funds into SilkBridge-controlled accounts. Settlement is handled through licensed partners or guided manually.

9 Limitation of liability

9.1 To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, SilkBridge is not liable for indirect, consequential, or special damages.

9.2 SilkBridge's aggregate liability under any single request shall not exceed the service fee charged for that request.

10 Indemnity

10.1 You agree to indemnify SilkBridge against losses arising from your breach of these terms, including from inaccurate information or unlawful purposes.

11 Term and termination

11.1 These terms apply for the lifetime of each request you submit.

11.2 Either party may terminate a request for cause with reasonable notice.

12 Notices

12.1 Notices to you are sent to the WhatsApp or email contact you provided.

12.2 Notices to SilkBridge must be sent via the contact route shown in the footer.

13 Force majeure, amendment, assignment, confidentiality

13.1 Neither party is liable for events beyond reasonable control. We may amend these terms; the latest version governs new requests. You may not assign your rights without our consent. Both parties keep confidential information confidential.

14 Governing law and dispute resolution

14.1 These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya.

14.2 Disputes shall first be referred to mediation in Nairobi. Unresolved disputes shall be heard by the courts of Kenya.

15 Counterparts

15.1 Acceptance through the website constitutes execution; no separate signed counterparts are required.