Terms of Use

These Terms of Use ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and Merge2own Ltd (referred to in these Terms as "merge2own", "we", "us", or "our"), a company incorporated in Nigeria with its registered office at Road 1, Block D Office 224 Ikota, Off Chevron Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria. They govern your access to and use of the merge2own website, mobile applications, APIs, and related online and offline services (together, the "Platform").

Please read these Terms carefully. By accessing or using the Platform, registering an account, submitting a pre-qualification or mortgage application, requesting a credit memo, or otherwise interacting with the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

1. Acceptance and definitions

These Terms incorporate by reference our Privacy Policy, our Cookie Policy, and any product-specific notices presented to you in connection with a particular feature (for example, separate consent forms for credit-bureau enquiries). In the event of conflict, the order of precedence is: (a) a product-specific notice you have signed, (b) these Terms, (c) the Privacy Policy, (d) other notices on the Platform.

The following definitions apply:

• "Account" — the personal account you create on the Platform.
• "Application"— a mortgage application, credit-memo request, or related submission you make through the Platform. A "credit memo" is our analytical work product summarising relevant findings from the consumer credit report obtained from the credit bureau; merge2own does not itself issue consumer credit reports.
• "Bank Partner" — a licensed bank in Nigeria with which we have an arrangement to receive Applications. The current Bank Partner is Access Bank Nigeria; additional Bank Partners may be added from time to time and will be listed on the Platform.
• "Content" — text, images, data, code, audio, video, and other material made available on or through the Platform.
• "Developer" — a property developer, real-estate company, or seller who lists property on the Platform.
• "Fees" — amounts payable in connection with the Platform, as described in Section 10.
• "Pre-Qualification" — the eligibility indication produced by our calculators on the basis of information you provide; it is not an offer of credit.
• "User Content" — information, documents, and material you submit to the Platform.

2. About merge2own — what the Platform is, and is not

merge2own is a technology platform and marketplace facilitator. We connect members of the Nigerian diaspora with Nigerian property developers and with licensed Nigerian banks for the purpose of residential property acquisition. The Platform provides software tools (calculators, application forms, document checklists, status tracking, secure communication), payment-facilitation services through third-party processors, and administrative support.

3. Eligibility

To use the Platform you must:

• be at least 18 years old (and, to submit a mortgage Application, at least 21 years old and ensure that your age plus the requested loan tenor does not exceed the retirement-age cap of the Bank Partner — typically 60 years, with limited exceptions for certain professions);
• have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under the law of your country of residence;
• not be a person to whom merge2own is prohibited from providing services under the laws of Nigeria, your country of residence, or any applicable sanctions regime (including but not limited to lists maintained by the United Nations Security Council, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, the European Union, the United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit);
• not be acting on behalf of any politically-exposed person, sanctioned person, or organisation designated as a terrorist organisation, without first disclosing this fact and obtaining our written consent;
• provide truthful, accurate, current, and complete information in your Application and in any document you submit;
• have lawful immigration status in your country of residence (the Platform serves the Nigerian diaspora and certain Application paths require proof of permanent residence or equivalent status);
• for mortgage Applications, intend to use the financing for lawful purposes and acknowledge that the Bank Partner will conduct anti-money-laundering and source-of-funds checks.

We may suspend or terminate your access if we determine that you do not meet these eligibility criteria at any time, or if we are required by law to do so.

4. Your Account

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account credentials. You must not share your password with anyone or permit any other person to access the Platform using your credentials.
• You must notify us immediately at security@merge2own.com if you believe your Account has been accessed without authorisation.
• You are responsible for activity that occurs under your Account.
• We may require you to verify your email address and your identity before granting access to certain features.
• You may close your Account at any time by contacting support@merge2own.com. Account closure does not delete personal data we are required by law to retain (see Privacy Policy Section 8) and does not relieve you of obligations arising before closure.

5. The Platform's role — disclaimers

5.1 We are a facilitator, not a counterparty

When you submit an Application, we forward it to one or more Bank Partners on your instruction. When you enquire about a property, we relay your enquiry to the relevant Developer or pass on contact information that the Developer has authorised us to share, in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We are not a party to the mortgage agreement, sale-and-purchase agreement, valuation contract, insurance policy, or any other contract you may enter into with a Bank Partner, Developer, or third-party service provider.

5.2 Pre-Qualification is indicative

Our Pre-Qualification calculator provides an indication of the loan amount and tenor for which you may be eligible, calculated using the rates supplied by Bank Partners and the inputs you provide. It is notan offer of credit, a commitment to lend, or a pre-approval. The actual outcome depends on the Bank Partner's underwriting decision, on documents you supply, on credit-bureau data, on property valuation, and on factors outside our control.

5.3 Bank decisions are final

The decision whether to approve a mortgage and on what terms is made solely by the Bank Partner. We do not influence, second-guess, or override that decision. We are not liable for any Bank Partner's decision, the timing of that decision, or the terms it offers (including interest rates, fees, tenor, and conditions). If your Application is declined, you may apply elsewhere, but you should review the adverse-action notice you receive (where applicable) for the specific reasons.

5.4 Property listings are the responsibility of the Developer

All property listings are provided by Developers. We do not independently verify property listings and we make no representation as to the accuracy, completeness, legality, quality, suitability, fitness for purpose, value, condition, title, encumbrances, planning consents, or any other characteristic of any property listed on the Platform. You must conduct your own due diligence, including instructing qualified solicitors, valuers, and search agents. The Bank Partner's valuation is for the bank's underwriting purpose and does not substitute for your own due diligence.

5.5 Developer contact and intermediation

In accordance with our platform rules, Developer contact details are not directly disclosed to prospective buyers; communications are routed through the Platform. This is a service convenience and a fraud-prevention measure; it does not make us an agent of any Developer or any buyer.

5.6 No financial, legal, or tax advice

Nothing on the Platform constitutes financial, investment, legal, tax, immigration, or estate-planning advice. We do not give recommendations as to whether any particular mortgage, property, or financial product is suitable for you. You are solely responsible for obtaining qualified independent advice before entering into any transaction.

6. The Application process

You may submit an Application for a full mortgage or a credit-memo request. Each Application proceeds through a series of stages as described on the Platform. You must:

• complete each required field truthfully and accurately;
• upload supporting documents that are genuine, current, unaltered, and legally obtained;
• respond promptly to requests for additional information from us or the Bank Partner;
• maintain valid identification, proof of address, and proof of income for the duration of the Application;
• provide consent to credit-bureau enquiries, anti-money-laundering checks, and identity verification where requested.

We may reject, suspend, or terminate an Application if we reasonably believe any submitted information or document is incorrect, fraudulent, or non-compliant with applicable law. Submission of false information may constitute a criminal offence in your country of residence and in Nigeria.

7. Know-your-customer, anti-money-laundering, and sanctions

merge2own and our Bank Partners are required to comply with anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorist- financing, and sanctions regimes in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the European Union, including (without limitation) the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 (Nigeria), the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (UK), the Bank Secrecy Act 31 U.S.C. Section 5311 et seq. (US), the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (Canada), and the EU Anti-Money-Laundering Directives.

• We may require you to provide identity, address, source-of-funds, and source-of-wealth documentation.
• We may decline to onboard, suspend, or terminate your access if you do not satisfy our checks or if you appear on a sanctions list, and we may report suspicious activity to the relevant authorities without notifying you, where permitted or required by law.
• You warrant that the funds you intend to use for any equity contribution, fees, or repayments derive from lawful sources.

8. Your Content and the licence you grant us

You retain ownership of the User Content you submit. By submitting User Content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable licence to use, reproduce, store, transmit, and display that User Content solely for the purposes of operating the Platform and providing the services you request — including, in particular, forwarding it to the relevant Bank Partner, Developer, service provider, or regulator. The licence terminates when we delete the User Content from active systems, subject to retained backups and legally required retention.

You represent and warrant that you have the right to submit the User Content, that it does not infringe third-party rights (including the privacy rights of any co-applicant or reference, whose consent you must have obtained), and that it is accurate and complete.

9. Acceptable use

You agree that you will not:

• use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms;
• submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information;
• impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
• use another person's credit profile or financial documents without their lawful consent;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Platform, other Accounts, or our systems (including by exploiting vulnerabilities, bypassing security measures, or using automated scraping tools);
• introduce malware, viruses, worms, or any other harmful code;
• interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Platform;
• reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Platform except to the extent expressly permitted by law;
• use the Platform to send unsolicited communications, spam, or unsolicited marketing;
• infringe any intellectual-property right or other proprietary right of merge2own or any third party;
• use the Platform to facilitate any transaction prohibited by sanctions, anti-money-laundering law, anti-bribery law, or any other applicable law.

We may suspend or terminate your Account, without notice, for any breach of this section.

10. Fees, payments, and refunds

10.1 Fees payable

The Platform may charge or facilitate the collection of the fees described below. The current amount of each fee is displayed on the Platform at the point of payment, in the relevant currency, before you authorise the charge. Fee amounts are set with reference to costs charged by third parties (credit credit bureaus, valuers, solicitors, government registries, and Bank Partners) and may be adjusted from time to time without notice to reflect changes in those underlying costs, taxes, exchange rates, or regulatory requirements. By proceeding with a payment, you accept the amount shown to you at that time.

• Credit-check fee — a flat fee charged at submission of a full mortgage Application or upon requesting a credit memo. There is no separate processing fee, handling charge, or hidden surcharge associated with the credit-check fee.
• Property-due-diligence fees— separately quoted on the Platform and routed either through Paystack or by direct deposit to the Bank Partner's account (your choice). These fees (which may include valuation, search and charting, title verification, and similar items) are set by the relevant service providers (valuers, solicitors, the Lagos Lands Registry, and others) and are neither set nor controlled by merge2own.
• Bank fees — interest, arrangement fees, processing fees, and insurance premiums charged by the Bank Partner are governed by your agreement with the Bank Partner and are not set or controlled by merge2own.

10.2 Payment processors

Card payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates; payments in Nigerian naira are processed by Paystack Payments Limited. By making a payment, you agree to the relevant processor's terms of service.

10.3 Refund policy

The credit-check fee is non-refundable once the credit-bureau enquiry has been submitted, because the cost is incurred at that point and the report is delivered regardless of the outcome.

Where the credit-check fee has been collected but the credit-bureau enquiry has not yet been submitted — for example, if you withdraw your Application within minutes of payment and before processing begins — we will issue a full refund on request to support@merge2own.com. Property-due-diligence fees are governed by the cancellation terms of the relevant service provider.

10.4 Currency and exchange-rate risk

The mortgage will be denominated in Nigerian naira and repaid in Nigerian naira. You acknowledge that:

• the value of your repayments in your home currency will fluctuate with exchange rates;
• currency-exchange risk is borne entirely by you, and merge2own and the Bank Partner make no representation about future exchange rates;
• you should consider this risk before entering into any mortgage and obtain independent financial advice.

11. Third-party services and links

The Platform integrates with third-party services (Stripe, Paystack, credit bureaus, partner banks, identity-verification providers, and others). It also contains links to third-party websites and resources. We do not control these third parties and we are not responsible for their content, services, or practices. Your use of any third-party service is governed by that third party's own terms.

12. Intellectual property

The Platform — including its design, code, copy, images, logos, brand marks, calculators, and database compilation — is the intellectual property of merge2own or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States, and Canada (and other applicable laws). We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Platform solely for the purposes described in these Terms. No other rights are granted. You may not reproduce, modify, distribute, publish, scrape, or create derivative works from any part of the Platform except as expressly permitted by these Terms or with our prior written consent.

13. Communications and notices

By creating an Account you consent to receive communications from us electronically — by email and in-platform notifications — including transactional notices, security alerts, service updates, and legal communications. Marketing communications are governed by separate consent and you may withdraw that consent at any time. Notices to us must be sent to the addresses in Section 21.

14. Term, suspension, and termination

• These Terms remain in effect for so long as you have an Account or use the Platform.
• We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice, including for breach of these Terms, suspected fraud, suspected money laundering, sanctions screening, regulatory order, or where required by law.
• You may stop using the Platform at any time and close your Account in accordance with Section 4.
• Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 8, 9, 12, 14–19, 21–23) will survive.

15. Disclaimers

The Platform and Content are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, merge2own disclaims all representations, warranties, and conditions, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, and quiet enjoyment.

Without limiting the foregoing, merge2own does not warrant that:

• the Platform will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free;
• any Pre-Qualification, calculation, or status indicator is accurate or complete;
• any Application will result in approval;
• any property listing is accurate, current, complete, or that the Developer will perform;
• any credit report obtained is accurate (the credit bureau is solely responsible for its report).

16. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

1. merge2own and its directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents, affiliates, licensors, and service providers will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, loss of business opportunity, loss of goodwill, loss of data, business interruption, or loss of anticipated savings, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
2. merge2own's aggregate liability in respect of all claims arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Platform — whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise — will not exceed the total amount of Fees you have paid to merge2own in respect of the services provided to you in the twelve months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim. This cap reflects the value of the services merge2own has provided to you over that period and is intended to be proportionate to that value.
3. The limitations in this section do not apply to: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (c) any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under the law of your country of residence or the law governing these Terms; (d) infringement by merge2own of the intellectual-property rights of others where we have indemnified you; (e) breach by merge2own of statutory data-protection or consumer-protection rights to the extent the statute does not permit limitation.
4. Without limiting (3), the rights of UK and EU/EEA consumers under the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Directive 2011/83/EU (and Member-State transpositions) are not affected; the rights of California consumers under the Song-Beverly Act, the rights of Quebec consumers under the Consumer Protection Act, and the rights of Nigerian consumers under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 are not affected.

17. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by law and subject to consumer-protection carve-outs that may apply to you, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless merge2own and its directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents, affiliates, and licensors from and against any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

• your breach of these Terms or any applicable law;
• any information or document you submit that is false, misleading, fraudulent, infringing, or otherwise unlawful;
• your use of the Platform in a manner not authorised by these Terms;
• any dispute between you and a Bank Partner, Developer, or third-party service provider.

We may, at our option and at your cost, assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter subject to indemnification. You may not settle any such matter without our prior written consent.

18. Force majeure

Neither party will be liable for any delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic, war, terrorism, riot, civil disorder, labour disputes, government action, currency controls, internet or telecommunications failures, or denial-of- service attacks. The affected party must give prompt notice and use reasonable efforts to mitigate.

19. Modifications to the Terms

We may amend these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will provide reasonable notice — typically by email to the address on your Account and by a banner on the Platform — at least 30 days before the change takes effect, except where law requires earlier or different notice, or where the change is required by law and immediate effect is necessary. Material changes that diminish your rights take effect only with your acceptance (or with continued use beyond the effective date, if permitted by law in your jurisdiction). Non-material changes may take effect on the effective date.

20. General provisions

• Entire agreement. These Terms (together with the documents they reference) constitute the entire agreement between you and merge2own regarding the Platform and supersede prior or contemporaneous understandings.
• Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the rest of the Terms will remain in force.
• No waiver. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.
• Third-party beneficiaries.Except as expressly stated (for example, our directors and affiliates' rights under Section 16 and Section 17), no third party has rights under these Terms. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (UK) is excluded except as expressly stated.
• Headings are for convenience and do not affect interpretation.
• Translations. Translations are provided for convenience; the English version prevails in the event of conflict, except where local law (Quebec, Belgium, others as applicable) requires otherwise.

21. Contact and notices

• Support: support@merge2own.com
• Security incidents: security@merge2own.com
• Privacy and data-subject rights: privacy@merge2own.com
• Legal notices: legal@merge2own.com with a copy by post to Road 1, Block D Office 224 Ikota, Off Chevron Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Country-specific terms

Our customers are predominantly Nigerian citizens residing in their countries of habitual residence (currently the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union/EEA, and Canada). The following sections apply in addition to the universal sections above. Where mandatory law of your country of residence gives you a right that conflicts with these Terms, the mandatory law prevails to the extent of the conflict.

22. Governing law, jurisdiction, and mandatory rights

• Governing law: these Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, irrespective of where you reside.
• Jurisdiction: the courts of Lagos State, Nigeria, have non-exclusive jurisdiction. Where the mandatory consumer-protection law of your country of habitual residence gives you a right that cannot be excluded by contract — including, in some jurisdictions, the right to bring proceedings before the courts of your country of residence — that right is preserved.
• Mandatory consumer rights: nothing in these Terms diminishes any right you have under the mandatory consumer-protection law of your country of habitual residence, including (without limitation) the Nigerian Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, the EU Consumer Rights Directive as transposed in each Member State, the relevant United States federal and state consumer-protection statutes, and Canadian federal and provincial consumer- protection law (including the Quebec Consumer Protection Act).
• Foreign-exchange and remittance:you are responsible for complying with the Central Bank of Nigeria's foreign-exchange regulations applicable to inbound transfers and remittances, and with any reporting obligations applicable in your country of residence in respect of cross-border transfers.
• California users: under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.
• Quebec users: French-language translations of these Terms are available on request to legal@merge2own.com. The parties confirm their express wish that these Terms be drafted in English. Les parties confirment qu'elles souhaitent expressément que la présente convention soit rédigée en anglais.

23. Other countries

If you access the Platform from a country not addressed above, you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with the laws of that country. We may, in our sole discretion, limit the availability of the Platform in any jurisdiction.