Terms and Conditions

01 Introduction

1.1 These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of the Tesha platform, website (tesha.finance, brownfs.co.za), web application (app.brownfs.co.za), and all related services ("Services") provided by Brown Financial Services (Pty) Ltd, trading as Tesha Fintech ("Tesha", "we", "us", or "our").

1.2 Tesha is a registered credit provider with the National Credit Regulator under registration number NCRCP21458, operating in compliance with the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 ("NCA").

1.3 By accessing or using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Services.

02 Definitions

• "Consumer" or "Borrower" means any natural person who applies for or enters into a credit agreement with Tesha.
• "Credit Agreement" means the agreement entered into between Tesha and the Consumer for the provision of a short-term fuel advance.
• "Fuel Card" means the prepaid fuel card issued to the Consumer through our card management partner.
• "Platform" means any e-hailing, delivery, or gig economy platform through which the Consumer earns income, including but not limited to Uber, Bolt, and InDrive.
• "Pre-Agreement Statement" means the statement issued in terms of section 92 of the NCA prior to the Consumer entering into a Credit Agreement.

03 Eligibility

3.1 To use the Services, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age;
• Be a resident of the Republic of South Africa or hold a valid work permit;
• Be an active driver or worker on one or more gig economy platforms;
• Hold a valid South African ID, passport, or asylum seeker permit;
• Have a valid South African bank account in your name; and
• Not be under debt review or administration order.

3.2 Tesha reserves the right to decline any application at its sole discretion, based on its internal credit assessment methodology and affordability assessment as required under sections 81 and 82 of the NCA.

04 Our Products and Services

4.1 Fuel Advance (Revolving Credit)

Tesha provides short-term fuel advances in the form of credit loaded onto a prepaid fuel card. Key features:

• Credit limit: R500 per advance. This is the maximum amount Tesha will grant on any advance entered into on or after 29 August 2026, irrespective of verified platform earnings. Tesha may publish a higher limit in future; any increase will be offered to you in writing and will apply only to advances entered into after you accept it.
• Repayment terms: 7 or 14 days, aligned with your platform payout cycle.
• Cost of credit: Comprising interest, initiation fee, and service fee as disclosed in the Pre-Agreement Statement and Credit Agreement.
• Repayment method: Automated collection by verified electronic funds transfer from your nominated bank account, timed to the day after your platform payout. Tesha intends to move collections to an authenticated debit order (DebiCheck). That change will not take effect on your agreement until you have authorised a DebiCheck mandate.

4.1.1 Advances entered into before 29 August 2026

If Tesha granted you an advance before 29 August 2026, that advance remains governed by the Pre-Agreement Statement and Credit Agreement you accepted at the time — including its credit limit, its cost of credit, its repayment period and its collection method — until it is settled in full.

The limit in 4.1 applies only to advances entered into on or after that date. It does not reduce an existing limit, does not accelerate an existing agreement, and does not entitle Tesha to demand early settlement. Nothing in this clause limits any right you have under the NCA, including your right under section 122 to settle early at any time without penalty.

Where you hold an advance entered into before that date and you take a further advance on or after it, the further advance is a separate agreement subject to 4.1, and each is repaid on its own terms.

4.2 Fuel Card

• The fuel card is a prepaid card accepted at all major fuel networks in South Africa, including BP, Shell, Engen, and Sasol.
• The card remains the property of Tesha and its card issuing partner.
• The card may only be used for the purchase of fuel and related vehicle expenses at participating forecourts.
• Misuse, including use for non-fuel purchases, sharing the card with third parties, or any fraudulent activity, will result in immediate suspension of the card and the credit facility.

4.3 Future Products

Tesha may from time to time offer additional products including insurance, savings, remittance, and vehicle finance services. Each product will be governed by its own specific terms, which will be communicated at the point of application.

05 Credit Agreements and the National Credit Act

5.1 Pre-Agreement Disclosure

Before entering into any Credit Agreement, you will receive a Pre-Agreement Statement and Quotation in terms of section 92 of the NCA (Form 20 for small agreements). This statement will disclose all costs, fees, interest rates, and repayment obligations.

5.2 Affordability Assessment

In accordance with sections 81 and 82 of the NCA, Tesha will conduct an affordability assessment before granting any credit. This assessment is based on your verified platform earnings and existing financial obligations.

5.3 Interest and Fees

All interest rates and fees are disclosed in the Pre-Agreement Statement and comply with the caps prescribed under sections 100 to 106 of the NCA and the regulations thereunder. Current charges include:

• Interest: 3% of the principal amount per credit cycle
• Initiation fee: As disclosed, inclusive of VAT
• Service fee: As disclosed, inclusive of VAT

These charges may be updated from time to time in accordance with NCA regulations. Any changes will be reflected in the Pre-Agreement Statement presented before each new Credit Agreement.

5.4 Cooling-Off Period

For agreements concluded through direct marketing, you have the right to terminate the agreement within 5 business days of the date on which the agreement was concluded, in terms of section 121 of the NCA.

5.5 Early Settlement

You may settle any Credit Agreement early at any time without penalty. The settlement amount will include the outstanding principal balance and any accrued fees up to the date of settlement, in terms of section 125 of the NCA.

06 Repayment

6.1 Repayment is collected automatically from the bank account you nominate during onboarding, by verified electronic funds transfer or, once you have authorised a DebiCheck mandate, by authenticated debit order. The method that applies to your agreement is stated in your Pre-Agreement Statement.

6.2 By accepting a Credit Agreement, you authorise Tesha (through its payment service provider, Netcash) to collect the total repayment amount from your nominated bank account on the agreed repayment date.

6.3 It is your responsibility to ensure that sufficient funds are available in your nominated bank account on the repayment date.

6.4 If a debit order is returned unpaid, Tesha may re-present the collection within the prescribed period and may charge any bank-imposed dishonour fees to your account.

07 Default and Breach

7.1 Failure to make payment on the due date constitutes a breach of the Credit Agreement.

7.2 In the event of default, Tesha will:

• Contact you via WhatsApp, SMS, or email to arrange payment;
• Issue a section 129 notice in terms of the NCA, providing you with 10 business days to remedy the default;
• If the default is not remedied, Tesha may suspend your fuel card, accelerate the outstanding debt, and initiate debt recovery proceedings.

7.3 Interest will continue to accrue on overdue amounts at the contracted rate until full settlement.

7.4 Persistent default may result in the debt being referred to an external collections partner and reported to credit bureaus.

08 Credit Bureau Reporting

8.1 Tesha reports consumer payment behaviour to registered credit bureaus. Positive payment history builds your formal credit record. Defaults and arrears will also be reported.

8.2 You have the right to dispute any credit bureau information in terms of section 72 of the NCA. Disputes should be directed to support@tesha.finance.

09 Your Rights Under the NCA

As a consumer, you have the following rights under the National Credit Act:

• Right to information: You are entitled to receive a copy of your Credit Agreement and any Pre-Agreement Statements (sections 63 and 92).
• Right to early settlement: You may settle early without penalty (section 125).
• Right to dispute credit information: You may challenge any information held by credit bureaus (section 72).
• Right to apply for debt counselling: If you are over-indebted, you may apply to a registered debt counsellor for assistance (section 86).
• Right to complain: You may lodge a complaint with the Credit Ombud or the National Credit Regulator if a dispute cannot be resolved directly with Tesha.

10 Data Protection and Privacy (POPIA)

10.1 Tesha processes your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").

10.2 Information we collect: Name, identity number, contact details, residential address, bank account details, gig platform earnings data, and transaction history.

10.3 Purpose of processing: To assess your creditworthiness, administer your account, process repayments, comply with legal obligations (including NCA and FICA requirements), and communicate with you about our Services.

10.4 Sharing of information: We may share your personal information with:

• Our card management and payment processing partners (PayCentral, Netcash);
• Credit bureaus for credit reporting purposes;
• Regulatory bodies as required by law (NCR, Financial Intelligence Centre);
• Professional advisors and auditors.

We will not sell your personal information to third parties.

10.5 Your rights under POPIA: You have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information. Requests should be directed to our Information Officer at support@tesha.finance.

10.6 Retention: Personal information is retained for the duration of the business relationship and for a period thereafter as required by applicable law, including the NCA (which requires retention of credit records for a minimum period).

10.7 Security: We employ appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, and secure cloud infrastructure.

10.8 Waitlist and enquiry information: If you join a Tesha Circle waitlist or submit an enquiry form on our website, we collect only the information you provide in that form — your name, contact number, city or area, the platforms you drive for, an indication of what you currently pay for a vehicle, and the circle tier you are interested in. We do not collect identity numbers, bank details or documents at waitlist stage. This information is processed for the sole purpose of contacting you about circle availability and placing you in a circle, on the basis of the consent you give when submitting the form.

10.9 Cross-border transfer: Our website and its form submissions are hosted and processed by Netlify, Inc. ("Netlify"), an operator whose servers are located outside the Republic of South Africa. By submitting a form you consent, in terms of section 72 of POPIA, to your personal information being transferred to and stored in that jurisdiction. Netlify processes this information on our instruction only, under contractual terms requiring appropriate security safeguards, and does not use it for its own purposes. We remain the responsible party for your personal information.

10.10 Waitlist retention and withdrawal: Waitlist information is retained only for as long as is necessary to place you in a circle, and is deleted on request or where a waitlist entry has been inactive for 24 months, whichever is sooner. You may withdraw your consent, ask what we hold, or request deletion at any time by contacting our Information Officer at support@tesha.finance, at no cost and without giving a reason. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing carried out before the withdrawal.

11 FICA Compliance

11.1 In terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 ("FICA"), Tesha is required to verify your identity and conduct due diligence before providing financial services. You agree to provide all documentation reasonably required for this purpose.

12 Intellectual Property

12.1 All content on our websites and application — including text, graphics, logos, the Tesha brand, and software — is the property of Brown Financial Services (Pty) Ltd or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws.

12.2 "TESHA FINTECH" is a trademark of Ali Ndlovu, filed with CIPC under application number 2026/10477, Class 36.

12.3 You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from any content on our platforms without prior written consent.

13 Limitation of Liability

13.1 Tesha will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Services, including but not limited to loss of income, loss of data, or business interruption.

13.2 Tesha's total liability under these Terms will not exceed the total fees paid by you to Tesha in the 12 months preceding the claim.

13.3 Tesha is not liable for any loss or damage arising from the unavailability of gig economy platforms, changes to platform payout schedules, or fuel price fluctuations.

13.4 Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the NCA that cannot be excluded by agreement.

14 Suspension and Termination

14.1 Tesha may suspend or terminate your access to the Services if:

• You breach these Terms or any Credit Agreement;
• You provide false or misleading information;
• You engage in fraudulent activity;
• Required to do so by law or regulation; or
• Your gig platform account becomes inactive or is deactivated.

14.2 Suspension or termination does not release you from any outstanding payment obligations under an existing Credit Agreement.

14.3 You may close your account at any time by contacting support@tesha.finance, provided all outstanding Credit Agreements have been settled in full.

15 Complaints and Dispute Resolution

15.1 Complaints may be directed to support@tesha.finance. We will acknowledge receipt within 2 business days and aim to resolve complaints within 10 business days.

15.2 If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may escalate to:

• The Credit Ombud: 0861 662 837 · www.creditombud.org.za
• The National Credit Regulator: 0860 627 627 · www.ncr.org.za
• The Information Regulator (POPIA): www.justice.gov.za/inforeg

15.3 These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising from these Terms will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Western Cape.

16 Changes to These Terms

16.1 Tesha reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated to registered users via email or WhatsApp notification.

16.2 Continued use of the Services after notification of changes constitutes acceptance of the amended Terms.

17 General

17.1 If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

17.2 Tesha's failure to enforce any right under these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right.

17.3 These Terms, together with the Credit Agreement and Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Tesha regarding the use of the Services.