Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") applies to all Merchants using the LocalLoyalty platform, operated by SkyL4rk PTY LTD ("LocalLoyalty"). It forms part of the Merchant Services Agreement and describes conduct that is prohibited on the Platform.

By using the Platform, you agree to comply with this AUP at all times. Violations may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account without refund.

1. Stamp and Reward Integrity

The LocalLoyalty stamp system is built on trust between Merchants and Users. The following are strictly prohibited:

• Issuing stamps without a genuine qualifying purchase or interaction as defined in your Programme.
• Automating or scripting stamp issuance — including using bots, scripts, or any tool to trigger Stamp Events without a real customer transaction.
• Sharing your merchant QR code or stamp token in a way that allows Users to self-stamp without a corresponding purchase.
• Colluding with Users, staff, or third parties to generate fraudulent stamp counts or card completions.
• Retroactively issuing bulk stamps to inflate member engagement figures.
• Advertising Rewards that you do not intend to, or cannot, honour.
• Changing Reward terms or stamp thresholds in a way that disadvantages Users who are already partway through a card, without adequate notice and a reasonable grace period.

2. Gift Card and Balance Integrity

• Gift card balances represent real monetary value held on behalf of Users. Refusing to honour a legitimate Gift Card Balance presented for redemption is a breach of this AUP and may constitute a breach of the Consumer Protection Act.
• Merchants must not manipulate the gift card top-up flow to generate false balances, trigger payments without corresponding value, or defraud Users of loaded funds.
• Merchants must not use the gift card infrastructure for money laundering, structuring, or any activity that violates South African financial crime legislation, including the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).
• Merchants must ensure their PayFast merchant account remains in good standing for the duration of any active gift card Programme.

3. Programme Content

Merchants are responsible for all content published through their Programme, including programme names, reward descriptions, branding, and special offer text. The following content is prohibited:

• Misleading, deceptive, or false descriptions of Rewards or qualifying conditions.
• Content that promotes products or services that are illegal in South Africa.
• Content that is discriminatory, hateful, or offensive on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
• Content that infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party.
• Unsolicited commercial messages or spam distributed through push notification or stamp token features.

4. Platform Access and Security

• Merchants must not attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Platform or circumvent any security measure.
• Merchants must not attempt to access data belonging to other Merchants, Users, or LocalLoyalty that they are not authorised to access.
• Merchants must not reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the Platform.
• Merchants must not use the Platform in a manner that places an unreasonable load on LocalLoyalty's infrastructure or that interferes with the experience of other Merchants or Users.
• Sharing dashboard login credentials with persons not authorised to act on behalf of the Merchant is prohibited. The Merchant bears full responsibility for all actions taken under their account.

5. Data and Privacy

• Merchants must not use User data obtained through the Platform (including email addresses, names, or transaction history) to contact Users for purposes outside the scope of the Programme without explicit, separate consent from those Users.
• Merchants must not attempt to extract, scrape, or bulk-export User data from the dashboard for use in third-party marketing systems without User consent and a lawful basis under POPIA.
• Merchants must not combine Platform User data with data from other sources in a way that would constitute a new processing purpose not disclosed to the User.

6. Staff and Representatives

Merchants are responsible for the conduct of their employees, contractors, and any other person acting on their behalf in connection with the Platform. A violation committed by a staff member is treated as a violation by the Merchant.

7. Reporting Violations

If you become aware of a violation of this AUP — whether by another Merchant, a User, or your own staff — please report it promptly to support@localloyalty.co.za. We take all reports seriously and will investigate confidentially.

8. Consequences of Violation

LocalLoyalty reserves the right to take any of the following actions in response to a breach of this AUP, at our sole discretion:

• Issue a formal warning.
• Temporarily suspend the Merchant's account or specific Programmes.
• Permanently terminate the Merchant's account.
• Reverse or void fraudulent Stamp Events or Gift Card Balances.
• Report suspected criminal activity to the relevant South African authorities.
• Pursue civil remedies for losses caused to LocalLoyalty or affected Users.

Where feasible, LocalLoyalty will provide the Merchant with an opportunity to respond before permanent termination, unless the violation is severe, ongoing, or involves fraud.

9. Amendments

LocalLoyalty may update this AUP from time to time. Merchants will be notified by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated AUP.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy should be directed to legal@localloyalty.co.za.