Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of the Sage Direct website and app (the "Service"). By sending a tip or payment through Sage Direct, creating an account, or setting up a recipient profile, you agree to these Terms and to the Sage Direct Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. What Sage Direct is

Sage Direct lets a customer send a tip or payment directly to the service professional who looked after them. Each recipient has a personal page, reachable through a QR code, a payment link or the in-app recipient search. Payments are processed by a third-party payment provider and routed to the recipient's own account with that provider. The restaurant or venue never holds or redistributes money sent through Sage Direct.

Sage Direct can be used in many in-person tipping and payment situations, including pop-up stores, markets, vendor booths, festivals and events, temporary retail locations, restaurants and service locations, salons and personal-service businesses, mobile workers and independent service providers. It is not limited to traditional employees or permanent businesses. Customers identify the intended recipient by scanning their QR code or opening their payment link, so recipients do not need to publicly display personal banking information.

Sage Direct is a technology service. We are not the employer of any recipient, we do not provide hospitality services, and we are not a party to the relationship between you and the venue where you were served.

3. Sending a tip or payment

• You do not need an account to send a tip or payment. Open a recipient's page, choose or enter an amount, and pay on the payment provider's secure checkout page using one of the payment methods offered for that transaction.
• Before you confirm, the Service shows you, separately, the amount the recipient will receive, the Fee, and the total you will be charged. By completing checkout you authorize that total to be charged to your payment method.
• Minimum and maximum amounts apply to a single tip or payment. If the amount you enter is outside the applicable limit, you will be told before checkout and asked to enter a different amount.
• You may optionally add your name, a thank-you message and an email address for a receipt, or you may send anonymously.
• Tips are voluntary. Please make sure you are paying the right person — every recipient's page shows their name, role and workplace.

4. Registered accounts

• You may create an account with your email address and a password, or sign in with Google. You must provide accurate information and keep your sign-in details confidential.
• You are responsible for all activity under your account. Tell us immediately if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.
• One account serves every role: a registered customer can send tips and payments, and a recipient uses the same account both to receive payments and to pay other recipients. Separate accounts for the same person are not required and should not be created.
• You cannot send a tip or payment to yourself.

5. Service and Administrative Communications

By creating a Sage Direct account, you agree to receive communications necessary to provide, operate, secure, and administer your account and the Service. These service and administrative communications may include:

• Account creation and onboarding messages, including onboarding reminders.
• Identity verification notices.
• Payment-provider onboarding notices.
• Payout and Instant Payout setup messages.
• Payment, transaction, refund, reversal and dispute notices, receipts and statements.
• Security notices.
• Notices about changes to your account status or eligibility.
• Responses to support requests and case communications.
• Important service updates, including changes to these Terms.
• Required legal, regulatory or compliance notices.

These communications are service-related. They are separate from promotional or marketing communications, are not marketing consent, and are not controlled by any marketing preference you set.

Optional marketing and promotional communications — such as offers, product announcements and newsletters — remain subject to your marketing preferences and consent, which you control in your account settings. Opting out of marketing does not affect necessary service and administrative communications.

6. Identity verification

• Sage Direct and/or its payment providers may require you to verify your identity before certain features can be enabled, including receiving payments and receiving payouts.
• Verification is performed by the applicable verification or payment provider. You may be asked to provide accurate personal information and identity documents directly to that provider. Sage Direct records the verification result, not your documents.
• Verification requirements are not identical for every user. They may differ by country, payment provider, account type and the features you use, and a provider may request additional information at any time.
• You must not submit false, altered or another person's information or documents.

7. Recipient accounts and eligibility

• To receive payments you must create a recipient profile and complete the onboarding required by the applicable payment provider for your country, which may include identity verification and connecting a payout destination such as a bank account.
• Your ability to receive payments depends on the current status of your account with the payment provider. If the provider reports that your account is restricted, that payouts are disabled, or that information is still required, customers will be unable to pay you until the issue is resolved. Sage Direct checks this status on its servers before each payment.
• The eligibility shown in the app reflects the most recent status available to Sage Direct and can change based on provider, account or payment status.
• You must provide accurate profile information. Your display name, role, workplace, photo and bio are public and are shown to customers and in the recipient search.
• You must be legally entitled to receive the payments made to you and are responsible for your own tax and reporting obligations, as described in section 20.

8. Fee

• Customers may be charged a Fee in addition to the amount being sent to the recipient. The Fee is charged on top of the recipient amount and is never deducted from it: the recipient is credited with 100% of the amount the customer chose to send.
• The Fee is calculated by Sage Direct's servers for each transaction. It is set to cover the payment provider's estimated processing cost for that transaction together with a portion retained by Sage Direct. Because processing costs usually include a percentage of the amount charged, the Fee is not a flat amount and generally increases with the transaction amount.
• The Fee may vary depending on the transaction amount, payment provider, country, currency, payment method and applicable processing costs.
• The Fee is presented to you before you confirm the transaction, and the recipient amount and your total are shown separately.
• The Fee is a charge for the Service. It is not a tax.
• Sage Direct may change how the Fee is calculated for future transactions. Any change will be reflected in the Fee shown to you before you confirm.
• The payment provider's processing costs are paid by Sage Direct out of the Fee, not by the recipient.

9. Payment providers and international transactions

• Sage Direct uses third-party payment processors and financial and payment service providers to process payments, hold recipient balances and make payouts. Card and wallet details are entered on the provider's secure checkout and are never received or stored by Sage Direct.
• Sage Direct may route a transaction to an applicable provider based on the recipient's country and currency, the payment method, recipient eligibility and provider availability. Different transactions may therefore be processed by different providers.
• Available payment methods, currencies, Fees, settlement timing, recipient eligibility and payout options may vary by country and provider. Not every feature or payment method is available in every country.
• Transaction limits apply. Sage Direct sets a minimum and a maximum amount for a single tip or payment, enforced on its servers. Limits may vary by country, currency, payment provider, payment method, account status, risk controls or provider requirements, and may change at any time.
• A payment is only recorded as completed once the payment provider confirms it to Sage Direct. If a payment fails or a checkout is abandoned, no completed payment is recorded.
• You are responsible for providing accurate account, identity, address and payment information.

10. Receiving payments and payouts

• Receiving a payment: when a payment is completed, the recipient amount is credited to the recipient's account with the applicable payment provider. Receiving a payment is separate from being paid out to your bank.
• Standard payout: payouts from your provider account to your bank or other payout destination are made by the payment provider according to its payout schedule, your payout settings and its settlement process. Sage Direct does not initiate standard payouts, and there is no Sage Direct withdrawal step between your provider balance and your bank.
• Instant Payouts: where available, an eligible recipient may optionally request an Instant Payout, as described in section 11.
• The app shows the payments you have received and, where the provider makes it available, your balance and payout history.
• Payout availability and timing may depend on the payment provider, your financial institution, eligibility requirements, weekends and holidays, verification, open disputes and other provider requirements. A provider may hold, delay or reverse payouts under its own agreements. Sage Direct does not control or guarantee payout timing.

11. Instant Payouts

• Instant Payouts are an optional feature, offered only where available. They may not be available in your country, currency or with your payment provider, and Sage Direct may enable or disable them.
• Eligibility is determined using the applicable payment provider's requirements, including your account status and whether you have an eligible payout destination (for example an eligible debit card). Sage Direct may also apply its own eligibility rules.
• Being eligible for Instant Payouts does not mean every payment or balance can be paid out instantly. Only funds the payment provider reports as available for Instant Payout can be requested, and minimum and maximum amounts may apply.
• Any applicable Instant Payout fee, and the amount you will receive, are shown before you confirm. You must explicitly confirm each Instant Payout, including the fee, before it is requested. If the fee cannot be determined, the Instant Payout will not be offered.
• Instant Payout fees are separate from the Fee paid by customers.
• Instant Payout availability may change at any time based on provider rules, available funds, account status, payout destination eligibility or other provider requirements.
• Instant Payouts typically arrive quickly, but Sage Direct does not guarantee any particular delivery time. The payment provider or your receiving financial institution may delay, return or reject funds.

12. Refunds

Self-service refunds. If you are signed in, you may request a full refund of an eligible completed tip or payment from its receipt in the app for 72 hours after the payment is completed, as measured by Sage Direct's servers from the time the payment provider confirmed the payment. An eligible self-service refund returns the entire amount you were charged — the recipient amount plus the original Fee — to your original payment method. The refund amount is shown before you confirm, and a payment can only be refunded once.

Provider rules. Refunds are subject to the rules and capabilities of the payment provider that processed the payment, and different providers may have different refund rules, timing and limitations. Some payment methods may have their own refund window, may only support full refunds, or may not support refunds at all; where that applies, the refund may be unavailable or must be handled by Support.

Processing costs. The original payment-processing fees may not be returned to Sage Direct by the payment provider when a payment is refunded. Sage Direct absorbs that cost, and it is never deducted from an eligible full refund.

Timing and status. Your bank or card issuer may take several business days to post a refund. A refund shows as "Refund pending" until the payment provider confirms it, then as "Refunded"; if the provider cannot complete it, it shows as "Refund failed" and you should contact Support.

Other refunds. After the self-service window, for payments made without an account, for payments under dispute, and for partial refunds, contact Sage Direct Support. These refunds are reviewed by Sage Direct administrators case by case and, where approved, are issued through the payment provider to the original payment method; such a refund may cover the recipient amount, the Fee, or both. Whenever a payment is refunded, the corresponding recipient amount is reversed from the recipient's provider account.

13. Disputes and chargebacks

If you dispute a Sage Direct charge with your card issuer or payment provider, we are notified and the disputed amount may be reversed from the recipient's balance while the dispute is reviewed. We may provide evidence about the transaction, such as the recipient page you visited and the confirmation you gave at checkout. Please contact us before opening a dispute — most issues can be resolved faster directly.

14. Referrals

The Sage Direct referral program is not active. The Referrals section of the app is informational and marked "Coming Soon": no referral can currently be submitted, no referral reward can be earned, credited to a balance or paid out, and no referral creates any financial record. If we launch a referral program in future, its terms will be published before it becomes available.

15. Acceptable use and prohibited activities

You may not misuse the Service or engage in any activity that is unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, or that interferes with the security, integrity, or operation of the Service. The following activities are expressly prohibited:

• Scraping, extracting, harvesting, or systematically collecting information from the Service.
• Accessing or attempting to access the Service through unauthorized automated means, including unauthorized bots, crawlers, scripts, agents or other automated tools.
• Reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise attempting to discover or extract the source code, algorithms, or underlying systems of the Service, except where expressly permitted by applicable law.
• Sharing account credentials, passwords or authentication tokens, or allowing an unauthorized third party to access or use your account.
• Circumventing or attempting to circumvent authentication, access controls, rate limits, security controls, or eligibility requirements.
• Accessing another user's account or information without authorization, or attempting to access administrative functions or data you are not authorized to access.
• Probing, scanning, testing, or attempting to exploit vulnerabilities without authorization.
• Disrupting, overloading, or interfering with the Service or its infrastructure.
• Manipulating payment, transaction, identity, payout, eligibility, referral, or account-status systems, including tampering with amounts, Fees or recipient details.
• Attempting to falsify identity, verification, payment, recipient, or account information, impersonating another person or venue, or creating a recipient profile for a person who does not exist.
• Fraudulent, deceptive, unlawful, or unauthorized use, including money laundering, paying yourself, or using stolen or unauthorized payment methods.
• Harassing, threatening, or abusing other users through messages sent with a payment.

16. Security monitoring and enforcement

Sage Direct uses reasonable security, fraud-prevention and abuse-detection measures to protect the Service and its users. These may include monitoring for:

• Unusual login activity and repeated failed authentication.
• Excessive API requests.
• Suspicious transactions, refunds or payouts.
• Unauthorized access attempts.
• Unusual administrative activity.
• Automated scraping or unauthorized automation.
• Attempts to circumvent security or eligibility controls.

Monitoring is designed to avoid collecting sensitive information such as passwords or payment credentials. Detected activity is reviewed by authorized Sage Direct administrators. Where appropriate and permitted by applicable law and these Terms, Sage Direct may investigate suspicious activity and may take protective action, such as requiring you to sign in again or reset your password, restricting features, or restricting or suspending access. Automated detection does not by itself result in permanent account deletion.

17. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or close your account, deactivate a recipient profile, or refuse a transaction if we reasonably believe these Terms have been breached, if a payment provider restricts or disables your provider account, or if required by law. You may stop using the Service at any time and may ask us to close your account. Completed transactions, and our records of them, are not affected by closure.

18. Accuracy and availability

• We work to keep Sage Direct available, but the Service depends on third parties, including payment providers and our hosting provider, and may be interrupted for maintenance or reasons outside our control. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free.
• Payment methods, features, countries and provider availability may change.
• Payout and Instant Payout timing is not guaranteed.
• Eligibility and status information shown in the app can change based on provider, account or payment status.
• Sage Direct may update or discontinue features, subject to these Terms and applicable law.

19. Third-party providers

Sage Direct relies on third-party providers to operate the Service, including payment processors and financial service providers for payments, balances, refunds and payouts, identity-verification providers, Google for optional sign-in, and OpenStreetMap for address suggestions. Depending on your country and the features you use, you may also be subject to those providers' own terms, policies, verification requirements and processing rules — for example, recipients accept the applicable payment provider's account agreements during onboarding. Sage Direct is not responsible for third-party services.

20. Tax information and responsibilities

Tax information: Sage Direct provides payment and transaction services and does not provide tax, accounting, payroll, or legal advice. Recipients are responsible for determining and complying with their own tax and reporting obligations. Tax treatment may depend on whether the recipient is an employee, self-employed individual, business, or other entity and on the nature of the payment. Users should consult a qualified tax professional or the applicable government tax authority regarding their circumstances.

• Receiving money through Sage Direct does not make it tax-free, and receiving money directly into a bank or payment account does not make it non-taxable.
• Canada: for Canadian users, tips and gratuities may be taxable income whether they are received in cash, by e-Transfer, through Sage Direct or through another electronic payment method. For employees, direct tips and controlled tips may be treated differently for payroll purposes. For self-employed individuals and businesses, tips and payments may form part of business income.
• GST/HST: a voluntary tip may receive different GST/HST treatment from a mandatory service charge. Sage Direct does not treat every payment as a taxable supply or every tip as subject to GST/HST; the applicable treatment depends on the nature of the payment and the recipient's circumstances. Sage Direct does not provide GST/HST advice.
• Other countries: the Canadian information above applies only to Canadian users and does not establish the tax treatment in any other country. Tax obligations may differ based on the recipient's country, residence, employment status, business structure, the nature of the payment, local tax laws and applicable sales tax, VAT or GST rules.
• Sage Direct does not determine any user's tax status, does not determine whether a payment is a direct tip, controlled tip, service charge, wage or other form of compensation, and does not represent or guarantee that any payment is deductible or non-taxable.
• Employers and businesses: where an employer or business uses Sage Direct to facilitate tips for its workers, the employer or business remains responsible for complying with applicable employment, payroll, tax and tip-sharing laws. Sage Direct does not replace an employer's payroll or tax obligations.

21. Privacy and financial information

Our handling of personal information is described in the Sage Direct Privacy Policy, available at /privacy, which forms part of these Terms. To provide the Service, personal information may need to be shared with payment, identity-verification, fraud-prevention and other service providers where necessary — for example, to process a payment, verify a recipient, make a payout or protect against fraud.

Sage Direct relies on third-party payment providers to process payments, verify identity, facilitate payouts and handle connected financial accounts. Bank account and card details entered during payment-provider onboarding or checkout are collected and held by the applicable provider; Sage Direct does not store complete banking credentials or card numbers, and keeps only limited non-sensitive information such as masked labels and status. You may be redirected to, or interact directly with, providers such as Stripe, Paystack, PayMongo or other applicable providers, and may be subject to their respective terms and privacy policies.

22. Intellectual property

The Sage Direct name, logo, design and software are owned by Sage Direct or its licensors. You may use the Service for its intended purpose but may not copy, modify, reverse-engineer or resell it. Recipients grant Sage Direct a licence to display the profile content they upload — such as their photo and bio — for the purpose of operating their public page.

23. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

The Service is provided "as is". To the fullest extent permitted by law, Sage Direct disclaims all warranties and will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss caused by a payment provider, a card issuer, a bank, a venue or another user. Our total liability to you for any claim related to the Service is limited to the Fees you paid to Sage Direct in the twelve months before the claim. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including consumer-protection law.

24. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify Sage Direct against claims, losses and costs arising from your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Service, or your violation of any law or the rights of another person.

25. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as the Service changes. Each version has a version number and an effective date, shown at the top of this page. When we make material changes, we will increment the version number and record the new effective date. The current version is always available at this page. Continuing to use Sage Direct after a change means you accept the updated Terms. We preserve previous versions of the Terms and maintain a record of which version each user has accepted. Your historical acceptance records are never overwritten.

26. Governing law

Sage Direct is operated from Canada and serves recipients in the markets it supports. These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in it, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and the courts of Ontario have jurisdiction over any dispute, except where consumer-protection law in your place of residence gives you the right to bring a claim elsewhere.

27. Contact

Questions about these Terms, a payment or a refund can be sent to Sage Direct through the Help & Support option in the app or through the contact details published on the Sage Direct website.