Terms & Conditions of Service

1 Binding Agreement & Acceptance of Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Agreement") constitute an electronic contract formulated in strict accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the rules framed thereunder, and the amended provisions pertaining to electronic records in various statutes as amended by the Information Technology Act, 2000. This document does not require any physical or digital signature to be legally enforceable.

By registering an account, integrating the API keys, configuring payment webhooks, or accessing the SMB UPI platform (accessible at smbupi.com), you ("Merchant", "User", "Client", or "Developer") unconditionally agree to be bound by every clause contained herein, together with our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy. If you do not accept these terms without modification, you are strictly prohibited from using our software and APIs.

2 Service Model: Payment Monitoring & Verification Software

It is expressly understood, acknowledged, and agreed that SMB UPI (smbupi.com) operates purely as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for payment monitoring, automated transaction verification, and status reconciliation. Under this architecture:

• Direct-to-Merchant Funds Flow: All customer payments made via UPI QR, Intent, or Net Banking flow directly from the payer's banking institution into the Merchant's own connected bank account or merchant aggregator account.
• Zero Financial Custody: SMB UPI is NOT a Bank, Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), Payment Aggregator, or Payment Gateway Custodian under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act). SMB UPI does not hold, escrow, pool, deposit, or settle customer funds, nor does it operate an escrow or nodal account.
• Software Verification Intermediary: SMB UPI provides technical API orchestration, dynamic QR generation, transaction status verification, automated webhooks, and merchant dashboard analytics. At no point during the transaction lifecycle does SMB UPI touch or handle customer settlement monies.

3 Strict Prohibition: Zero Tolerance for Gambling, Fraud & Illegal Trades

SMB UPI operates under a Zero-Tolerance Policy regarding financial crime, illegal gaming, betting, and fraudulent schemes. Any individual or business entity attempting to utilize our API or routing infrastructure for unlawful purposes will face immediate sanctions.

Immediate Action on Violation: If any merchant account is found, reported, or suspected by our fraud monitoring system to be associated with any prohibited activity, SMB UPI reserves the absolute right to:

1. Permanently deactivate the merchant's account and revoke API keys with zero prior notice.
2. Block all associated payment links and redirect endpoints instantly.
3. Forfeit any remaining wallet balance ("Add Fund") without right of refund.
4. Report the merchant's verified identity, IP logs, bank accounts, and transaction records to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), local Police departments, CERT-In, and the Reserve Bank of India.

4 Merchant Due Diligence & KYC Verification Fee (₹14.99)

To prevent malicious usage and adhere to regulatory standards, all merchants must undergo mandatory electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) compliance verification before being granted commercial transaction routing permissions.

• PAN Card Verification: Real-time validation of business or personal Permanent Account Number issued by the Income Tax Department of India.
• DigiLocker Aadhaar Verification: Identity verification executed via authorized DigiLocker API gateways with demographic validation.
• SMB UPI KYC Verification Service Fee — ₹14.99: Initiating identity verification requires an upfront service deduction of ₹14.99 directly from the merchant's wallet balance. This fee is SMB UPI's own service fee for processing identity verification, facilitating document checks, and maintaining verification infrastructure. It is not an official government fee or fee collected by the Government of India. The fee is strictly non-refundable once the verification attempt is initiated, regardless of whether verification succeeds or fails.
• Live Video KYC (V-KYC): Merchants must complete recorded Live Video KYC with our compliance desk within 7 days of application, presenting original identification documents and geolocation proof.
• 8-Month Internal Retention Policy: Eligible verification records, document validation timestamps, and merchant verification statuses are retained for eight (8) months from the date of verification completion under SMB UPI's internal risk management and recordkeeping policy. This 8-month timeframe represents SMB UPI's own internal policy rather than a statutory government requirement. Retention beyond 8 months may occur where required by law, regulatory requests, fraud investigations or dispute resolution.

5 Internal Prepaid Service Wallet (Strictly Non-Withdrawable)

The SMB UPI platform provides an internal Merchant Wallet facility strictly designed as a closed-system prepaid service credit mechanism. Its sole function is to enable merchants to pay for internal platform services, including subscription renewals, API usage, the ₹14.99 KYC verification fee, SoundBox add-ons, and payment themes.

6 SoundBox Payment Notification Feature

Where supported and included in the Merchant's active subscription plan (e.g. Growth, Business, or Enterprise tiers), SMB UPI provides SoundBox audio notification features:

• Notification Convenience Tool: SMB UPI may provide SoundBox-based audio notifications to assist Merchants with monitoring payment events. The SoundBox feature is a payment notification convenience tool. It does not constitute banking certification, settlement confirmation, or an independent guarantee that funds have been irrevocably settled.
• Merchant Verification Responsibility: Merchants remain solely responsible for verifying payment receipts through their primary bank accounts or authorized payment provider dashboards before delivering goods or services.
• Network & Device Dependencies: SoundBox functionality depends on third-party telecommunications networks, device availability, battery levels, network connectivity, and server communication. SMB UPI is not liable for delayed, queued, or missed audio alerts caused by network interruptions.
• Plan Restrictions: Premium SoundBox options and custom voice selections remain restricted to eligible plans that explicitly include them.

7 Subscription Plans, Quotas & No-Refund Policy

SMB UPI offers tier-based infrastructure subscription plans (Free, Starter, Business, Growth, Unlimited, and Lifetime) that dictate maximum monthly order volume, gateway concurrency, and multi-bank routing allowances.

• Strictly Non-Refundable: All subscription fee payments are strictly non-refundable. Because infrastructure bandwidth, database allocations, and server resources are provisioned instantaneously upon payment confirmation, no money-back guarantees or pro-rated refunds are offered.
• Billing Cycles: Monthly plans renew every 30 days unless canceled by the merchant prior to expiration. Lifetime plans provide perpetual access subject to ongoing compliance with these Terms.

8 Direct Settlement & Disclaimer of Merchandise

Because customer funds are settled directly into the merchant's bank account or merchant aggregator account:

• Zero Merchandise Liability: SMB UPI does not produce, inspect, store, endorse, or guarantee any products, software, digital services, or physical merchandise sold by merchants using our technology.
• Merchant Sole Liability: The merchant assumes 100% legal, commercial, and tax liability for the delivery, quality, merchantability, safety, and warranties of products and services offered to consumers.
• Consumer Inquiries: Any end-user seeking a refund, product cancellation, or warranty claim must contact the merchant directly. SMB UPI possesses no technical capability to reverse bank-to-bank UPI transfers.

9 Customer Disputes, Complaints & Chargebacks

Merchants are strictly required to operate fair, transparent customer support desks and promptly address consumer disputes. In the event SMB UPI receives:

• Customer fraud reports alleging undelivered goods or financial scamming.
• Bank chargebacks, UTR recall notices, or NPCI fraud flags.
• Formal inquiries from state police cyber cells or payment aggregator risk teams.

SMB UPI reserves the unilateral right to immediately freeze the merchant's API keys, place their account into "Investigation Review", and hold services pending proof of legitimate fulfillment.

10 Immediate Account Termination & Service Refusal

SMB UPI reserves the unconditional right to refuse service, terminate accounts, or revoke API credentials immediately, without prior notice, upon:

• Violation of any provision of these Terms or acceptable use policies.
• Submission of forged, stolen, or altered KYC identity documents.
• Detection of automated brute-force attacks, high API error rates, or suspicious webhook manipulation.
• Receipt of legal directives from law enforcement or judicial bodies.

11 API System SLA & Banking Network Dependencies

While SMB UPI maintains state-of-the-art server infrastructure targeting a 99.98% system uptime SLA, merchants acknowledge that UPI payments rely upon third-party banking networks, NPCI switches, telecom carriers, and downstream aggregator APIs. SMB UPI shall not be held liable for temporary processing outages, UPI bank server downtimes, or delays caused by third-party financial institutions.

12 Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL SMB UPI (SMBUPI.COM), ITS FOUNDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, DATA, OR BUSINESS REPUTATION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OUR SOFTWARE, APIS, OR PAYMENT ROUTING INFRASTRUCTURE.

UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF SMB UPI TO ANY MERCHANT FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE SHALL BE STRICTLY LIMITED TO THE SUBSCRIPTION FEE PAID BY THE MERCHANT TO SMB UPI IN THE ONE (1) MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR ₹1,000 (INR), WHICHEVER IS LOWER.

13 Comprehensive Merchant Indemnification

The Merchant agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold completely harmless SMB UPI, its domain owners, software authors, hosting partners, officers, and employees from and against any and all claims, liabilities, lawsuits, damages, penalties, fines, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• The Merchant's breach of any term or warranty contained in this Agreement.
• The Merchant's violation of applicable Indian laws, including the Information Technology Act, IPC, PMLA, Consumer Protection Act, or RBI guidelines.
• Any goods, services, content, or transactions offered, sold, or processed by the Merchant.
• Any claims or complaints lodged by the Merchant's customers, banks, or regulatory authorities.
• Any unauthorized use of the Merchant's account credentials or API secrets.

14 Complete Cooperation with Law Enforcement Agencies

SMB UPI operates in full compliance with the statutory laws of India. If any governmental agency, Cyber Crime Unit, State Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), or Judiciary issues a lawful notice or investigation order under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) or the IT Act, SMB UPI will fully cooperate and provide complete access to:

• Merchant KYC dossiers (PAN records, DigiLocker demographic records and photo verification logs).
• IP access logs, device fingerprints, and authentication histories.
• Order transaction databases, buyer VPA records, and webhook payloads.

15 Governing Law, Jurisdiction & Grievance Redressal

This Agreement shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. In the event of any legal dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or platform usage, the courts of competent jurisdiction situated at the city of platform operations shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Rules made thereunder, the contact details of the Grievance Officer are provided below. Acknowledgment will be provided within 48 hours and grievances resolved within 15 to 30 days: