Merchant covenant.

A proposed promise about holds: if we ever hold part of your balance, you’ll know why, how much, and how the hold ends. It’s a draft and isn’t in force yet.

What the draft says

Every hold needs a reason and a way out.

A named reason

A hold could only be placed for one of a short list of stated reasons, never as an unexplained safety buffer.

A clear notice

You would see the amount and currency, the reason, the related payments, who is handling it, the next review date and how to appeal.

A way out

A hold would be released when its reason is resolved, and a long or large hold would be reviewed by someone who didn’t place it.

What applies today: your signed merchant agreement decides whether and how holds apply to your account. This draft doesn’t add any obligation for you. Ask us about your terms.

The full draft

Read the full draft covenant

Permitted reasons

A payment provider or bank result that is still unresolved, a reconciliation difference backed by records, a negative balance, money at stake in an open dispute, a legal or regulatory instruction, or a published rolling reserve that you accepted before the payment.

What the notice shows

Currency, amount, start time, the reason, the linked payment, settlement or case references, any records still missing, who is handling it, the next review time and the path to appeal.

Currencies stay separate

USD and ZiG are assessed and shown separately. A hold in one currency never quietly reduces what’s available in the other.

Proposed response times

We would acknowledge an appeal within one business day and give a decision or a dated progress update within five business days. These are pilot targets pending approval, not current service-level commitments.

Release

A hold would be released automatically when the named reason is resolved. Extending a hold would need a new reason, an owner, a review time and a logged record.

Independent review

Large or long-running holds would be reviewed by someone other than the person who placed them. Directions from a regulator or a court keep their own lawful appeal path.

What this draft doesn’t set

It sets no reserve percentage, hold duration, compensation term or regulator-approved safeguard. Those belong in the approved commercial, accounting, risk and legal schedules for the live product.

Document status

Draft, not in force. It would become binding only with approved pilot terms and the required legal and regulatory review.

Version: Draft 0.2
In effect from: Not in force; no effective date
Published: 1 Aug 2026
Approval: Needs legal and regulatory review
Owner and last review: Not yet published
Review due: 1 Nov 2026