General Privacy Policy

This policy describes how Vendcite collects, uses, and protects information across the platform.

Last updated: July 4, 2026

1. General

1.1This General Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) explains how Vendcite collects, uses, stores, discloses, and otherwise processes personal information when you interact with our websites, mobile applications, dashboards, storefronts, APIs, and related services (collectively, the “Services”).

1.2 Our General Terms of Use, Acceptable Use Policy, and Merchant Terms of Use (where applicable) are incorporated into this Privacy Policy by reference.

1.3 Vendcite helps businesses sell online and manage commerce across Africa and beyond. To deliver and improve the platform, we collect and use information about:

  • Merchants who create stores, manage inventory, and operate businesses on Vendcite
  • Customers who browse, purchase from, or create accounts on Vendcite-powered storefronts
  • Visitors who browse vendcite.com or related marketing pages without signing in
  • Anyone who contacts Vendcite support, attends our events, or otherwise communicates with us

1.4 This Privacy Policy is designed to give you a clear picture of our data practices. We may update it when our practices change. If a change is material, we will notify you—for example, through your Vendcite dashboard, by email, or by posting a notice on our website. Depending on your relationship with Vendcite, additional policies may also apply:

Those role-specific policies are incorporated into this Privacy Policy where they apply to you.

1.5 Capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy that are not defined here have the meanings given in our General Terms of Use or Merchant Terms of Use, unless the context requires otherwise.

2. Application of this Privacy Policy

2.1This Privacy Policy applies to Vendcite systems, operations, and processes that involve the collection, use, storage, handling, and disclosure of personal information. It describes our overall approach to personal data, including data relating to people who use our Services (“Users”). For Users, this Privacy Policy forms part of the terms governing your use of the Services.

2.2This Privacy Policy applies whether you access the Services on a desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, or other device (each, a “Device”). It also covers offline interactions with Vendcite, such as support calls, events, or sales conversations.

2.3 By accessing or using any of our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2.4 This Privacy Policy does not govern services that Vendcite does not own or control, including third-party websites, payment networks, social platforms, and the independent privacy practices of merchants who operate stores on Vendcite.

3. Why we process your information

3.1We process personal information when it is necessary to perform a contract with you—for example, to provision your account, host your storefront, or process subscription payments—or when we have a legitimate business need to do so. Under many privacy laws, these needs are described as “legitimate interests.” They include:

  • Detecting, investigating, and preventing fraud and abuse
  • Responding to support requests and other inquiries
  • Helping merchants discover, configure, and use platform features
  • Delivering, maintaining, and improving our products and Services
  • Generating reporting, analytics, and operational insights
  • Testing new features, pilots, and service improvements
  • Sending service-related communications and, where permitted, marketing messages

3.2 Before relying on legitimate interests, we weigh the benefits of processing against the potential impact on your privacy. We do this by being transparent about our practices, giving you choices where appropriate, collecting only what we need, limiting how information is used and shared, retaining data only for as long as necessary, and applying technical and organizational safeguards.

3.3 We may use automated tools, including machine learning, to improve search, recommendations, fraud detection, and platform performance. Where automated processing could significantly affect you, we either keep a human involved in the decision or use automation in ways that do not produce legal or similarly significant effects without appropriate safeguards.

3.4 In some situations we rely on your consent—for example, where no other legal basis applies, where consent is required by law, or for certain marketing activities. You may withdraw consent at any time by updating your communication preferences, using unsubscribe links, or contacting us. Withdrawal does not affect processing that occurred before withdrawal where we had another lawful basis.

4. Information we collect and how we collect it

4.1 The information we collect depends on how you interact with Vendcite, which Services you use, and the choices you make. We may obtain information directly from you, automatically through your use of the Services, from third parties, and by deriving insights from other data we hold.

4.2 Broadly, we collect the following categories of information:

  • Information you provide to us
  • Information about your transactions and account activity
  • Information from third parties
  • Information collected automatically

Information you provide to us

4.3You can browse many public areas of our website without creating an account. When you register for Vendcite, submit a support request, sign up for an event, participate in promotions, interact with us on social media, or otherwise choose to share details with us, we may collect personal information such as your name, email address, phone number, business details, billing information, profile image, and other identifiers (“Personal Information”). By submitting Personal Information, you agree that we may collect, use, store, and disclose it as described in this Privacy Policy.

4.4 If you create a Vendcite account, we will ask you to set login credentials, such as an email address and password. If you provide a mobile number, we may ask for permission to send service-related text messages to that number.

4.5 We also collect Personal Information when you complete forms, place orders, configure a store, upload content, or communicate with us by phone, email, chat, social media, or other channels.

Information about your transactions

4.6 We collect Personal Information relating to orders, payments, payouts, subscriptions, refunds, and other activity carried out through the Services, including records needed for accounting, reconciliation, and dispute resolution.

Information from third parties

4.7 We may receive Personal Information about you from partners and service providers, such as identity verification vendors, payment processors, analytics providers, advertising partners, and employers where your organization uses Vendcite on your behalf.

4.8 We may also receive Personal Information submitted by another User on your behalf—for example, where a merchant or team member adds contact details for order fulfillment or account administration.

Information collected automatically

4.9We and our service providers may automatically collect information about how you access and use the Services. Some of this information is statistical or technical and does not identify you on its own (“Analytics”). When Analytics is linked or combined with Personal Information, we treat the combined information as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy.

4.10 Automatically collected information may include:

  • Device information, such as hardware model, operating system, browser type, unique device identifiers, and mobile network details
  • Log information, such as IP address, access times, pages viewed, referral URLs, crash reports, system activity, and configuration settings
  • Location information derived from IP address or device settings where permitted
  • Usage information, such as features used, actions taken, and interactions with dashboards, storefronts, and support tools

5. Cookies and similar technologies

5.1 Our Services use cookies, pixels, local storage, and similar technologies to operate the platform, remember preferences, understand traffic patterns, and improve performance. Cookies are small text files stored on your Device by your browser.

5.2 We use these technologies to keep you signed in, secure accounts, personalize content, measure usage, reduce fraud, and support marketing where allowed. Cookies alone generally do not reveal your identity, but they may be associated with Personal Information you have already provided.

5.3 The types of cookies we use include:

  • Session cookies, which expire when you close your browser and help maintain your logged-in session
  • Persistent cookies, which remain until they expire or are deleted and help us remember preferences and analyze usage over time
  • Third-party cookies, placed by analytics, advertising, or infrastructure partners to measure performance or deliver related services

5.4 Third parties that set cookies through our Services may collect information about your online activity across websites and over time according to their own policies. We do not control those third-party technologies.

5.5 By using our Services, you consent to the placement of cookies as described here, except where your browser or applicable law requires a different approach. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking all cookies may limit certain features of the Services.

6. How we use information

We may use Analytics for research, product development, and commercial analysis to improve the Services. We use Personal Information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and for ordinary business operations, including to:

  • Provide, maintain, and secure the Services
  • Process payments, subscriptions, and payouts
  • Communicate with you about your account, orders, and support requests
  • Send promotional messages where permitted, which you can opt out of
  • Recommend features, integrations, or third-party services that may be relevant to you
  • Comply with law and enforce our agreements

If you unsubscribe from marketing emails, we may still send non-promotional messages about your account, security, billing, or ongoing use of the Services unless you withdraw consent for electronic communications where that right applies.

7. How we share information

7.1 Vendcite does not sell or rent Personal Information. We share Personal Information only as described below or with your permission.

  • Merchants and fulfillment partners: When you place an order on a Vendcite-powered store, we may share contact and order details with the relevant merchant or delivery provider so the purchase can be completed. We do not share full payment card details with merchants. Each merchant maintains its own privacy practices, which you should review separately.
  • Service providers: We work with vendors who help us operate the platform—for example, hosting providers, customer support tools, email services, identity verification partners, and security vendors. These providers may access Personal Information only to perform services for us and are contractually required to protect it.
  • Financial institutions and payment partners: Payment and payout data may be shared with banks, card networks, and payment processors to complete transactions, prevent fraud, and manage credit or compliance risk.
  • Affiliates: We may share information within our corporate group where needed to operate shared systems and deliver the Services.
  • Corporate transactions: Personal Information may be transferred in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, bankruptcy, or sale of assets.
  • Legal and regulatory requests: We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or valid legal process, or when we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with applicable obligations.
  • Safety, security, and rights protection: We may disclose information to protect users, prevent fraud or abuse, maintain the security of our systems, or enforce our terms and policies.

7.2 We may also share Personal Information when you request or authorize it, when sharing is needed to complete a transaction you initiate, for everyday business administration, or when publishing competition or event results where you have consented or where permitted by law.

7.3 Analytics and advertising partners may collect information through our website and apps, including account details, communications preferences, demographic information, content, approximate location, usage data, and device identifiers. For example, we may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. You can learn more about how Google handles data at policies.google.com/privacy/partners.

7.4 We may share aggregated or de-identified information that does not reasonably identify you, subject to applicable law.

7.5Merchants, sellers, and other Users you interact with on Vendcite are responsible for their own use of customer data. Although our Merchant Terms of Use restrict unauthorized use of buyer information, Vendcite is not responsible for a merchant's separate privacy practices. If you are a customer, direct privacy questions about a specific store to that merchant and review their notice. If you are a merchant, see the Merchant Privacy Policy.

7.6 Even after you stop using Vendcite, we may continue to share information as described in this Privacy Policy where retention or disclosure is permitted or required.

8. Opt-out rights

You may opt out of promotional communications by using the unsubscribe link in an email or by contacting us at admin@vendcite.com. Please note that Users cannot opt out of essential communications about account security, billing, orders, or other transactional messages while maintaining an active account.

9. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your Personal Information. These may include the right to:

  • Correct inaccurate information: You can update certain details in your account settings. For other changes, contact us and we will take reasonable steps to verify and apply corrections.
  • Access your information: You may ask whether we hold Personal Information about you and request a copy. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
  • Restrict or object to processing: You may object to certain processing, including direct marketing, or ask us to limit how we use your information where the law allows.
  • Request deletion: You may ask us to delete Personal Information where there is no longer a lawful reason to keep it. We may retain some information where required for legal, security, or accounting purposes.
  • Request portability: In limited circumstances, you may ask for a copy of certain information in a structured, commonly used format or ask us to transmit it to another provider where technically feasible.
  • Object to automated decisions: Where applicable, you may challenge decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise these rights, contact admin@vendcite.com. We aim to respond within 30 days, subject to applicable law and the complexity of the request.

10. Information shared on social platforms

Some Services let you connect social accounts, post comments, or share content publicly. Information you choose to make public may be visible to others, and we cannot control how third parties use it. Please consider your privacy needs—and the privacy of others—before sharing content or connecting external accounts. Review the privacy policies of any third-party platform you use with Vendcite.

11. Security and storage

11.1 We implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information against accidental loss, unauthorized access, misuse, or disclosure. Sensitive financial data transmitted through the Services is protected using encryption technologies such as TLS/SSL where appropriate.

11.2 Access to Personal Information is limited to employees, contractors, and service providers who need it to perform their work. We maintain procedures to investigate suspected security incidents and will notify you or regulators when notification is required by law.

11.3 We require service providers that receive Personal Information from us to maintain reasonable security controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for safeguarding your login credentials and notifying us promptly of any suspected unauthorized use of your account.

11.4 Personal Information may be stored and processed in countries other than your own. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

12. Data retention

We retain Personal Information for as long as you maintain a Vendcite account or as needed to provide the Services. We may keep information longer when necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, or protect the security and integrity of the platform. When retention is no longer required, we delete or de-identify information where feasible.

To decide how long to keep data, we consider the type and sensitivity of the information, the risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which it was collected, whether those purposes can be achieved by other means, and applicable legal requirements. Usage data is generally retained for a shorter period unless needed for security, analytics, or legal compliance.

13. Children's privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under 18. If you are under 18, do not use the Services or submit Personal Information to us. If you believe a child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us so we can take appropriate steps.

14. Links to third-party websites

The Services may contain links to websites, apps, or services operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies and terms before providing personal information. This Privacy Policy applies only to information handled by Vendcite through our own Services.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be effective when posted on our website or otherwise made available through the Services, unless a later effective date is stated or applicable law requires a different process. Your continued use of Vendcite after changes take effect means you accept the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you should stop using the Services.

16. Contact us

If you have questions, comments, complaints, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your Personal Information, contact us at: