Sathi Terms of Service
Effective date and last updated: 12 October 2026
1. Operator and contact details
Sathi is operated by SATHI (PTY) LTD, a South African private company, registration number 2026/292513/07.
Director: Verendran Pather.
Legal correspondence: admin@sathi.co.za. A physical address for legal service will be published after confirmation of the company’s authorised address.
Customer support, cancellations and complaints: admin@sathi.co.za.
These terms govern your use of Sathi together with the Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines available through the website. They do not exclude rights that South African law makes mandatory.
2. Eligibility and account responsibilities
You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into this agreement. Create one account for yourself, provide accurate information and keep sign-in details secure. Accounts cannot be sold, shared or transferred. Notify admin@sathi.co.za of suspected unauthorised access. We may request evidence of eligibility or suspend an account reasonably suspected of impersonation, fraud or use by a minor.
3. The service
Sathi provides matchmaking for the South African Indian community through profiles, compatibility recommendations, discovery, mutual matches and messaging. Recommendations depend on available members, your profile and preferences; we do not guarantee a match, a response, a relationship or a particular number of members in your area.
Account creation and paid access are separate stages. Active membership is required for ordinary matching and text messaging. Voice notes and calling features may require both matched members to be approved as ID verified. Calling is available only when enabled and supported by the relevant provider; verification alone does not promise that a future or unavailable feature is live.
Demonstration profiles may be present during testing. These are examples, not genuine people available to date, and should not be treated as evidence of the number of active members.
4. Membership prices and duration
Prices are in South African rand (ZAR). The stated price is the total Sathi charge, including any applicable taxes; no additional Sathi administration or verification fee is added to a plan that already includes it.
- Founding Member entry pass: R49. Includes two months (60 days) of free premium membership with matching and text messaging. ID verification is optional and not included.
- Founding Member entry pass with optional ID verification: R79. Includes the R49 entry pass, two months (60 days) of free premium membership and the R30 ID-verification review. A badge is issued only after approval, not merely after payment.
- Launch standalone ID verification: R30 once-off. Covers the verification review for an existing member; it does not add membership time.
Normal-price reference: R100 joining and administration, R99 per month, and optional R50 ID verification. The first two months total R298 without verification or R348 with verification. Launch entry saves R249 against the two-month price without verification. Normal prices are not charged while the launch offer is active; its end date has not yet been announced.
Membership uses a prepaid, fixed 60-day launch access period. There is no automatic card debit or automatic paid renewal. A further purchase adds the plan duration to any remaining membership time, or starts a new period if access has expired. Any statutory expiry or renewal rights remain unaffected.
The amount and selected service shown at checkout govern that purchase. Price changes apply to future purchases and do not retrospectively increase a paid period. Your bank or mobile-data provider may charge its own fees, which are not Sathi charges.
5. Payment and activation
Payments are made by EFT into the SATHI (PTY) LTD business bank account shown in the app and in your payment email. Use the reference given and email your proof of payment to admin@sathi.co.za. If the amount or service is wrong, contact admin@sathi.co.za before paying.
Access is activated by Sathi after your payment is received and confirmed. A bank decline, cancelled checkout or pending payment does not activate membership. If money was debited but access has not appeared, send support your payment reference and date. Never email full card details, passwords or one-time codes. Duplicate or erroneous charges will be investigated and any amount not lawfully due will be refunded.
6. Cancellation, cooling-off and refunds
You may request cancellation or a refund in writing at admin@sathi.co.za, identifying your account and payment reference. Deleting an account stops its use but does not automatically submit or resolve a refund request.
Where section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act applies, you may cancel a service transaction without reason or penalty within seven days after concluding the agreement. Refunds due under that provision must be made within 30 days of cancellation. Statutory exceptions may apply, including where performance of a service began with your consent before the cooling-off period ended. Merely accepting these terms does not constitute a blanket waiver of that right.
Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, you may cancel a fixed-term agreement on 20 business days' written notice. Only a reasonable, lawful cancellation charge may apply, and any remaining credit must be accounted for and refunded as required by law. We will explain any proposed charge and its basis rather than automatically retain all unused membership fees.
If a paid service is not supplied, is incorrectly charged or is materially defective, contact us for investigation and the remedy available under applicable law, including correction or refund where required. Not finding a match or receiving a rejected verification result does not, by itself, establish that the contracted service was not provided. This does not limit cooling-off, cancellation, fair-treatment or other statutory rights.
7. Optional ID verification
Verification is not a condition of Standard membership, ordinary matching or text messaging. You may choose to submit an ID or passport document and a selfie through Sathi's verification process. Authorised reviewers assess the submission; they may request clearer evidence or reject documents that cannot reasonably be validated. Payment pays for the review, not a guaranteed approval.
A verified badge indicates approval of an identity review. It is not a criminal-background check, guarantee of age in every circumstance, endorsement of character or assurance that a member is safe or honest. An unverified member is not necessarily a scammer. You may ask a match to verify before continuing, but must respect their choice and never ask them to send identity documents directly to you.
Verification status may be removed or reconsidered if evidence is misleading, no longer reliable or withdrawn. Document processing and your privacy rights are described in the Privacy Policy.
8. Your content and acceptable use
You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant Sathi a non-exclusive licence to store, process and display it only as reasonably needed to operate, support and protect the service, including displaying profiles to eligible members. This licence ends when the content is removed except for lawful retention, existing recipient copies or processing required to resolve a dispute.
You must have the necessary rights and permissions for uploaded content. Do not upload another person's identity documents, intimate material or personal information without lawful authority. No impersonation, harassment, threats, exploitation, scams, commercial solicitation, malicious software or attempts to bypass security. The Community Guidelines give further conduct and safety rules.
Do not copy, scrape or commercially reuse other members' profiles, automate access without permission or attempt to reverse-engineer protected systems contrary to law. Sathi's branding and software remain the property of their respective rights holders.
9. Safety, reports and moderation
You are responsible for deciding whether to communicate or meet. Use caution with every member, meet in public, tell someone you trust about your plans and never send money or sensitive financial information to a match. Sathi is not an emergency service.
You can report, block or unmatch members. We may review relevant content, remove it, warn a member, restrict access or suspend or terminate an account where reasonably necessary to address misconduct, fraud, security risks or legal obligations. Serious cases may be referred to authorities when lawful. You can request review of a decision at admin@sathi.co.za. Moderation does not remove your statutory consumer rights.
10. Privacy and communications
Our Privacy Policy explains profile visibility, optional sensitive information, verification records, providers, international processing, retention and your POPIA rights. Do not put identity numbers or private contact details in your bio. We may send account, payment and safety notices needed to provide the service. Marketing communications remain subject to applicable consent and opt-out requirements.
11. Availability, suspension and termination
We aim to provide a functioning service but cannot guarantee uninterrupted access, provider availability or compatibility with every device. We may carry out maintenance or make changes for safety, technical or legal reasons. Material changes to a paid service remain subject to your rights under applicable law.
You may delete your account through Settings or request help by email. We may close an account for serious or repeated breaches, or discontinue the service with appropriate notice where practicable. Any refund or remaining-credit obligations will be assessed under applicable law. Provisions necessary for disputes, lawful retention, intellectual property and outstanding obligations may continue after termination.
12. Liability and statutory protections
Sathi does not guarantee another member's statements, intentions or conduct. To the extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for losses caused solely by another member or circumstances outside our reasonable control. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability for gross negligence or any protection or remedy that the Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law requires. No clause requires you to waive mandatory rights or accept an unfair limitation of liability.
13. Changes, complaints and governing law
We may update these terms and will communicate material changes through the service or your account email. Changes will not retrospectively remove rights attached to an existing purchase. Where consent or agreement is legally required for a change, we will obtain it.
Contact admin@sathi.co.za first if you want us to resolve a complaint. This does not prevent you from approaching a competent regulator, consumer-protection body or court. These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, without excluding any mandatory protection or lawful forum available to you. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to the extent permitted by law.
Legal notices: SATHI (PTY) LTD, registration 2026/292513/07. Email admin@sathi.co.za.