Legal

Introduction

This policy explains Dovo SA's approach to refunds across the Dovo platform. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions, and the definitions used there apply here too.

The short version: cross-border payments settle on rails that are built to be final. Once an instruction has been executed, we usually cannot pull it back, and this policy is honest about where the limits are rather than implying a safety net that does not exist.

Risk and the finality of transactions

By using Dovo you accept the risks inherent in moving money electronically — including mistyped payment details, technical failure at an intermediary, compromised credentials, unauthorised access to your systems, and interception of transaction information by a third party.

Except where this policy says otherwise, every transaction executed through your Dovo account is irrevocable and non-refundable once it has been sent. That applies in particular to:

• Payouts that have been released to a receiving bank, mobile money operator or payout network.
• Currency conversions, once the quoted FX rate has been confirmed.
• Stablecoin transfers broadcast to a blockchain network, which no party can reverse.
• Transfers between Dovo accounts that have already been credited to the recipient.

Check the beneficiary name, account details, network and amount before you confirm. Dovo executes the instruction it receives.

Card transactions

Card payments are the one place where a reversal right exists independently of the merchant. Refunds and chargebacks on Dovo cards follow the rules of the applicable card scheme, including its evidence requirements and its filing deadlines, which are short.

Raise a disputed card transaction with us as soon as you notice it, and no later than 60 days after it appears on your statement. We will submit the dispute to the issuing partner, who takes it through the scheme process. A chargeback outcome is decided by the scheme, not by Dovo, and we cannot guarantee a result.

Where a merchant agrees to refund a card purchase, the credit is returned to the card and then to the account balance, in the original transaction currency. A conversion applied on the way out is not reversed, so a currency movement in between can leave the refunded amount slightly different from the amount charged.

Failed, returned and rejected payments

If a payout fails, is rejected by the receiving institution, or is returned to us, we credit the funds back to the Dovo account they came from. That credit may take the balance above a limit that would otherwise apply, and we will not block it for that reason alone.

Returned payments can take several Business Days to reach us, and longer on some corridors, because the funds have to travel back through the same chain of intermediaries. Where an intermediary or receiving bank has deducted its own fee, we return what actually reaches us.

Dovo's own transaction fee covers processing work that has already been done, and is not refunded on a payment that fails for reasons outside our control — for example incorrect beneficiary details. Where a payment fails because of an error on our side, we refund our fee in full.

Once an account is closed, no further credit can be applied to it. Funds arriving after closure are returned to the sender.

Non-delivery or rejection of goods and services

Dovo moves money; it is not a party to what you bought. Where goods or services paid for through the platform are not delivered, arrive damaged, or are rejected, a refund is processed only when the merchant or beneficiary agrees to return the funds.

Take the dispute up with the counterparty first. We will provide the transaction records you need to support your claim. Payment processing charges on the original transaction are not refunded by Dovo in these circumstances.

The account setup fee

The one-off $2,500 setup fee is payable in advance, by bank transfer or in stablecoin, before we take your file to a partner institution. If we cannot open an Account for the Business, we return it in full.

A refund goes back the way the money came: a bank transfer to the remitting account, a stablecoin payment to the sending address in the same asset and on the same network. We return what we received, less the network fee to send it back, and we return the sum rather than its value on any particular day.

Once the Account is open the fee has been earned, because the onboarding and placement work behind it is done, and it is not returned if you later close the Account or stop using it. The same applies where you withdraw the application, do not send the documents we have asked for, or where information given to us turns out to be materially inaccurate. The full fee clause is in the Terms and Conditions.

Closing your account

You can close your Dovo account at any time by giving us written notice. Ask us at least 30 Business Days before the date you want it closed, so that pending transactions can settle and any chargeback exposure can run its course.

Closing an account does not entitle you to a refund of fees already incurred, of completed transactions, or of FX margin on conversions that have settled. Any remaining balance is returned to a verified account in the name of the Business, in line with the termination clause of our Terms and Conditions.

Limitation of liability

Dovo is not liable for loss or damage arising from a defect in goods or services bought through the platform, a merchant's refusal to accept or refund a payment, a terminal or network malfunction outside our systems, a delay imposed by a partner institution, the misuse of credentials you failed to protect, or a discrepancy between what a merchant charged and what it quoted.

Where a refund depends on a merchant's cancellation or a scheme's decision, it is subject to that party's terms and its timetable. The liability limits in our Terms and Conditions apply in full to this policy.

Changes to this policy

This policy is effective from 16 September 2026. We may amend it, and the current version is always published on this page. Material changes are announced by email to your registered address or by notice in the dashboard before they take effect.

Contact us

For anything about a refund, a chargeback or a returned payment, contact [email protected] with the transaction reference and the date. We acknowledge within two Business Days.