Privacy policy

The short version: SettlePay is a pre-launch project. We collect what you type into the waitlist form so we can add you to the list, contact you about your answers, and work out how many suppliers need this service. We don't sell your information. We only send you marketing updates if you tick the box for them. You can ask us to see, fix or delete your information at any time by emailing info@settlepay.co.za.

1. Who we are

SettlePay is an independent, pre-launch project. We plan to help small South African businesses that supply government get overdue invoices paid. We are not yet providing that service or taking on clients. We are not a government body and are not affiliated with National Treasury, any department, municipality or state-owned entity.

Under POPIA, the "responsible party" for your information is:

• Name: Tameem Soliman, founder of SettlePay (a pre-launch project; SettlePay is not yet a registered company)
• Registration number: Not yet registered. We will add this once the company is registered.
• Address: [Postal address, e.g. a PO Box, to be added before launch]. Until then, you can reach us at info@settlepay.co.za
• Email: info@settlepay.co.za

Information Officer: Tameem Soliman, info@settlepay.co.za. Registration with the Information Regulator is in progress.

2. What we collect

Only what you type into the waitlist form, or send us by email:

• Contact details: business name, your name, email address and (if you choose) phone number.
• About your situation: your province, which type of government body owes you, rough bands for how much you're owed, how long it's overdue and how many invoices, what you've tried already, whether you'd pay our planned fee, and anything you write in the free-text box.
• Your choices: whether you gave consent and opted in to marketing, and the date and time you submitted the form, so we can show we have your consent.

We don't ask for, and you shouldn't send us: ID numbers, banking details, copies of invoices, or any special personal information (such as health, religion or criminal records). The waitlist is for adults acting for a business. It isn't meant for children.

Under POPIA, information about businesses (juristic persons) is protected too, so this policy covers your business's details as well as your own.

3. Why we use it

• To add you to the waitlist and tell you when SettlePay launches.
• To contact you about your answers, for example to ask a few follow-up questions about your experience.
• To research demand: how many suppliers are affected, how much is owed, and whether our planned service and pricing make sense. We report this only as totals and trends that don't identify you.
• To send you marketing updates, only if you opted in (see section 5).

We won't use your information for anything else without telling you and, where needed, asking for your consent again. We don't sell it or rent it to anyone. We won't contact any government body about you or your invoices based on the waitlist.

4. Lawful basis and consent

We process your information because you consented by ticking the required box on the form (POPIA section 11(1)(a)). Giving us your information is voluntary, but we can't add you to the waitlist without it.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing info@settlepay.co.za. Withdrawing doesn't affect anything we did lawfully before that, but we'll stop using your information and delete it, unless the law requires us to keep it.

5. Marketing updates (opt-in and opt-out)

Section 69 of POPIA says we may only send you electronic marketing (such as email, SMS or WhatsApp) if you've agreed to it. That's why marketing has its own, separate, optional checkbox, and it is unticked by default.

• If you don't tick it, we'll only contact you about the waitlist and your answers, not with marketing.
• Every marketing email we send will include our contact details and an easy way to unsubscribe.
• You can opt out at any time by replying "unsubscribe" or emailing info@settlepay.co.za. We'll stop promptly and won't charge you anything.

6. Who we share it with

We don't sell or give your information to other businesses for their own use. We only share it with service providers that help us run the waitlist. Under POPIA these are "operators": they may only process it on our instructions and must keep it secure and confidential (sections 20 and 21). They are:

• Our form provider, which receives and stores waitlist submissions: Netlify, Inc. (USA), through its Netlify Forms service.
• Our email provider, which hosts our mailbox: GoDaddy Professional Email (powered by Titan), GoDaddy Operating Company, LLC (USA).
• Our website host: Netlify, Inc. (USA). Netlify serves the website and, as our form provider, also receives the form answers.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, for example under a court order.

7. Information sent outside South Africa

Some of our providers, such as the form, email and hosting services above, may store information on servers outside South Africa, for example in the United States or the European Union. Under section 72 of POPIA we only allow this where:

• the provider is bound by law, binding company rules or a written agreement that gives protection substantially similar to POPIA; or
• you have consented to the transfer.

By ticking the consent box, you agree that your waitlist information may be processed outside South Africa for the purposes in this policy. We choose providers that publish data protection terms, and we will list them in section 6.

8. How we keep it safe

• The website uses HTTPS, so form answers are encrypted on the way to us.
• Access to waitlist data is limited to the people who run SettlePay, and accounts are protected with strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
• We collect only what we need, and we don't ask for ID numbers or banking details.
• If we believe your information has been accessed by someone without permission, we'll tell you and the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible, as section 22 of POPIA requires.

No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable, practical steps to protect your information.

9. How long we keep it

• We keep waitlist information only while we're preparing to launch.
• If SettlePay hasn't launched within 12 months of your sign-up, we'll delete your information, unless you've asked us to keep it.
• If we do launch, we'll let you know. We'll keep your details only if you choose to stay in touch or become a client, and any client relationship will have its own terms.
• If you withdraw consent or ask us to delete your information, we'll do so within 30 days.
• We may keep a record that you opted out, so we don't contact you again.
• Totals and trends that can't identify you may be kept longer.

10. Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• Access: ask whether we hold information about you and get a copy of it (section 23). This is free.
• Correction: ask us to fix information that is wrong, out of date or incomplete (section 24).
• Deletion: ask us to delete your information (section 24).
• Objection: object to us using your information, including for marketing, at any time (section 11(3)).
• Withdraw consent at any time (section 11(2)(b)).
• Complain to the Information Regulator (see section 11 below).

To use any of these rights, email info@settlepay.co.za. We may ask you to confirm who you are, so we don't give your information to someone else. We aim to reply within 30 days.

11. How to complain

Please contact us first at info@settlepay.co.za and we'll try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at any time:

• POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za, using the Regulator's Form 5 complaint form
• General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
• Phone: 010 023 5200, or toll free 0800 017 160
• Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
• Website: inforegulator.org.za

12. Cookies

This website doesn't use cookies, analytics or tracking tools. If our form provider sets any strictly necessary cookies (for example, to stop spam) when you submit the form, they're used only for that purpose. If we ever add analytics, we'll update this policy first.

13. Changes to this policy

We'll update this policy if what we do changes, for example when we launch, register the company or choose our providers. We'll change the "last updated" date at the top. If a change affects how we use information you've already given us, we'll tell you by email.

Last updated: 3 November 2026.