This Payment Policy explains exactly how paid features are purchased on AYE Market, what payment methods we accept in practice, how requests are reviewed, and what we will — and will never — ask you for. It applies to every paid feature described in our Pricing section and in the Premium Subscription Terms.
1. What this policy covers
Browsing, posting, chatting, applying to jobs, and hiring are free on AYE Market — there is no fee and no sales commission for ordinary use of the Service. This policy only concerns the small set of optional paid upgrades: the 7-Day Listing Promotion, Premium, and Premium+ plans. It does not cover the price or terms of transactions you make with other users (buying or selling an item, agreeing on a job) — AYE Market is a venue for those, not a payment processor between users.
2. The manual payment flow
As of this version, all payments for paid upgrades are processed manually — there is no automated card, bank, or mobile-money charge inside the app. The flow works like this:
- You choose a paid upgrade (Listing Promotion, Premium, or Premium+) in the app.
- You send the listed amount yourself, outside the app, using one of the accepted methods below.
- You submit your payment reference number and a photo or screenshot of your receipt inside the app.
- Your request enters a pending state — the paid benefit is not active yet.
- An administrator manually reviews the reference and receipt against the amount and plan requested.
- If approved, the benefit activates immediately. If rejected, no benefit is granted — see Rejected requests.
Because a human reviews every request before anything activates, there is no way for the app itself to auto-charge you, and no way for a payment to "silently" renew or repeat without you initiating it again.
3. Accepted payment methods
In practice, payments are made as a bank transfer or a mobile money transfer to an account belonging to AYE Tech Hub. The exact account details are shown to you inside the app at the point of purchase, since they may be updated from time to time. You then upload your receipt as proof of transfer. AYE Market does not process the transfer itself — you complete it through your own banking or mobile money app, then report it to us.
4. Payment reference numbers
Every payment request is tied to a reference number in the format AYE-YYYY-NNNNNN (for example, AYE-2026-004821). This number is generated when you submit a request and is how you, our support team, and our review records identify that specific transaction. Keep it — you'll need it for any follow-up question, refund request, or appeal.
5. Review & approval
Reviewers check that the reference and receipt correspond to a real, matching transfer for the plan and amount requested. Requests are reviewed as promptly as our team can manage; we do not publish a fixed guaranteed turnaround, but review is a routine, priority task, not an afterthought. You can see the status of your request (pending, approved, or rejected) in the app at any time.
6. Rejected requests
If a request is rejected — for example, the receipt doesn't match the amount, the reference was already used, or the transfer can't be verified — no benefit is granted and you are not charged by us. Since we never take money out of your account directly, a rejection simply means the benefit doesn't activate; any money you sent that doesn't match a valid, approved request should be resolved directly with your bank or mobile money provider, and you're welcome to contact us for help sorting out a genuine mismatch.
7. What we never ask for
8. Reporting suspicious payment requests
If anyone contacts you claiming to represent AYE Market or AYE Tech Hub and asks for card details, banking PINs, remote access to your device, or payment outside the flow described above, stop the conversation and email us at ayetechub@gmail.com with as much detail as you can (screenshots, phone number, account name). We take impersonation and payment fraud attempts seriously and will act on credible reports, including suspending the accounts involved.
9. Automated payment — planned, not yet live
We plan to introduce automated payment through Telebirr and/or Chapa in a future update, so purchases can be completed instantly without manual review. This is a roadmap item, not a current feature — until it is announced and live in the app, treat any claim of automated/instant checkout on AYE Market as false. When automated payment does launch, this policy and the Premium Subscription Terms will be updated to describe it before it is enabled.
10. Fees, taxes & currency
Listed prices are in Ethiopian Birr (ETB) and are the total amount due for the plan selected — we do not add a separate service fee on top at this time. You are responsible for any transfer fee your own bank or mobile money provider charges to send the payment, and for any tax obligations that may apply to your own use of the Service under Ethiopian law.
11. Governing law
This Payment Policy is governed by the laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our payment methods evolve — most notably when automated payment is introduced. Material changes are reflected by updating the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of paid features after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance.
13. Contact
Questions about a payment or this policy: ayetechub@gmail.com. Refund requests specifically are covered in our Refund & Cancellation Policy.