Contents
African Shilling is an experiment in people-powered currency. The African Union has debated a pan-African currency for decades. African Shilling asks a different question — what if ordinary Africans created it themselves, through grassroots adoption, before any government does? AFS is the token used in that experiment. It may succeed or it may fail, and it may turn out to be worth nothing. That is what makes it an experiment.
African Shilling is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, or financial institution. Nothing in this app — no screen, message, rate, or figure displayed — constitutes financial advice, investment advice, or a solicitation to buy, hold, or sell any asset. No one associated with this project is acting as your broker, intermediary, agent, or advisor. Participation is entirely at your own risk. If you are unsure whether AFS is suitable for you, seek independent professional financial advice before participating.
AFS has no intrinsic value and is not backed by any asset, government, institution, or guarantee. Its worth, if any, comes only from what other participants are willing to exchange it for. This can drop to zero at any time, without warning. Past behaviour is not indicative of future results. Rewards are paid from a community pool and are not guaranteed to continue. The community pool may be exhausted, reduced, or halted at any time.
The legal status of digital assets and blockchain-based tokens is uncertain and evolving across Africa and globally. Laws differ between countries and may change without notice. In some countries, holding, trading, or using digital assets may be restricted or prohibited. You are solely responsible for determining whether your participation in African Shilling is lawful where you live, and for complying with all applicable laws and regulations. African Shilling does not represent that it is legal to use this service in any particular jurisdiction.
When you commit AFS to flexible savings or lock AFS for a 12-month term, your Shillings are recorded on African Shilling's own ledger rather than sent to a smart contract. This carries substantial financial risk, including the risk of total loss of those tokens. Locked tokens cannot be withdrawn before the lock period expires. The reward rate shown follows a fixed schedule. Rewards are only paid while the pool has AFS in it, so a rate on screen is not a promise that it will be paid. The software that records these balances may contain bugs or vulnerabilities. Completed savings operations cannot be reversed. Only commit what you can afford to lose entirely.
All transactions in African Shilling — including token claims, savings deposits, lock commitments, and transfers to other people — are final and non-refundable once confirmed. Some transactions are recorded directly on the blockchain and others on African Shilling's own ledger; in every case, once a transaction is complete it cannot be reversed. African Shilling cannot reverse, recall, or compensate for any completed transaction, regardless of the circumstances.
You are responsible for understanding the laws in your country before participating. You are responsible for the security of your account, PIN, and any device you use to access African Shilling. You are responsible for any tax obligations that arise from holding, receiving, or transacting with AFS in your jurisdiction. African Shilling cannot recover lost accounts, lost PINs, or lost tokens. You are responsible for your own financial decisions.
You must be 18 years or older to participate. By using African Shilling you confirm you meet this requirement.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, African Shilling and its contributors are not liable for any direct, indirect, special, or consequential losses — including financial losses, loss of access, loss of tokens, or other damages — arising from your participation. This includes losses caused by market movements, smart contract failures, network outages, hacking, regulatory changes, or force majeure events. This is an experiment — by participating, you accept all associated risks.
African Shilling is designed to minimise the personal data we hold. Here is exactly what is stored:
No other personal data is collected or stored. Our Privacy page sets this out in full, including what becomes permanently public on the blockchain.
When you send African Shilling to another person, the following rules apply. You can only send to someone who has already joined African Shilling — if the number you enter has not joined, the transfer will not go through. You cannot send to yourself. Transfers are free: there is no fee to send or to receive. Transfers are final — once a transfer is complete it cannot be reversed, recalled, or cancelled, so always check the recipient's number before you confirm. You are responsible for entering the correct recipient; African Shilling cannot recover Shillings sent to the wrong person.
Today, AFS stays inside the African Shilling app. You can send Shillings to other members and use savings, but there is currently no way to move AFS out of the app to an external wallet, exchange, or bank account, and no way to convert it into cash or any other currency. The wallet created for you is held by African Shilling on your behalf, and its keys are not available for export. We plan to add withdrawals and optional self-custody at a later stage, as described on our Mission page, but no date is promised and no particular feature is guaranteed to ship. Do not participate on the assumption that you will be able to move, sell, or cash out AFS.
Referral rewards are not running at the moment, and no invite links are issued. If they are switched on, this section will state exactly what is paid, to whom, and the cap.
These terms may be updated. Continued use of the app after changes are posted means you accept the updated terms.