TAWLA – TERMS & CONDITIONS

Tawla provides a technology platform for F&B venues – digital menus, QR ordering, digital payments, bookings, queue management and POS integrations. Tawla is not a bank, deposit-taking institution or licensed payment service provider, and does not act as merchant of record. All payments are authorised, processed and settled by third-party, PCI-DSS compliant payment gateways licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE or other competent authority. Tawla does not store credit card details on its servers and does not take title to or commingle merchant funds.

Merchants access the platform under a paid subscription in accordance with the pricing plan selected in their MSA, which may comprise a recurring subscription fee and a transaction-based platform fee, exclusive of any payment gateway charges. Invoices are payable in accordance with the payment terms of the MSA; late payment may lead to suspension of access and recovery of outstanding dues from Payouts. Payouts of transaction proceeds are remitted to merchants on a regular basis in accordance with the MSA. Additional processing fees may apply to certain card types, as set out in the MSA.

A platform service fee may be included in the final bill for orders, bookings or payments made through the platform. Any such fee is transparently displayed at the time of order or booking and is retained by Tawla to support platform features, user experience and ongoing development.

• Refunds to customers are the responsibility of the relevant merchant and are initiated only through the platform, to the original payment method, subject to the payment gateway's and issuing bank's timelines;
• Platform fees and any payment gateway charges already applied are non-refundable, notwithstanding any subsequent refund or chargeback;
• Merchants are solely responsible for chargebacks, reversals and customer disputes, which may be set off against Payouts in accordance with the MSA.

The platform may be used only for lawful purposes. Prohibited conduct includes: publishing false, misleading or fraudulent content (including pricing, menus or offers); facilitating unlawful transactions; attempting unauthorised access to the platform; disrupting its infrastructure; impersonation or misrepresentation of identity or trade licence status; and using customer contact details for any purpose other than fulfilling orders or consented marketing. Breach may result in immediate suspension or removal.

Tawla complies with UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (PDPL). Marketing consent from customers is captured through a separate, clearly worded opt-in that is never pre-ticked, and may be withdrawn at any time; consent status is recorded and made available to merchants, who may market only to customers whose recorded consent is active. Personal data is processed only to provide, secure and improve the services, and aggregated, de-identified data may be used for analytics. Payment data is handled exclusively by the licensed payment gateways.

Tawla uses commercially reasonable efforts to keep the platform available on a continuous basis, excluding scheduled and emergency maintenance and events beyond its reasonable control, with service levels as set out in the MSA. Support is available via email and ticketing during business hours on UAE working days. The platform is otherwise provided “as is” and “as available”.

Tawla retains all rights in its software, platform, design, content and systems. Merchants own their Merchant Data (menus, pricing, venue details and transaction records). Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of any intellectual property.

Neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, including loss of revenue, profits, data or goodwill. Tawla's total aggregate liability is limited in accordance with the limitation of liability provisions of the MSA, subject to the exclusions that cannot be limited under applicable law.

Merchant subscriptions run for the term set out in the MSA and renew in accordance with its renewal provisions unless notice of non-renewal is given. Either party may terminate in accordance with the MSA; Tawla may suspend or terminate access immediately for material breach, including non-payment, fraud, reputational harm or violation of applicable law. Upon termination, merchants may request export of their data within the period specified in the MSA, in a commonly used machine-readable format.

Tawla may update these Terms from time to time by publishing the revised version on the website; material changes will be notified to merchants, and continued use constitutes acceptance. These Terms are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates as applied in the Emirate of Dubai. Disputes are first addressed through good-faith negotiation and mediation in Dubai, failing which they are referred to the Dubai Courts or the DIFC Courts, as elected by the claimant.