Payments, Wallet & Refunds

Msafiri does not set fares. The driver or transport company publishing a trip sets the price, and the full fare is shown to you before you confirm a booking. The fare does not change after a booking is accepted.

All amounts are in Namibian Dollars (NAD) unless stated otherwise.

Your Msafiri wallet holds a balance you can use towards bookings on the platform.

Important things to understand about the wallet:

• It is a prepaid balance for use on Msafiri. It is not a bank account, it is not a deposit, and it does not earn interest.
• Wallet balances are recorded in NAD and reflect top-ups you have made, less bookings paid and plus any refunds credited.
• You are responsible for the security of your account. Keep your password private, because anyone with access to your account can spend your balance.

To top up, you submit a top-up request in the app, make the payment using the method shown, and provide the payment reference.

Top-ups are not instant. Each request is reviewed and confirmed against the payment actually received before your balance is credited. A top-up request may be marked pending, completed, failed or cancelled, and you can see its status in the app.

Please make sure the reference you enter matches the payment you made. Incorrect or missing references are the most common cause of delayed top-ups.

If a top-up has not been credited within two business days of your payment clearing, contact us at hello@msafiri.africa with the payment reference and we will trace it.

Card payments are processed by Paystack, our payment provider. Your full card number is entered with Paystack and is never collected or stored by Msafiri.

When your booking is accepted, the agreed fare becomes payable. Depending on the trip, payment may be taken from your wallet balance or arranged directly with the driver.

Where a fare is paid from your wallet, the amount is deducted when the booking is confirmed. You must have sufficient balance to complete the booking.

Plans change, and you can cancel a booking in the app. What happens depends on when you cancel:

• Before the driver accepts — no charge. A pending booking request can be withdrawn freely.
• After acceptance, more than 24 hours before departure — the fare is refunded to your wallet in full.
• After acceptance, less than 24 hours before departure — the driver may retain a reasonable cancellation fee of up to 50% of the fare, because the seat is unlikely to be resold at short notice.
• After departure, or if you simply do not arrive — no refund is due.

For parcels, the same timings apply, measured from the agreed collection time.

If the driver or operator cancels an accepted booking, if the trip does not depart, or if the vehicle does not arrive at the agreed pick-up point within a reasonable time, you are entitled to a full refund of the fare to your wallet.

Report a no-show or cancelled trip in the app as soon as you can, so we have a record while the details are fresh. Repeated cancellations by a driver affect their standing on the platform and can lead to removal.

Refunds are credited to your Msafiri wallet by default, which is the fastest route and keeps the funds available for your next booking.

You may instead request a refund back to your original payment method or bank account. We will process approved refunds within 10 business days of approval. Your bank may take additional time to reflect the credit.

We may decline a refund where we reasonably believe the claim is fraudulent, where the service was in fact provided, or where you did not attend the trip.

You may request withdrawal of an unspent wallet balance by contacting hello@msafiri.africa from the email address on your account. We will verify your identity and the destination account before paying out, and we may ask for proof of the original top-up.

We may deduct amounts you owe — for example an unpaid cancellation fee — before paying out a balance.

Fares collected through the platform for completed trips are paid out to the driver or transport company using the payout details on their account.

Where Msafiri charges a service fee or commission, the rate is shown in the app or the Solutions dashboard before it applies, and it is deducted from the payout.

We may withhold a payout while we investigate a credible safety complaint, a suspected fraudulent booking, or a chargeback relating to that trip.

If you believe you have been charged incorrectly, contact hello@msafiri.africa within 30 days of the charge with the booking reference. We will investigate and respond within 14 days.

Please raise disputes with us before asking your bank to reverse a payment. Bank chargebacks raised without contacting us may result in your account being suspended while the matter is resolved.

The wallet may only be used for genuine Msafiri bookings. Using it to move funds between accounts, to launder money, or to make fictitious bookings is prohibited.

We may freeze a wallet, reverse a credit, or suspend an account where we reasonably suspect fraud or misuse, and we will report serious cases to the authorities.

We may update this policy as our payment methods and partners change. Changes to cancellation windows or fees will be published here before they apply and will not affect bookings already accepted.