Payment and Refund Policy

All payments are processed by Fincra Limited, a CBN-licensed payment infrastructure company. Vourigo operates as a Fincra merchant under a Merchant Service Agreement (MSA).

Regulatory Compliance Stack:

• Cameroon: General Tax Code; 2026 Finance Law. Applicability: VAT (19.25%), tourist tax collection, corporate tax.
• Nigeria: CBN Guidelines; Fincra MSA. Applicability: Payment processing, rolling reserve, chargebacks.
• OHADA: Uniform Act on General Commercial Law. Applicability: Commercial obligations, interest on late payment.
• EU: PSD2; GDPR. Applicability: EU cardholder rights, data protection.
• International: PCI DSS (via Fincra). Applicability: Card data security.

Accepted Payment Methods:

• Visa, Mastercard (via Fincra hosted checkout);
• Mobile money (MTN MoMo, Orange Money, where available);
• Bank transfer (upon special arrangement for large groups).

All transactions are in USD.

Every booking confirmation email includes a transparent price breakdown:

• Provider Base: Raw Vendor costs (accommodation, activities, transport, meals, guides).
• Platform Service Fee (25%): Vourigo SARL revenue margin, covering platform operations, guide coordination, quality assurance, and 24/7 emergency support.
• Payment Processing Fee (approx. 4%): Gateway cost absorbed into the gross-up.
• Gross-Up Total: Tourist-facing price after gross-up.
• Regulatory Pass-Through: Itemised taxes and levies.

Itemised Cameroonian Taxes:

(a) Value Added Tax (VAT): 19.25% (17.5% standard rate plus 10% local surcharge) on digital service fees and platform commissions per the General Tax Code and 2026 Finance Law.

(b) Tourist Tax: Per-night accommodation tax remitted to municipal authorities:

• 5-star / Luxury: XAF 5,000 per person per night
• 4-star / Premium: XAF 4,000 per person per night
• 3-star / Standard: XAF 3,000 per person per night
• 2-star / Budget: XAF 1,000 per person per night
• 1-star / Unclassified: XAF 500 per person per night
• Furnished rentals: XAF 2,000 per person per night

(c) Digital Services Tax: Where applicable under Cameroonian fiscal legislation.

(d) Processing Fee: The approx. 4% payment processing fee is paid directly to the payment gateway and is entirely non-refundable across all cancellation scenarios.

Price Lock: Once a booking is confirmed, the price is locked. Increases exceeding 10% entitle you to cancellation without penalty and full refund (Article 11 CCV, 1970).

Schedule Matrix:

• Walk-in booking, any duration: One payment, 100%. Due at booking.
• Advance booking, 2 days or fewer: One payment, 100%. Due 7 days before start.
• Advance booking, more than 2 days: Instalment 1 at 60% (deposit). Due 7 days before start (or immediately if start is near).
• Advance booking, more than 2 days: Instalment 2 at 40% (balance). Due 14 days before start (minimum 3 days from creation).

Payment Record Lifecycle:

1. Admin confirms booking.
2. Payment row created with status pending; tx_ref generated.
3. Tourist pays via Fincra hosted checkout.
4. Fincra sends charge.successful webhook.
5. If successful: status marked paid.
6. If failed: status marked failed; retry email sent.
7. If Instalment 1 is paid and Instalment 2 exists: system auto-generates Instalment 2 payment link and emails Tourist.

Due Date Calculation:

• Instalment 1: Maximum of (Start Date minus 7 days, Today).
• Instalment 2: Maximum of (Start Date minus 14 days, Today plus 3 days).

All card transactions are routed through 3D Secure (Verified by Visa or Mastercard Identity Check) per Fincra's card processing standards. You may be required to complete an additional authentication step with your bank.

Real-time transaction monitoring via Fincra's risk engine includes velocity checks and geo-location verification against billing address. Vourigo must respond to fraud enquiries within one Business Day per Fincra obligations.

Vourigo maintains a rolling reserve from daily settlements per the Fincra Merchant Service Agreement. This reserve protects against chargebacks and refunds and does not affect your booking or refund rights.

Document Hierarchy: The Vourigo Terms and Conditions constitute the primary contract. In any conflict between this Policy and the Terms, the Terms govern. The schedules below are consistent with and derived from Section 7 of the Terms and Conditions.

Tourist-Initiated Refunds:

• Cancellation more than 30 days before start: Full refund minus 5% administrative fee.
• Cancellation 15 to 30 days before start: 70% refund of total trip cost paid.
• Cancellation 7 to 14 days before start: 50% refund of total trip cost paid.
• Cancellation less than 7 days before start: 25% refund of total trip cost paid.
• No-show or same-day cancellation: No refund.

Non-Refundable Items (once committed to Vendors):

• Gorilla tracking permits;
• Mount Cameroon hiking permits;
• Korup National Park entry permits;
• Pre-paid restaurant deposits;
• Non-refundable hotel deposits (especially during peak season);
• Visa application fees paid on your behalf.

These items are explicitly flagged during the booking wizard.

Force Majeure Refunds and Credits:

• Tier 1 (CCV Strict): Full cash refund of all sums paid with no administrative deduction.
• Tier 2 (UNWTO Broad): Default issuance of Vourigo Travel Credits equal to 100% of sums paid, valid for 24 months from date of issuance. Conversion to cash refund available upon written request submitted 90 days after the force majeure event, processed within 15 business days.

Force majeure includes: natural disasters declared by national authorities; epidemics or pandemics (WHO or Cameroon Ministry of Public Health declaration); war, terrorism, or civil unrest rendering travel impossible; government travel bans or border closures; strikes affecting essential transport infrastructure.

Vendor Failure Refunds:

Vourigo will first attempt to secure an equivalent or superior alternative at no extra cost. If no alternative is available, the pro-rata value of the affected service is refunded.

Refund Processing Timeline:

• Refund request received: Day 0.
• Admin review and approval: 1 to 2 business days.
• Gateway refund processing via Fincra dashboard: Day 2 to 3.
• Card issuer processing: 5 to 10 business days.
• Total expected time: 5 to 15 business days.

Refunds are issued to the original payment instrument. We cannot refund to alternative cards or accounts for fraud prevention reasons.

If you initiate a chargeback with your card issuer, Fincra notifies Vourigo within one Business Day. We must respond with proof of value and service delivery within one Business Day, providing: booking confirmation, travel document, proof of service delivery, and communication history.

Undisputed chargebacks: Vourigo is liable and must provide an equivalent sum per the Fincra MSA. We will pursue recovery via legal means if the chargeback was fraudulent or abusive.

Chargeback Indemnity: If you bypass the internal mediation process and file a chargeback dispute through your card issuer or Mobile Money operator for a properly delivered itinerary, you are contractually liable to indemnify the Platform for the full transaction amount, all associated card network penalties, and a flat XAF 150,000 administrative legal fee.

All prices and refunds are in USD. Your card issuer may convert USD to your home currency at their exchange rate, which may include foreign transaction fees (typically 1 to 3%). Vourigo does not control these fees.

If you pay in a non-USD currency, the amount charged may differ slightly from the quoted price due to exchange rate movements between quote and charge. We lock the USD amount; currency conversion risk is borne by your card issuer.

All payments are accompanied by a digital invoice itemising:

• Services rendered;
• Platform fees;
• Taxes (VAT, tourist tax, digital tax where applicable);
• Payment reference (tx_ref);
• Booking reference (VRG-XXXXXXX).

For business travellers, invoices may be used for tax deduction purposes in your home jurisdiction subject to local tax rules. Vourigo does not provide tax advice.

If a payment fails (insufficient funds, card declined, authentication failure):

• You receive an immediate email notification;
• A retry link is provided;
• If not remedied within 48 hours, the booking may be cancelled and the slot released to other tourists.

Under OHADA Uniform Act Article 291, any delay in payment entails compulsory payment of interest calculated at the legal interest rate for commercial matters in Cameroon. In case of persistent non-payment, Vourigo may engage debt collection services. You are liable for all reasonable collection costs, legal fees, and court costs.

Payment Support: payments@vourigo.com

Refund Enquiries: refunds@vourigo.com

Fincra Support: Available via your payment receipt

Vourigo SARL Finance Department, Cameroon

We may modify this Payment and Refund Policy with 30 days' notice. Changes to refund percentages or payment schedules require explicit acceptance for existing confirmed bookings.