Terms of Service

1. Who can use CrossCulture

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract to create an account.

You may hold only one personal account. You may not use the Platform if we have previously suspended or removed you, or if the law where you live prohibits it.

2. Your account

Give us accurate information when you sign up and keep it up to date. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account, so keep your password private and tell us straight away if you think someone else has access to it.

You may sign up with an email address or with Google. If you use Google, Google's own terms also apply to that sign-in.

3. Identity verification

Verified members are what make CrossCulture safe, so some features (for example selling, receiving payouts, hosting events or joining certain groups) are only available once you have verified your identity.

Verification is carried out with our provider, Sumsub, and may ask for a government-issued ID and a live selfie or video check. A “verified” badge means the person passed that check at the time. It is not an endorsement of the person or a guarantee of how they will behave, so use your own judgement.

We may ask you to re-verify, and we may refuse or withdraw verification if the information does not check out.

4. How you use the Platform

You agree to follow our Community Guidelines. In particular you must not:

• break the law, or help anyone else do so;
• impersonate someone, misrepresent who you are, or create fake or duplicate accounts;
• harass, threaten, scam or defraud other members;
• post or sell anything illegal, counterfeit, stolen or prohibited;
• take a transaction off-platform to avoid escrow or fees;
• scrape, copy or harvest data from the Platform, or access it with bots or automated tools without our written permission;
• upload malware, probe our security, or interfere with how the Platform runs.

5. Your content

You keep ownership of what you post: profiles, posts, comments, listings, photos, guides and messages (“Your Content”).

So that we can run the Platform, you give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, display, reproduce and distribute Your Content, and to adapt it (for example resize images), for the purpose of operating, promoting and improving the Platform. This licence ends when you delete the content or your account, except where the content has been shared with others who have not deleted it, or where we must keep it for legal reasons.

You confirm you have the rights to everything you post, and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights.

6. Marketplace

The Marketplace lets members buy from and sell to each other. CrossCulture is not the seller of items listed by members, and is not a party to the sale itself, but we provide escrow, payment processing and dispute support.

• Sellers must describe items honestly, hold the right to sell them, and deliver what they listed on time.
• Buyers pay through the Platform. We hold the payment in escrow and release it to the seller once the order is completed, or refund the buyer where an order is cancelled or a dispute is resolved in the buyer's favour.
• We charge sellers a commission on completed orders. The rate is shown to the seller before they list or accept an order.
• Some selling features require a paid seller subscription (monthly, yearly or one-off), and listings can be promoted with paid featured placement.
• If something goes wrong, raise it through the order before the order is completed. We will look at the evidence from both sides and decide how the escrowed funds are released. Our decision on escrowed funds is final, without affecting any legal rights you have.

7. Knowledge Hub

Guides and answers in the Knowledge Hub are written by members, from their own experience. They are not legal, immigration, tax, medical or financial advice. Always check with the official authority or a qualified professional before relying on them.

Some content is paid. When you buy it you get a personal, non-transferable right to read it on the Platform. Authors earn a share of each sale after our commission.

8. Events & Travel

Events and trips may be organised by CrossCulture or by members and partners. The organiser is responsible for running the event or trip safely and as described.

Ticket prices, refund rules and what is included are shown on each listing before you pay. If an event is cancelled by its organiser you will be refunded through the Platform. Attending in-person events is at your own risk: meet in public places and follow the safety tips in our Community Guidelines.

9. Payments, fees and payouts

Payments are processed by Paystack or Stripe, depending on the gateway you choose. Their terms also apply to your payment, and some gateways add their own processing fee, which is shown before you pay.

Prices are shown in the currency displayed at checkout. You are responsible for any taxes that apply to what you buy or sell.

Member earnings (from Marketplace sales, Knowledge Hub content or events) are paid out to the bank account you add, on the published payout schedule, after our commission and any refunds are deducted. We may hold a payout while we look into suspected fraud, a dispute or a chargeback.

Subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel before the renewal date. Cancelling stops the next renewal; it does not refund the current period unless the law requires it.

10. Reporting, blocking and enforcement

You can block any member and report any profile, message, post, listing or event. We review reports and may remove content, limit features, hold funds in escrow, or suspend or close accounts that break these Terms or the Community Guidelines. Where it is safe and lawful to do so, we will tell you what we did and why.

We may also share information with law enforcement where the law requires it or where someone's safety is at risk.

11. Closing your account

You can stop using CrossCulture at any time, and ask us to delete your account by emailing support@cross-culture.net. Any open orders, escrowed funds or payouts owed will be settled first.

We may suspend or close your account if you seriously or repeatedly break these Terms, if we are required to by law, or if your account creates risk for other members or for us. The sections on content licences already granted, payments owed, disclaimers, liability and disputes continue to apply after your account closes.

12. Our intellectual property

The Platform, its design, software, the CrossCulture name and logo belong to us or our licensors. You may not copy, modify or reuse them except as these Terms allow.

13. Disclaimers

We work hard to keep CrossCulture safe and available, but the Platform is provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not promise it will always be uninterrupted or error-free.

Members are responsible for what they say, sell, organise and do. We do not control and are not responsible for members' conduct, on or off the Platform, though we will act on reports as described above.

14. Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses, or for lost profits, data or goodwill, arising from your use of the Platform.

Our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the greater of the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or £100.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Before starting any formal proceedings, please contact us so we can try to resolve the issue informally. If we cannot, the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, unless the consumer law of the country you live in gives you the right to bring a claim there.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as the Platform changes. If a change is material we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Platform after that date means you accept the updated Terms.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms: support@cross-culture.net.