Member terms

An SWM group is a rotating savings group (Ajo). Every member pays the same contribution on the same schedule, weekly, monthly or as the group states. On each payout date one member, in turn, receives the group’s collection for that period.

Your contribution amount, schedule, payout position and expected payout date are shown in your member account from the day you are placed in a group. Your payout position is not changed without your agreement.

• You apply on this website or at our office. SWM reviews every application and may refuse one.
• If accepted, you receive a link to set a password and complete your details. You are then given a permanent SWM member code.
• A one-time registration charge of ₦2,000 applies when you join.
• Keep your contact details and payout bank account up to date. Tell us when they change.

• Pay each contribution by its due date, in cash to SWM staff, or by bank transfer to SWM’s account shown on our contact page. Always use your SWM code as the transfer reference.
• Every payment recorded gives you a receipt showing the amount, how it was applied, the method and the date. If you do not get one, contact us.
• If you pay by transfer, you can report it from your member account so we can match it quickly.
• Part payments are accepted. Your receipt shows how the money was applied, and the balance stays visible on your account.
• If you pay more than you owe, the extra is put towards your next installments, which then show as paid on your schedule and receipt.

SWM staff will never ask you to pay into a personal account. If anyone does, do not pay, and call us on +234 816 708 1067.

There are three charges, always shown separately from your contributions:

• Management charge: 3% of each contribution. Depending on the option recorded for your membership, you pay it with each contribution or it is taken from your payout.
• Late charge: 5% of the contribution for any installment not paid by its due date. It never increases the contribution itself.
• Registration charge: ₦2,000, once, when you join.

SWM may waive a charge; a waiver is always recorded with its reason.

• Payouts are made in payout-position order.
• A payout is never made before its scheduled date.
• Reaching your date does not release money on its own: SWM staff prepare and confirm every payout, and large payouts need a second person to approve them.
• Payouts are paid into the bank account on your record, in your name.
• Before paying you, SWM deducts the following, each itemised on the payout record:
  • any contributions you still owe to the group
  • the management charge, if you chose to pay it at payout
  • late charges you have not yet paid
• Money cannot be withdrawn outside your payout turn, except when you leave a group as described below.

You can ask to leave a group from your member account or by contacting us. SWM reviews the request.

• If you have not paid anything into the group, your place is simply removed.
• If you have, your membership is closed rather than deleted, and SWM works out what you paid in against anything you received and anything you owe.
• Where SWM owes you money, we agree with you how and when it is repaid. Where you owe the group money, it remains owed.
• A payout already scheduled for you must be paid or cancelled before your membership can close.

Other members’ payouts depend on everyone paying on time. If you miss a payment, a late charge is raised and the amount stays on your account until it is paid.

If you have already received your payout and then stop paying, the contributions you still owe are a debt to the group. SWM will contact you, and may contact your next of kin, to arrange payment, and may take lawful steps to recover the money.

Contributions are paid into SWM’s business bank account and held for the group until each payout. Our records keep members’ contribution money separate from SWM’s own income from charges. SWM is not a bank: contributions are not bank deposits and do not earn interest.

A payment, once recorded, is never edited or deleted. If a mistake is made, SWM posts a correction with a stated reason, and both entries stay on your history. You can see your contributions, charges, receipts and payouts in your member account at any time, and download a copy of your data.

Keep your password to yourself. SWM staff will never ask for it. If you think someone else has used your account, change your password and tell us straight away.

Contact us on +234 816 708 1067 or info@swmfinance.com, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Quote your SWM code and any receipt or payout reference. We will acknowledge your complaint, look into it, and tell you the outcome.

We change the date at the top when these terms change, and we tell members before a change that affects them takes effect. These terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.