Welcome to Zomia! We’re glad you’re here and diving into the literature that governs our Site and Services. Zomia is a Social Purpose Corporation registered in Washington State (USA) that connects Lenders with Students from marginalized communities through affordable education loans. Zomia manages the platform https://zomia.org that connects Lenders with Students while also providing direct loan services to Students. Together, we refer to these as Zomia’s Site and Services. By accessing or using Zomia’s Site or Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. Please also refer to our Privacy Policy for details about what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices in its collection and usage.

From time to time we will update our Terms of Use. If you have any feedback regarding our Terms of Use, please send us a message via the Site’s website contact form.

Applicant: Any individual who uses the Site to apply for a loan.

Content: Any information made accessible or available on the Site.

Lender: Any User of the Site that provides loan funding to Zomia Students.

Party: Any one or more persons, entities, or interested representatives in an agreement or dispute with Zomia.

Partner: Any Party that enters a written contractual agreement with Zomia.

Privacy Policy: The document detailing the privacy policies of the Site.

Service: Any function of the Site or off-platform services provided by Zomia.

Site: The pages and Content of https://zomia.org.

Student: Any person who has received a loan from Zomia.

Terms of Use: The rules governing Users who visit, access, and use the Site.

Third Party: Any site, service, individual, or entity not operated by Zomia.

Third-Party Content: Any Content or links made accessible by Third Parties.

User: Any individual or entity that accesses the Site to use it or its Services.

User Content: any Content created by a User of the Site.

You agree to use the Site in the following ways:

• create and maintain an account for yourself;
• keep your password and identification secure;
• represent yourself accurately;
• engage with Users appropriately; and
• take full responsibility for any actions that take place using your account.

You agree not to use the Site in the following ways:

• access or use the Site for commercial purposes, unless pre-approved by us;
• create an account for someone else;
• impersonate another person, entity, or misrepresent yourself;
• use the Site in a way that can hinder, delay, destroy, or otherwise impair the Site’s performance. This includes the software, servers, third-party systems, and any other equipment we or others use to manage the Site;
• make content available that encourages a User to violate the rights of another User or local, state, national or international laws;
• use or try to use another User’s account without that User’s authorization;
• use the Site in a way that degrades the experience for another User. Examples of this include but are not limited to:
  • making content available that is deemed unlawful, obscene, harmful, threatening, abusive, profane, hateful, offensive, graphic, defamatory, libelous, invasive, or objectionable;
  • advertising or soliciting a User to buy or sell products or services;
  • sending “spam” (e.g., chain letters, junk email, mass messages, etc.);
  • requesting or posting personally identifiable information of Users (e.g., e-mail address, physical address, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, etc.)

How Zomia loans work

Due to the short time between Students requiring funding and starting school, we rely on a network of Partners that fund Zomia Students upfront, which we then recover via crowdfunding on the Site. We call this process “pre-funding,” and the process of Lenders crowdfunding Student loans “backfilling.” Both pre-funding and backfilling play critical roles in our ability to reach Students. Pre-funding loans prevents a situation in which Students are accepted to a university but cannot secure sufficient funds on the Site in time to start classes. Our pre-funders include individuals and institutions that have agreed to support Students before they are listed on the Site. Backfilling is important because it replaces the pre-funding commitment, which allows the pre-funders to put their funds towards future students. Once you backfill a loan, your support is directly tied to the Student(s) you support. You receive updates on the Student’s progress in school and, once they enter repayment, a percentage of each repayment.

Repayments

Repayments to Lender accounts are distributed proportionally based upon the percentage of support the Lender provides of the Student’s total loan. For example, if a Lender provides $100 of a Student’s $1,000 loan (or 10% of the total loan), that Lender will receive 10% of each repayment made by the Student. If the Student makes $50 monthly payments, the Lender’s account is credited for payment of $5 from the Student every month. In the event a Student’s income and repayment amount change, the Lender will receive a different repayment amount from the Student. Because repayments to Lenders are linked directly to their Students, Lenders only receive payments when the Students they’ve supported make repayments.

Student loans & risk

By participating in lending on the Site, you acknowledge and agree to the following characteristics of providing education loans to Zomia Students:

• Zomia loans are unsecured and run a risk of non-repayment. We advise that you never lend more money than you feel comfortable losing to Students. Student loans are inherently risky, which is the reason why Zomia exists! If it were a safe investment, financial institutions would already be providing affordable loans to Students. While we will make every effort to secure full repayment from Students—and will notify you of our repayment collection efforts—Zomia loans are risky. Lenders ultimately assume some risk of Student default.
• Loans cannot be canceled or refunded before repayment. As funding a Lender provides is tied to a Student, Lenders cannot cancel loans they have already provided Students. To do this would require the supported Student to make an early repayment, which is inconsistent with the loan agreement made between Zomia and its Students.
• Zomia has a dual interest in serving Students and Lenders. Should a conflict arise between the two Parties, Zomia will err on whichever side we deem in our sole discretion does the least harm to both Parties.

Inactive accounts

Inactive accounts are accounts that have received at least $25 and 90% of repayment for more than 90 days. 90% repayment is determined by dividing a Lender’s current balance by their total deposits. Accounts that reach the $25 and 90% thresholds will receive a monthly reminder to reallocate or withdraw their balances. If no action is taken by the end of the 3rd month, the accounts will be deemed “inactive” and enrolled in Repayment Recycling. Inactive accounts will continue to have visibility into individual Students supported upon logging into the Site. Lenders may turn off Repayment Recycling at any time from their Portfolio preferences.

Withdrawals

Lenders may withdraw funds from their available balance at any time through a linked PayPal account, less any PayPal fees. To do so, log into your Lender Portfolio, click the “Withdrawal” button, and follow the prompts. Withdrawals take 3-5 business days to process via PayPal. Withdrawing an amount greater than $1,000 could take longer.

Gift cards

Please see our gift cards terms of use for full terms and conditions. Zomia gift cards may be redeemed to fund Student loans on the Site for 12 months following the date of purchase. If the gift card is not redeemed within 12 months of purchase, the entire unused value of the card is automatically used to support Students. Unused gift card balances are generally deposited to Zomia’s general student fund, which is used to fund Student loans in perpetuity, although they might be used for other kinds of Student support. Expired gift cards will never be used to fund Zomia’s operational expenses. Zomia gift cards can be delivered in one of three ways:

• Physical cards may be sent via the US Postal Service to addresses in the United States and Canada. Physical cards are plastic and mounted in a protective sleeve (or “presenter”) before being placed in an envelope along with a separate insert containing instructions and an optional custom message. Physical cards may be sent to the purchaser, enabling delivery in person, or directly to the intended recipient.
• Cards may be sent via e-mail directly to the intended recipient. Electronic gift cards are subject to the same terms and conditions as physical cards.
• Cards may be printed by the purchaser. A printable document is sent to the purchaser via e-mail in PDF form.

If you send a gift card via e-mail, we will send a reminder to the recipient’s e-mail address if the value has not been redeemed within 30 days prior to the expiration date. If physical or printed gift cards are sent, the purchaser is responsible for reminding the recipient to use the card before the expiration date. The purchaser of a Zomia gift card is the owner of the card until it is redeemed by another User. If the purchaser decides to use the value of the card him/herself, it is the responsibility of the purchaser to alert his or her recipient that the card may no longer be used by the recipient.

Zomia gift cards may only be redeemed to fund Student loans on the Site. They may not be used to purchase other goods or services. Redemption occurs when the full value of the gift card is applied to a “basket” of Student loans prior to checkout on the Site. Redemption requires the redeemer to register as a Lender on the Site. Upon redemption, ownership of the gift card is transferred in full to the redeemer. All subsequent loan repayments made by the Student(s) supported are re-distributed to the redeemer.

Tax deductibility

We can accept donations to our general student fund through Partners Asia, Zomia SPC’s fiscal sponsor. Gifts grow Zomia’s general student fund, which ensures our long-term ability to provide affordable education loans to future generations of Zomia students. The general student fund is restricted. All funds provided as donations can only be used to support Students in perpetuity.

Fraudulent transactions

If you are a victim of identity theft, or in some other way have had your personal information stolen and someone is using your accounts to fund Student loans, please contact us at info@zomia.org immediately. We will void the transactions on the Site and aim to return the funding to your account.

Account termination

A Lender account may be terminated by either Zomia or the Lender at any time and for any reason. To do this, send a written request to info@zomia.org to terminate your account. If you have an available balance greater than $25, we will return your funds immediately via your linked PayPal account. You will be sent a second transfer after all repayments from Students you’ve supported have been received. If you have a balance of less than $25, you will receive one transfer after all of your Student repayments have been received. In all cases of account termination, Lenders pay from their available balance any transaction fees charged by PayPal and a service fee of $1 or 1% of the funds to be transferred, whichever is greater.

Deleting your account removes the ability for you to log back into your account. Your public lending history on the Site (name, the amount provided to Students, etc.) will remain visible, as those are public transactions on the Site. Local laws may require that we hold records of your account for up to seven (7) years. We will delete all but the necessary information to prove you held an account with us. You may request to know what information is being kept by Zomia in your message to delete your account.

We don’t anticipate deleting a User’s account except under extreme cases and/or severe violations of the Terms of Use or Privacy Policy. But we have full authority to terminate, disable, or curb Users’ access to (or use of) the Site. In the event we terminate, disable, or curb access to (or use of) your account, we reserve the right to provide you with reason(s) and allow you seven (7) days from the date of notice to make an appeal. In your appeal you must:

• explain why you feel your account should remain active in light of the reason(s) we listed in Our justification of deleting, disabling, or curbing your account access; and
• tell us how you’ll prevent an account closure in the future.

We will consider one appeal before making a final decision on a course of action.

Due diligence

The underwriting process on each application we receive typically takes weeks. Students undergo an eligibility screening, application process, interview, and contract review before receiving loan funding. Internally, Zomia team members conduct at least two rounds of evaluations—after eligibility results and loan applications are submitted, then again after conducting interviews with Applicants.

Know Your Customer (KYC) Policy

Zomia adheres to standard KYC procedures. We verify a Student’s identity and status in school before any money is sent to the Student. If approved for a loan, we transfer funds either to the Student’s personal bank account or directly to the University under the Student’s name and ID number. We do not transfer funding to accounts that do not belong to Students or the universities where the Students study. We require Students to submit proof of enrollment before the start of the school year and verify the Student’s status in school by requesting and verifying transcripts at the end of each semester.

Interest

Zomia loans carry a 5% “flat” annual interest rate (this is also known as “simple interest”). The interest payments help us cover our operational expenses while scaling to reach more Students. Interest payments from Students help subsidize our operations, but they do not cover all of our costs at any scale. We instead rely on charitable capital from Lenders (providing loans without interest), tips on the Site, and management fees associated with deploying funding to Students on behalf of larger organizations. We see interest payments from Students as their contribution to Zomia’s sustainability, helping us reach Students from communities that other financial institutions cannot support.

The word “flat” in “flat interest” is an important term. Flat interest is a type of interest where the interest charged each year is based on the total amount the Student borrows. This is different from “declining balance” interest, where the interest is based on how much is remaining to pay. We use flat interest because it is easily understood (the interest payment is the same each year) and more predictable.

Interest on Zomia loans begins in the first year of repayment for the Student and ends after 12 years if the Student has not fully repaid the loan. No interest is charged while the Student is enrolled as a full-time Student. Once a Student repays their Loan plus interest or finishes their contract period, then repayments end. The maximum amount a Student will ever repay in interest is 1.6 times what they borrow. That 1.6 ceiling is not reached until after 12 years of repayment. For example, the maximum amount a Student would repay on a $1,000 loan would be $1,600. And the Student would only reach that level of repayment after 12 years of making repayments.

Here is the repayment schedule on a $4,000 Zomia loan:

Grace period

Students receive an automatic six (6)-month grace period after they graduate or withdraw from their program. This period allows them to find employment and get settled after school before they begin to make repayments. At the end of the grace period, their incomes are evaluated to determine if they enter repayment or deferment. If a Student’s income meets the minimum income threshold, then repayments begin in the seventh (7) month after graduation. In the case of variable incomes, we work with Students to determine a repayment schedule that works for them. For example, Students with seasonal work or highly variable income might require quarterly payments, or payment “seasons,” versus Students who earn a fixed monthly salary and can make monthly repayments.

Income evaluation

We evaluate income in various ways. For Students with formal employment, we collect pay stubs and verify income with employers through a lottery system. Every year, we randomly select and verify the income of 25% of the Students who are in repayment. For self-employed Students or Students with informal, temporary, or and/or seasonal employment, we allow them to submit an income verification form and any balance sheets, profit/loss statements, proof of income, starting and ending account balances, or any other reasonable method to verify income in a given repayment period. If no suitable method of determining income can be conducted, Zomia team members work with Students to understand the Students’ expenses and income to determine a suitable payment schedule.

Deferments

In addition to the automatic 6-month Grace Period, Students receive an additional 24 months of deferments. We trigger deferments automatically if a Student is not earning above our minimum income thresholds. We also allow Students to request deferments for numerous reasons: paying for a wedding, hospital visits, unemployment, pursuing additional higher education, etc. Because a Lender’s repayments are tied to the Student’s actual repayments, this means that loan repayments could take longer to receive if the Student accepts multiple deferments. After 24 months of deferments are used, we work with the Student to determine an appropriate payment plan.

Defaults

Student loans are inherently risky and Zomia Lenders ultimately assume the risk of lending to a Zomia student. It is critical that Lenders see their loans as charity and not risk more than they can afford to lose. Assuming the risk of default allows Zomia students to receive affordable rates on their loans.

We consider a Student in default if they have missed more than 90 days of repayments without communicating with us (we will not place a Student in default if they are communicating and working with us!). In the event of a default, we will notify you of the default, our past actions to collect, and what our next steps are. If the Student begins to make repayments after being placed in default, the Student will be taken out of default, placed on a normal payment schedule, and Lenders will begin receiving the Student’s repayment. Zomia will continue trying to collect repayments from Students in default as long as there is a chance the loan can be recovered. In extreme cases where we don’t think it’s possible to collect repayment, we reserve the right to sell the loan to a collections agency and report the default to a credit bureau. In this case, Lenders who support that Student would be reimbursed for any amount that was recovered. If repayments are never made, then the Lender will not receive repayments from the Student they supported.

USD as currency of record

Zomia loans are distributed in local currencies but recorded in U.S. dollars (USD). We do this because the USD is a stable currency, which reduces inflationary risk. It also allows us to provide funds in one currency (e.g., Thai baht) and accept repayment in another (e.g., Myanmar kyat). As Students make repayments in their local currency, any risk of foreign exchange loss or gain is assumed by Students. We use rates from TransferWise and Oanda as the exchange rates of record for all loan transactions. Conversions are made using published end-of-day midpoint rates or actual exchange rates incurred.

Student and Lender communication

Students and Lenders may exchange personal messages and e-cards with each other through the Site. For all parties’ protection and safety, Zomia archives these messages as a matter of record. We encourage all messages between Lenders and Students to remain on the Site. Spamming Users, soliciting personal contact information, requesting more funding or repayments outside the platform, etc. are all examples of violations of Zomia’s community interaction guidelines.

Student web profiles

Zomia Students write their own personal stories for the Site. These stories are then edited by native English-speaking editors for clarity, spelling, punctuation, and grammar. After the story is refined, the Student either makes further changes or approves the story for publication on the Site. To protect Students’ privacy, Students may use nicknames on the Site, and we provide only general locations. Students are also given the option to limit their profiles’ visibility to registered Lenders only.

Zomia, Zomia SPC, and other graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts and Service names are trademarks or trade dress of Zomia SPC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Zomia’s trademarks and trade dress may not be used, including as part of trademarks and/or as part of domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Zomia.

In compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), if you believe there is copyright infringing material on the Site, please notify us in writing with the following details:

• sufficient details to enable us to identify and locate the material that is claimed to be infringing (for example, a link to the page that contains the material). If multiple materials are claimed to be infringed, please send us a list of such materials with descriptions of each;
• your contact information (at least e-mail address, phone number, and name); and
• a written statement that you have good reason to believe that the use of the material identified by you is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. In this statement, please also state that the information you provided is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is alleged to be infringed.

You may send this written notification to our Designated Agent:

Mail: Attn: Legal
Zomia SPC
4816 Aurora Avenue N
Seattle, WA 98103-651
Phone: +1 (702) 866-2500
Fax: +1 (702) 855-2689
E-mail: info@zomia.org

The Site contains links to other sites that help you better understand our mission and work. These may include Partner websites, articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, software and other Content belonging to (or originating from) Third Parties. Though we strive to link to relevant Content, we do not check, investigate, or monitor Third-Party sites’ accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness. Therefore, by using Third-Party sites, you agree that you are doing so voluntarily and at your own risk, and that our Terms of Use no longer apply once you leave our Site. Unless stated explicitly on the Site, including links to Third-Party sites or Third-Party Content does not imply our approval or endorsement.

You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information about the Site or the Service (“Submissions”) provided by you to us are non-confidential. Furthermore, we have the right to disseminate and share Submissions with other Parties for the purposes of furthering our mission. This includes, without limitation, for commercial purposes and without acknowledgment or compensation to you.

We strive to be as wasteless and paperless as possible. By using the Site, you agree that our notices and disclosures will be provided solely electronically through the Site or via e-mail to the e-mail address you provide Zomia, until you explicitly withdraw your consent. In order to access these electronic notices and disclosures, you must have 1) a steady internet connection that enables loading of the Site; 2) an accessible email account; and 3) a supported web browser that can access and load the Site.

By accessing or using the Site, you agree that your decisions and actions on the Site are yours alone. Except in jurisdictions where such provisions are restricted, in no event will Zomia or its directors, team members, or agents be liable to you or any Third Party for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages, including for any lost profits or lost data arising from your use of the Site Content or other materials on or accessed through the Site. This rule holds true even if we are aware or have been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no case will our liability to any claiming Party exceed $1,000. By using the Site you acknowledge that you shall not be entitled to damages of any kind from Us, regardless of the cause of action.

This Site and all of the Content is provided “as is” and “as available,” without any warranty, either express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or title. Additionally, there are no warranties as to the results of your use of the Content. We do not warrant that the Site is free of viruses or other harmful components. Nor do we guarantee the accuracy of any User Content or Third-Party Content. We are not responsible for what Users post on the Site and are not responsible for any offensive, inappropriate, obscene, unlawful or otherwise objectionable Content you may encounter on the Site or in connection with any User Content or Third-Party Content. We are not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User of the Site or Service. The Site and the Service may occasionally be temporarily unavailable for maintenance or other reasons. We assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, User communications. Though we will try to make explicit via date stamp when we updated these Terms of Use, we reserve the right to change Content contained in the Site and any Services offered through the Site at any time without notice. It is possible you may enter into other agreements aside from the Terms of Use with us or others that govern your use of the Site. Should there ever be a contradiction between these Terms of Use and another agreement You have entered that governs the use of the Site, the other agreement shall supplant this in the particular aspects of the Site’s Services to which it applies.

By visiting or using the Site and/or its Services, you agree that the laws of the State of Washington where Zomia is incorporated, without regard to any principles of conflict of laws that would require or permit the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction, will govern these Terms of Use.

You agree to indemnify and hold Zomia, its directors, team members, Partners, Students, and any other affiliates, harmless from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, arising out of or in connection with your User Content, any Third-Party Content you post or share on or through the Site, your use of the Service or the Site, your conduct in connection with the Site or with other Users of the Site, or any violation of these Terms of Use or of any law or the rights of any Third Party.

Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision in that or any other instance. In the event that any provision of this Terms of Use is deemed invalid because it is contrary to applicable law, that provision is deemed separable from the rest of the Terms of Use, such that the remainder of the Terms of Use remains valid and enforceable. In the event of any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement arising from or relating to this Terms of Use or alleged violation of its terms, the Parties involved shall use their best efforts to settle the dispute, claim, question, or disagreement. To this effect, they shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith and attempt to reach a just, equitable, and satisfactory solution, including but not limited to seeking a third party to help resolve disputes. Zomia does not expect to file legal claims related to its Users, but in the event of egregious violations, we retain the right to do so. Users are responsible for their interactions with other Users; we reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor disputes between Users.