Advertising Policy

1. Our Business Model

shrwed.co is free for users. We generate revenue through:

• Affiliate Commissions: When you apply for a product through our links, we may receive compensation from the provider
• Advertising: Display ads from financial service providers
• Lead Generation: Qualified referrals to lenders, SACCOs, and brokers
• Premium Services: Future B2B features (benchmarking, corporate tools)

Important: Compensation does NOT influence our editorial content, ratings, or comparison rankings. This is enforced structurally — see Section 3.

2. How Compensation Works

2.1 Affiliate Links: Some links on shrwed.co are "affiliate links." If you click and complete an action (application, account opening), we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

2.2 Commission Structures:

• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): Fixed fee per completed application
• Revenue Share: Percentage of provider revenue from referred customers
• Flat Fee: Fixed payment for featured placement (clearly disclosed)

2.3 Disclosure: Pages with affiliate links include clear disclosure: "We may earn a commission when you click our links."

3. Editorial Independence

3.1 Firewalls: Our editorial team operates independently from our business and advertising functions. Advertisers cannot:

• Influence ratings, reviews, or rankings
• Review content before publication
• Pay for favourable coverage
• Access unpublished editorial content

3.2 Rating Methodology: Our comparison rankings use objective criteria (APR, speed, trust, flexibility).

3.3 Sponsored Content: Any sponsored or paid content is clearly labelled "Sponsored," "Advertisement," or "Partner Content."

4. Advertising Standards

We accept advertising only from financial service providers that meet our minimum standards:

5. Ad Placement & Labelling

5.1 Clear Identification: All advertisements are clearly labelled as "Ad," "Advertisement," or "Sponsored" — visually distinct from editorial content.

5.2 Separation: Ads are visually separated from editorial content. Borders, backgrounds, and badges make paid placements immediately identifiable.

5.3 Native Advertising: Any content that resembles editorial but is paid is disclosed at the top of the piece, not buried in a footer.

6. Product Listings & Order

6.1 Organic Rankings: Non-paid listings are ordered by our rating criteria — not compensation.

6.2 Featured/Partner Listings: Paid placements are clearly labelled "Featured," "Partner," or "Sponsored"; visually distinguished; and still subject to our minimum quality standards.

6.3 "Best Match" or "Recommended": These labels reflect our editorial ratings, not compensation received.

7. Review Guidelines

For user-generated reviews:

• We do not edit reviews (except for profanity, personal information, or spam)
• We verify reviewers are actual customers when possible
• Providers cannot pay to remove negative reviews
• We respond to provider disputes publicly when appropriate

8. Conflicts of Interest

We disclose all material relationships, including: ownership stakes in advertised companies; board memberships or advisory roles; and family or business relationships with providers.

Currently, shrwed.co Limited has no ownership stakes in any listed financial institution.

9. Complaints & Corrections

If you believe an advertisement is misleading or violates our standards, email compliance@shrwed.co with details. We investigate within 5 business days, remove non-compliant ads promptly, and publish corrections when errors are found.

10. Regulatory Compliance

We comply with: Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) advertising guidelines for financial products; the Competition Authority of Kenya (fair advertising and consumer protection); the Data Protection Act, 2019 (privacy in advertising and tracking); and the Advertising Standards Authority of Kenya.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Advertising Policy. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

12. Contact Information