Meta—parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram—is moving against defaulting advertisers with a new update.
According to Meta, monies from advertisers on its platform are recovered after 30 days—many times after the ad campaigns have run their course. Unfortunately, some advertisers refuse to pay after the ads have run.
Starting January 2023, Meta will start relying on credit reference bureaus (CRB) to build profiles of traders’ advertising on its platforms. These checks will help the company divide advertisers into two: invoiced advertisers who don’t have to pay for ads upfront and non-invoiced advertisers who have to pay upfront.
Section 4(c) of its Self-serve ad termsstate: “By placing an Order, you authorise us to obtain your personal and/or business credit report from a credit bureau, either when you place an order or at any time thereafter.”
The new terms also let Meta charge a 1% per month interest on any outstanding payments from advertisers.
“If your payment method fails or your account is past due, we may take additional steps to collect past due amounts. You will pay all expenses associated with such collection, including reasonable legal fees. Past due amounts will accrue interest at one percent per month or the lawful maximum, whichever is less,” the terms further state in Section 4(g).
These new terms come at a conflicting time for countries like Kenya where a new regime by recently-elected president, William Ruto, has promised to quash the blacklisting of defaulters on CRBs.
