Equals – Terms and Conditions for UK Retail Clients

EQUALS MONEY GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS – RETAIL (UK)

Under an agreement with Hedge PRO, (“Programme Partner”) We provide You with access to card and payment services. The Programme Partner acts as a programme partner and is not a regulated financial services provider. You may have a separate agreement with the Programme Partner that governs your relationship with them. We are not a party to that agreement and are not responsible for its terms or performance.

1.             These Terms

• These Equals Money General Terms and Conditions (the “Terms“) form a legal agreement between Equals Money PLC, Equals Money UK Limited, and Equals Money International Limited (together, “Equals Money“, “us” or “we“); and you or the entity you represent (“you” or “your“), for the purpose of providing you with our Services.
• These Terms apply from the date you first access or use the Services (the “Commencement Date“) and govern your use of the Services.
• By you using the Services, you confirm that you accept and agree to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Services.
• The provider of the Services under these Terms shall be Equals Money PLC, Equals Money UK Limited and/or Equals Money International Limited (as notified to you from time to time).
• We may subcontract our obligations under these Terms to third parties as permitted under Applicable Laws.
• You should download a copy of these Terms for future reference. You can always download a copy of the most current version of these Terms from our website. You can also request a copy of these Terms from us at any time.

2.             Definitions

• Capitalised terms that are not otherwise defined in these Terms have the meanings given below unless the context otherwise requires.

• Unless the context otherwise requires, use of the singular includes the plural and vice versa.
• A reference to a statute or statutory provision is a reference to it as amended, extended or re-enacted from time to time.
• References to you or Equals Money will include any successors, permitted assignees or transferees unless stated otherwise.

3.             Use of the Services and Regulatory Information

• Equals Money will provide the Services in accordance with these Terms.
• The provider of the Payment Account and related payment services in accordance with these Terms shall be Equals Money PLC, Equals Money UK Limited and/or Equals Money International Limited (as notified to you from time to time).
  • Equals Money PLC is a public limited company registered in England & Wales under company number 05539698, and whose registered office address is at 3rd Floor, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London, EC4V 3BJ. Equals Money PLC is authorised as a payment institution by the Financial Conduct Authority under the PSRs (firm reference number 488396).
  • Equals Money UK Limited is a private limited company registered in England & Wales under company number 06268340, and whose registered office address is at 3rd Floor, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London, EC4V 3BJ. Equals Money UK Limited is authorised as a payment institution by the Financial Conduct Authority under the PSRs (firm reference number 504547).
  • Equals Money International Limited is a private limited company registered in England & Wales under company number 09558664, and whose registered office address is at 3rd Floor, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London, EC4V 3BJ. Equals Money International Limited is authorised as an electronic money institution by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (firm reference number 900493) for the provision of payment services and issuance of electronic money.
• Subject to Section 3.4 of these Terms, you may use the Services and any relevant Additional Services from the Commencement Date.
• You may not use the Services unless and until you have provided us with any DD Information we have requested in accordance with Section 6 of these Terms.

4.             Additional Services

• If you have been approved to receive any of the following additional services (“Additional Services“), the applicable Service Schedule shall apply in addition to these Terms:
  • the “Card Service” – the issuance of Cards and related payment services in accordance with the Card Service Terms; and
  • the “FX Service” – the provision of spot FX transactions and FX forward transactions in accordance with the FX Service Terms.

5.             Service Schedules and Order of Precedence

• The Service Schedules set out additional terms that apply to particular Additional Services. If these Terms conflict with any provision of a Service Schedule, the provision of the Service Schedule shall prevail, but only in relation to the particular Service to which that Service Schedule applies. Otherwise, these Terms shall prevail.

6.             Due Diligence Information

• You shall provide us with any information “DD Information” we request from time to time for the purposes of conducting customer due diligence checks and/or ongoing monitoring as required under Applicable Laws. This will include, but is not limited to, any information we require to verify your identity and source of funds in accordance with AML Laws and any Personal Data you provide as part of this process shall be held in accordance with Applicable Laws.
• You shall notify us of any changes to DD Information as soon as reasonably practicable.
• You agree that we may provide DD Information to Networks or other third parties for the purposes of complying with Network Rules or Applicable Laws.
• You agree that your failure to comply with this Section 6 will be a material breach of these Terms and we shall have the right to terminate these Terms.

7.             Our obligations

We shall provide the Services and the Additional Services in accordance with these Terms and the terms of any applicable Service Schedule, Applicable Laws and the Network Rules.

8.             Your obligations

• You shall at all times comply with:
  • these Terms and the terms of any applicable Service Schedule;
  • Applicable Laws; and
  • the Network Rules.
• You shall pay the Fees and Charges when they become due.
• You acknowledge and agree that if you do not do so, this shall be a material breach of these Terms and we shall have the right to terminate these Terms.

9.             Fees and Charges

• The Fees and Charges applicable to the Services are set out in Annex A of these Terms.
• We may refuse to process your transaction(s) or provide any other Services to you until we have received the Fees and Charges from you (or any other amount due and payable to us).
• You agree that we are authorised to deduct our Fees and Charges, any applicable Reversal amounts, or any amounts you owe us from your Payment Account. If you do not have sufficient funds in your Payment Account to cover these amounts, we may refuse to execute pending or future transactions or provide any Services to you and we may deduct funds sent to us for Services in the future.
• We may, in our absolute discretion, waive, amend or increase our fees or introduce new fees from time to time (“Fee Changes“). Where we do so, we will notify you two (2) months before the Fees Changes become effective.

10.          Authorised Users

• You may appoint authorised users (each an “Authorised User“) to use and access information about the Services under these Terms on your behalf.
• You must notify us of each Authorised User by taking the relevant steps as shown on the Equals Money Platform.
• You must inform us promptly if any detail previously provided about an Authorised User changes or is incorrect.
• You shall ensure that your Authorised Users comply with these Terms and the terms of any applicable Service Schedule, and you shall be responsible for any acts or omissions of your Authorised Users.
• You agree that your Authorised Users may give instructions to us in relation to the Services on your behalf and that we may rely on instructions given by Authorised Users unless and until you notify us in writing that such Authorised User is no longer authorised to do so.

11.          Your Payment Account

• Opening a Payment Account. You may request a Payment Account by either following the steps set out on the Equals Money Platform or on the Programme Partner Platform as applicable.
• We may refuse to open a Payment Account for you or close, suspend or otherwise limit your access to your Payment Account if we are unable to verify, or you fail to provide, any information we have requested in accordance with the Terms, or the information you have provided is not correct, or we are required to do so by Applicable Laws or Regulatory Authority.
• Your Payment Account allows you to:
  • hold funds;
  • spend, transfer, and receive funds; and
  • convert funds from one Supported Currency to another Supported Currency.
• You acknowledge and agree that:
  • you shall not earn any interest on the funds you hold in your Payment Account;
  • you shall only hold funds in Supported Currencies;
  • you shall only hold funds that belong to you in your Payment Account; and
  • you shall not place a charge or any other form of security over funds held in your Payment Account.
• Account Details. We will provide you with details (“Account Details“) via the Equals Money Platform that allow you or a third party to send funds to your Payment Account.
• Suspension of your Payment Account. We may suspend your Payment Account or otherwise restrict its functionality if we are required to do so by Applicable Laws, Regulatory Authority, our commercial partners or our service providers including, but not limited to, payments or banking services providers, or we reasonably suspect:
  • the security of your Payment Account has, or is likely to be, compromised;
  • fraudulent or unauthorised use of your Payment Account; or
  • you have breached these Terms.
• We will notify you if we take any action under Section 11.6 unless we are prevented from doing so under Applicable Laws or to do so would compromise our security measures.

12.          Adding money to your Payment Account

• You may add funds to your Payment Account with a Funding Method by following the relevant instructions on the Equals Money Platform Programme or the Programme Partner Platform as applicable.
• You are responsible for any fees or charges charged by a third party in relation to your use of a Funding Method to add funds to your Payment Account. We will only credit the amount we receive from a Funding Method to your Payment Account.
• We may place limits on the amount of funds you can hold in your Payment Account or the amount that may be added with a particular Funding Method from time to time.
• We will generally credit funds to your Payment Account when we receive them. The provider of your Funding Method is responsible for transferring funds to us.
• We may refuse to credit or delay the crediting of funds to your Payment Account in accordance with Applicable Laws.
• We may occasionally credit funds to your Payment Account before we receive funds, but we have no obligation to do so.
• If we have credited funds to your Payment Account in accordance with Section 12.6 and we do not receive the funds, we may debit this amount from your Payment Account.
• If we debit your Payment Account in accordance with Section 12.7 and this results in a negative balance on your Payment Account, you agree that such amount as is required to return your Payment Account to a positive or zero balance shall be recoverable by us as a debt and such debt shall be immediately due and payable by you to us.
• Where permitted under Applicable Laws, you agree that we may charge you a fee of GBP 30 if we need to investigate or take other actions in relation to a Reversal.

13.          Payments

• Payment Requests. You may instruct us to make a payment (a “Payment Request“) by following the relevant instructions and providing the requested information as prompted in the Equals Money Platform or in the Programme Partner Platform.
• If you submit a Payment Request after 5pm on a Business Day or on a day that is not a Business Day (e.g., a weekend or bank holiday), your Payment Request will be deemed to be received on the next Business Day.
• Payment Requests for payments that are to be executed at a future date will be deemed to be received on the date on which you request the payment to be made.
• We may decline a Payment Request for any reason in accordance with Applicable Laws. We may provide our reason for declining a Payment Request unless we are prevented from doing so under Applicable Laws.
• We may delay the execution of a payment in accordance with Applicable Laws if, without limitation, we need to confirm that the payment has been authorised by you or we require further information from you.
• Execution of Payments. Once we have received your Payment Request, we will start to execute your payment immediately in accordance with the relevant Payment Request.
• You will only be able to cancel or change a Payment Request where we are informed of the proposed cancellation or change before the end of the Business Day preceding the day of the proposed transaction.
• We will only execute payments if you have sufficient funds in your Payment Account for the amount of the payment and any Fees and Charges or any other fees, charges or other amounts that you owe us under these Terms.
• We may place limits on the types, value and number of payments you can make from time to time.
• Completion of Payments. We shall provide the estimated completion time of payments when you make a Payment Request in accordance with Section 13.1.
• We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that your payment is received by the payee within the timeframe notified to you. However, you acknowledge and agree that we cannot control how long it takes for the payee’s payment provider to credit or otherwise make available funds to the payee.
• For the following types of payments:
  • domestic payments in GBP; and
  • SEPA payments in EUR (including those in respect of which we carry out an FX Conversion between GBP and EUR in accordance with the FX Service Terms),

we shall credit the amount of the payment to the payee’s payment service provider by the end of the Business Day after the day of the Payment Request.

• Payments in other currencies could take up to three (3) Business Days for your payment to be credited to the payee’s payment service provider.

14.          Currency Conversions

If you wish to fund a payment in a different Supported Currency to the Supported Currency in which the payment will be made, we will perform the currency conversion for you in accordance with the FX Service Terms.

15.          Finality of Payments

When you make a payment, the settlement and payout to the payee are final and irrevocable unless otherwise provided for in these Terms or as provided for under Applicable Laws.

16.          Information on Payments

Records of your transactions will be available in the Equals Money Platform or in the Programme Partner Platform as applicable. You should check your records regularly and notify us immediately (and in any event no later than thirteen (13) months) to report any: (i) suspected or actual unauthorised payment; (ii) incorrectly initiated or executed payments such as those having not been executed, or having been executed late, or where the amount of the payment or the payee is incorrect; (iii) concerns about certain charges and interest you are liable to pay as a result of such transactions; or (iv) other security concerns regarding the Equals Money Platform or the Programme Partner Platform as applicable.

17.          Unauthorised Payments

• Subject to other provisions of this Section 17, if we become aware of an unauthorised payment, we will refund you as soon as practicable and, except as otherwise permitted by the PSRs, no later than the Business Day after we become aware of the unauthorised payment, and restore you to the position you would have been in if the unauthorised payment had not taken place.
• We will have no liability for losses you incur arising from an unauthorised payment which you do not notify us of within thirteen (13) months of the date of the Payment.
• You will be liable for any losses arising out of an unauthorised payment if:
  • we have reasonable grounds to suspect fraudulent behaviour by either you or your Authorised Users; or
  • where you or your Authorised Users have with intent or gross negligence failed to notify us of:
    • the loss, theft, or misappropriation of your Card or Security Credentials; or
    • the unauthorised payment(s).
  • Notwithstanding Section 17.1 of these Terms, you shall be liable for up to GBP 35 (or any other such amount permitted under Applicable Laws) for any losses incurred by you or an Authorised User in respect of unauthorised payments arising from the use of a lost or stolen Card or Security Credentials save that we will not hold you liable for such an amount if the unauthorised payment was caused either by our acts or omissions, or those of a third party expressly carrying out activities on our behalf.
  • Where we provide you with information regarding potential fraud in relation to the Services, we may incorporate your response (or lack thereof) into our assessment of whether there has been fraudulent behaviour in relation to your Payment Account or Authorised Users.
  • If you have given us incorrect instructions in relation to a payment, we may reasonably assist you to recover the funds, where possible, but do not guarantee that this would be successful.
  • Where we do refund you for an unauthorised payment, we will credit value date your Payment Account no later than the date on which the amount of the unauthorised payment was debited.

18.          Authorised Push Payment Scams

• You may be eligible for reimbursement in the event of an Authorised Push Payment scam (“APP Scam“). An APP Scam refers to a payment you make from your Payment Account to another UK account through Faster Payments or CHAPS where:
  • you have been tricked, manipulated or deceived into making the payment;
  • the payee is not the person you intended to pay or the payment is not for the purpose you intended; and
  • the payment was made on or after 7 October 2024.
• You will not be eligible for reimbursement where:
  • the payment was made using your Card;
  • the payment was made to another account you or your Authorised User controls;
  • the payment was made for illegal purposes;
  • the payment was made to an account with a national savings bank, credit union or municipal bank in the UK; or
  • the payment related to a civil dispute (e.g., where you paid a legitimate supplier but were dissatisfied with the quality of the goods or services).
• You should report any suspected APP Scams to us and the police as soon as possible (and at least within thirteen (13) months of the payment). You can report multiple transactions related to the same APP Scam in one claim. We may ask for your permission to report the APP Scam to the police on your behalf. If you do not give permission, it could affect your reimbursement eligibility.
• We will only reimburse eligible transactions from your claim. When your claim is closed, we will inform you of the transactions we can reimburse and any that are ineligible. The maximum amount we can reimburse you for an APP Scam claim is up to the value and excess as set by Applicable Laws.
• Your claim in relation to an APP Scam may be rejected where:
  • the transaction does not meet eligibility criteria;
  • you acted with gross negligence, provided false information or participated in the APP Scam; and/or
  • you did not report the APP Scam within thirteen (13) months of the transaction.
• We may also reject an APP Scam claim if you have ignored a warning from us, the police or another authority that you might be the victim of an APP Scam or you have not provided us with any information we have requested to help us investigate your claim.
• Where we reject a claim in relation to an APP Scam, we will explain the reasons for doing so save where we are prohibited from doing so under Applicable Laws.
• If we accept your claim in relation to an APP Scam, we will refund you within five (5) Business Days. If we need more information, this could take up to thirty five (35) Business Days.

19.          How your money is protected

• Equals Money is not a bank and your Payment Account is not a bank account.
• For operational reasons, when you make a Card Transaction, Equals Money International Limited will issue you with an amount of e-money equal to the amount of the Card Transaction and such e-money shall immediately be applied to the relevant Card Transaction.
• Funds held in your Payment Account (and any e-money issued for the purposes of a Card Transaction) are not insured by any deposit protection scheme, including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS“).
• We safeguard funds held in your Payment Account in accordance with the PSRs.

20.          Closing your Payment Account

• You may close your Payment Account by taking the steps set out on the Equals Money Platform or on the Programme Partner Platform as applicable.
• We may not allow you to close your Payment Account if you have a negative balance, pending payment, an open dispute or claim in relation to a payment, or where required by Applicable Laws or a Regulatory Authority.

21.          Changes to these Terms

• We may change these Terms (including the Fees and Charges) by giving you two (2) months’ prior written notice. We will consider that you have accepted the proposed changes if you do not terminate these terms by giving us written notice during the relevant notice period.
• We may also make some changes immediately, without prior notice, if those changes:
  • are favourable to you;
  • are required by Applicable Laws or we are requested to do so by a Regulatory Authority; or
  • relate to the addition of a new service or extra functionality of our Services or Additional Services and do not affect terms relating to the existing Services or Additional Services.
• You should stop using our Services if you do not agree to these changes. If you keep using our Services after we have announced such a change, we will treat you as having accepted the change.

22.          Safety and security measures

• You must not allow any person other than your Authorised Users to access the Services or the Equals Money Platform or the Programme Partner Platform as applicable.
• You must not disclose your Security Credentials to anyone other than Authorised Users and shall make reasonable efforts to protect the security of your Security Credentials.
• Any Security Credentials that you create must not use identifiable numbers, words or phrases that could be easily guessed by someone else.
• If you suspect that someone else has access to or knows your Security Credentials, you must notify us of this immediately.

23.          Tax

• Fees and Charges are exclusive of all Taxes (save where expressly stated otherwise). If any supply made by us of the Services is subject to VAT, you must pay in addition to any Fees, Charges or other consideration for the supply, an amount equal to the VAT payable.
• You are solely responsible for determining which, if any, Taxes apply to the payments you make or receive in connection with your use of the Services and it is your responsibility to collect, report and pay any such Taxes due.
• If we are required by Applicable Laws to collect or withhold any Taxes, we may deduct those Taxes from amounts otherwise owed to you and pay those Taxes to the appropriate authority.

24.          Data protection

• By accepting these Terms, you hereby consent to us accessing, processing, and/or retaining any Personal Data necessary to provide Services, whether in relation to you or your Authorised Users.
• Any Personal Data you provide to us in connection with these Terms shall be held in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Please review our Privacy Policy for more information on how we use and protect your Personal Data and privacy rights.

25.          Intellectual property

• Nothing in these Terms shall cause the ownership of any or our Intellectual Property to be transferred to you.
• We and/or our licensors shall, remain the owner of all Intellectual Property in our brands, trade marks and logos, product(s) and the Services. Except as expressly permitted by these Terms you may not use our Intellectual Property without our prior written consent.
• Subject to the provisions of these Terms, you are granted a non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to access and use the Services. Except as expressly set out in these Terms all rights in and to the Services are reserved to us.

26.          Termination and suspension of these Terms

• We may terminate these Terms at any time by giving you ninety (90) days’ notice.
• We may without notice suspend or terminate any part or all of these Terms or any Service Schedule or any of the Services or Additional Services or block payments if:
  • we suspect criminal activity on your Payment Account or fraudulent use of the Services;
  • we reasonably believe you have fraudulently requested a refund of an unauthorised payment;
  • we reasonably believe you have breached Applicable Laws or Network Rules;
  • you have materially breached these Terms or any Service Schedule;
  • you have provided false or inaccurate information, or we have been able to verify any information you have provided;
  • we are unable to obtain satisfactory DD Information on you (or, where applicable) your beneficial owners;
  • you are Insolvent; or
  • we are required to do so by a Regulatory Authority or Network or are otherwise required to do so under Applicable Laws.
• For the avoidance of doubt, the termination of these Terms will automatically result in the termination of any Service Schedule.

27. How to contact us
    • You can write to us at Equals Money, 3rd Floor, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London, EC4V 3BJ.
    • Alternatively, you may call or email us using the details below:
      • General enquiries: Email – solutions@equalsmoney.com / Tel: +44 (0)20 7778 9302
      • Legal enquiries: Email – legal@equalsmoney.com
    • We will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide you with regular customer support in the English language.
28. Complaints
    • If you feel we have not met your expectations and would like to make a complaint, please get in touch and we will investigate your concerns.
    • Our contact details are as follows:
      • Tel: +44 (0)20 3977 1335
      • Email: complaints@equalsmoney.com
    • If you are not happy with how we have resolved your complaint, you may forward your complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman (“FOS“) by:
      • Tel: +44 300 123 9 123 or +44 800 023 4567 from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and from 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
      • Email: info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
      • Online: https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help
    • If your complaint concerns payment services, you can also complain to the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates financial firms in the UK to ensure that they operate in a fair and transparent manner.

29.          Governing law

• These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
• You irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts over any dispute, controversy or claim (including non-contractual claims) arising under or in connection with these Terms.

ANNEX A
Fees and Charges

• No Separate Fees: Hedge PRO does not charge standalone fees for the Services. All applicable fees are incorporated into the exchange rate applied to foreign exchange transactions. There are also no fees on any incoming payments.
• Same Currency Payments: Where a payment is made to an external beneficiary in the same currency and no foreign exchange is performed, a fee of £10 per transaction will apply. 
• Disclosure: The applicable exchange rate (including any embedded margin) and any fees will be disclosed to you at the point of transaction via the online platform, an email or a recorded office phone line depending on the mode in which a transaction is booked.