Terms of Service

1. Introduction & parties

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a legally binding agreement between you ("you", "Merchant", "Customer") and Paytab Ltd, a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 15234567, with its registered office at 1 Finsbury Avenue, London EC2M 2PP ("Paytab", "we", "us", "our"). Paytab is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") as an Authorised Payment Institution under firm reference number 987654 and is entered on the FCA's Financial Services Register.

These Terms govern your access to and use of the paytab.co.uk website, the Paytab merchant dashboard, the Paytab REST APIs, SDKs, hosted checkout, payment links, invoicing, terminal, payouts, subscriptions and any other product, feature or service made available by Paytab (together, the "Service"). By creating an account, calling our APIs, integrating our SDKs, submitting a payment to us for processing or otherwise using the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Acceptable Use Policy and any product-specific terms referenced within.

If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of an entity, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that entity, and "you" refers to that entity. If you do not have such authority, or if you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you must not use the Service.

2. Definitions

• "Applicable Law" means all statutes, regulations, rules and binding guidance applicable to a party, including the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs), the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the rules of the Card Schemes.
• "Card Schemes" means Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, UnionPay and any other card network Paytab connects to from time to time.
• "End Customer" means a natural or legal person that pays you through the Service.
• "Payment Method" means a card, wallet, bank account, buy-now-pay-later product or other funding source enabled on your account.
• "Payout" means the transfer of settled funds from your Paytab balance to your nominated bank account.
• "Reserve" means an amount held back from your balance in accordance with clause 12.
• "Sensitive Authentication Data" has the meaning given in PCI DSS v4.0.
• "Working Day" means Monday–Friday excluding English bank holidays.

3. Eligibility & account opening

To open a live Paytab account you must be (a) at least 18 years old, (b) legally able to enter into contracts, and (c) either a UK-registered company, a UK-registered limited liability partnership, a UK-registered sole trader with a HMRC UTR, a UK-registered charity, or an EEA-registered entity accepted on a case-by-case basis. Test-mode accounts have no such restriction but may not be used to process live payments.

We may decline to open, or may close, an account for any reason permitted by law, including where onboarding checks are inconclusive, where your business falls within our prohibited categories, or where required by a regulator, Card Scheme or acquiring bank. We may request further information at any point during your account life-cycle.

4. Your account & credentials

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, including activity by your team members, integrations, and API keys. You must (a) keep your login credentials, secret API keys and webhook signing secrets confidential, (b) enable two-factor authentication on any user with access to live keys or payout controls, (c) rotate compromised credentials immediately, and (d) notify us without undue delay at security@paytab.co.uk if you suspect any unauthorised access.

You must maintain up-to-date contact details, including a monitored email address for security notices and a nominated compliance contact. We may rely on instructions given by anyone appearing to be authorised to act on your behalf.

5. KYC, KYB and safeguarding

As an Authorised Payment Institution we are required to identify and verify the businesses we onboard, their beneficial owners, directors and, in certain cases, their end customers. You agree to provide truthful, accurate and up-to-date information and documentation on request, including proof of identity, proof of address, proof of business, source of funds and source of wealth documentation.

Funds we receive on your behalf are held in segregated safeguarding accounts with credit institutions authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, in accordance with regulation 23 of the PSRs. Safeguarded funds are not the property of Paytab, do not form part of our estate in the event of insolvency, and are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

6. Payment services & scope

Subject to these Terms, Paytab will (a) enable you to accept payments from End Customers using the Payment Methods you have enabled, (b) process authorisation, capture, refund and void requests you submit through the Service, (c) settle successful payments to your Paytab balance net of fees and applicable holds, and (d) initiate Payouts to your nominated bank account on the schedule set out in your dashboard.

Paytab acts as your payment services provider. Paytab does not sell, deliver, warrant or otherwise assume responsibility for the goods or services you sell to End Customers. You remain the merchant of record for each sale and are solely responsible for the underlying customer relationship, fulfilment, product safety and consumer-law compliance.

7. Acceptable use

You must not use the Service to (a) process transactions that are illegal in your or the End Customer's jurisdiction, (b) circumvent, disable or interfere with security-related features, (c) transmit malware, (d) reverse-engineer the Service, (e) scrape or bulk-download data other than through documented APIs, (f) send unsolicited marketing communications in breach of PECR, or (g) impersonate another person or entity. Our full Acceptable Use Policy is incorporated by reference.

8. Prohibited & restricted businesses

The Service may not be used for the following categories without our prior written consent: unlicensed financial services, unregulated crypto-asset exchanges, adult content, unlicensed gambling, drug paraphernalia, weapons and munitions, tobacco and vaping to consumers, pyramid or multi-level marketing schemes, high-yield investment programs, essay-writing services, unregistered charities, and any activity subject to UK, EU, UN, US OFAC or UN Security Council sanctions.

Some categories are permitted only on a "restricted" basis with additional monitoring, higher reserves or bespoke pricing — including travel with delivery windows over 90 days, digital marketplaces, event ticketing, subscription boxes with free trials, and CBD products lawful in the UK. Contact underwriting@paytab.co.uk before onboarding a restricted business.

9. Fees, invoicing & taxes

Fees are set out on our Pricing page or in a written order form signed between us. Standard fees are deducted from each settlement in real time. Recurring platform fees, terminal rental and value-added services are invoiced monthly in arrears and settled by direct debit or deduction from your Paytab balance on the 7th of the following month.

All fees are exclusive of VAT and any equivalent sales taxes, which will be added at the applicable rate. You are responsible for all taxes arising from your sales to End Customers, including income tax, corporation tax, VAT, digital services taxes, and withholding taxes, and for the accurate configuration of tax collection in your integration.

Any fee not paid when due may accrue interest at 4% above the Bank of England base rate, calculated daily, in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

10. Settlement, payouts & currency

Settled funds appear in your available balance once the underlying payment has cleared, typically T+2 for card payments and T+0 for Faster Payments. Payouts are initiated on your chosen schedule (daily, weekly or monthly) and are typically credited to your bank account within one Working Day.

Where you accept payments in a currency other than your Payout currency, we convert at our published FX rate at the time of settlement, which includes a foreign-exchange spread disclosed on your Pricing page. You accept the FX rate applied at the time of each conversion.

We may delay, reverse or reduce a Payout to correct an error, satisfy a chargeback or refund, comply with an order of a court or regulator, or where we reasonably suspect fraud or a breach of these Terms.

11. Refunds, disputes & chargebacks

You are responsible for issuing refunds through the Service and for responding to disputes and chargebacks within the deadlines set by the Card Schemes. Where a chargeback is raised, we debit the disputed amount plus a per-chargeback fee (set out on the Pricing page) from your balance pending resolution. If the dispute is decided in your favour, the disputed amount and chargeback fee are re-credited.

Where your chargeback ratio exceeds the thresholds set by any Card Scheme (typically 0.9% of transaction count or 1.0% of transaction value in a month), you may be enrolled in Card Scheme monitoring programs and subject to additional fees and monitoring imposed by the Card Scheme, which we will pass through to you at cost plus a reasonable administrative charge.

12. Reserves & rolling holds

We may hold a Reserve where our risk analysis indicates elevated exposure — for example, high-ticket pre-orders, long delivery windows, unusual chargeback velocity, sudden growth in processing volume, seasonal concentration, or negative news relating to your business. Reserve terms will be notified to you in writing and may take the form of a fixed amount, a rolling percentage or a minimum floor balance. Reserves are held in safeguarded accounts and released in accordance with the terms notified to you.

13. Fraud, risk & sanctions

Every payment processed through Paytab is screened by our fraud and financial-crime systems. We may decline, delay or reverse any transaction where we reasonably suspect fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, or a breach of Card Scheme rules. You agree to cooperate with any related investigation and to provide information promptly on request.

We conduct sanctions screening against UK OFSI, EU, UN and US OFAC lists at onboarding and on an ongoing basis. Where a positive match is confirmed, we will freeze the affected funds, notify the relevant authorities, and act in accordance with Applicable Law — which may prevent us from telling you the reason for any action taken.

14. Data protection & confidentiality

Our processing of personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy. Where you are the controller of personal data that Paytab processes on your behalf as processor (for example, End Customer contact data submitted to your hosted checkout), the terms of our Data Processing Addendum ("DPA") apply and are incorporated by reference. Paytab acts as an independent controller for anti-fraud, financial-crime and regulatory purposes.

Each party will keep confidential all non-public information disclosed by the other party and use it only to perform its obligations under these Terms. This clause survives termination for three years, except for trade secrets which remain confidential for as long as they retain that status.

15. Service availability & SLA

Paytab targets 99.99% monthly availability of the payment authorisation API on the Standard plan and 99.999% on the Growth and Enterprise plans, measured excluding scheduled maintenance and force-majeure events. Where we fall below the applicable target we will credit your account in accordance with our SLA, on request within 30 days of the affected month.

16. Third-party services & APIs

The Service integrates with third-party providers including Card Schemes, acquiring banks, KYC vendors, cloud hosting providers and analytics vendors. Paytab is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, content, policies or practices of any third-party service, and your use of any third-party service is governed by that provider's terms.

17. Intellectual property

Paytab, our licensors and our sub-processors retain all right, title and interest in and to the Service, including all software, APIs, documentation, dashboards, trade marks, logos and materials made available through the Service. You retain all right, title and interest in and to your data. You grant Paytab a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, process, transmit and display your data solely to the extent necessary to provide the Service and to comply with Applicable Law. Aggregated and de-identified data derived from platform-wide usage may be used by Paytab to improve the Service and produce industry benchmarks.

18. Warranties & disclaimers

Each party warrants that it has the authority to enter into these Terms and will perform its obligations with reasonable skill and care. Except as expressly set out in these Terms, and to the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Service is provided "as is" and Paytab excludes all conditions, warranties and terms implied by statute, common law or otherwise, including any implied warranty of satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose or non-infringement.

19. Indemnification

You will indemnify and hold Paytab, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents harmless from and against any third-party claim, loss, damage, liability, penalty, fine or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or in connection with (a) your breach of these Terms or Applicable Law, (b) the sale of goods or services to End Customers, (c) fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence by you or your personnel, (d) chargebacks, refunds and reversals attributable to your account, or (e) any dispute between you and an End Customer.

20. Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits either party's liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Subject to the paragraph above, Paytab's total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), for breach of statutory duty or otherwise, is limited to the greater of (a) the fees paid by you to Paytab in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, and (b) £10,000.

In no event will either party be liable for loss of profits, loss of business, loss of anticipated savings, loss of goodwill, loss of opportunity, or any indirect, special or consequential loss, however arising.

21. Suspension & termination

Either party may terminate these Terms for convenience on 30 days' written notice. We may suspend or terminate your account, in whole or in part, with immediate effect where (a) you materially breach these Terms and do not cure the breach within 15 days of written notice, (b) you become insolvent, enter administration, or cease trading, (c) required by a regulator, Card Scheme or acquiring bank, (d) we reasonably suspect fraud, money laundering or other financial crime, or (e) required by Applicable Law.

On termination, we will initiate a final Payout of your available balance, less any Reserve, chargeback exposure or fees due, in accordance with our standard payout schedule. Where a Reserve is retained, it will be released once we are reasonably satisfied that no further liability remains, typically 180 days after termination.

22. Dormant accounts & unclaimed funds

An account is treated as dormant where there has been no successful payment, dashboard login or payout for 24 consecutive months. Balances on dormant accounts are subject to a monthly maintenance fee disclosed on our Pricing page. Where an account remains dormant for six years and we are unable to contact you at the details on file, remaining balances may be treated as unclaimed and dealt with in accordance with Applicable Law.

23. Changes to these terms

We may amend these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email and in the dashboard at least 30 days before they take effect, or such longer period as required by the PSRs. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree with the changes, you may terminate under clause 21 before they take effect.

24. Complaints & regulatory rights

If you have a complaint, please contact complaints@paytab.co.uk. We will acknowledge within one Working Day and provide a final response within 15 Working Days, or 35 Working Days in exceptional circumstances. If you remain dissatisfied and are an eligible complainant, you may refer your complaint free of charge to the Financial Ombudsman Service at financial-ombudsman.org.uk within six months of our final response.

25. Governing law & jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

26. Notices & contact

Legal notices to Paytab must be sent to legal@paytab.co.uk and, by post, to our registered office marked for the attention of the General Counsel. We will send notices to you at the email address on file. Notices are deemed given on delivery.

General queries: hello@paytab.co.uk · Security: security@paytab.co.uk · Data protection: dpo@paytab.co.uk · Underwriting: underwriting@paytab.co.uk.