Terms of agreement

 

 

1. Introduction

The following document applies to Payester’s transaction platform (www.payester.com) (“The Platform”).

The following document applies to Payester’s transaction platform (www.payester.com) (“The Platform”). The Platform is owned and operated by Raceout Technology Ltd (“Raceout”) a Private Limited Company incorporated in Nigeria with Company’s Registration Number of 1496651.

Raceout grants you a non-exclusive licence to access the Platform and use the Services (defined below) subject to these terms and conditions (“Terms”).

In these Terms, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Payester and references to “you” and “your” is to you, the user of the Platform and our customer (“Customer”). By accessing and using the Platform and Services you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree with these Terms, you must immediately stop using the Platform. You agree that we may change, update or otherwise amend the Platform, the Services and these Terms at our absolute discretion, subject to paragraph 13.4.

“Payester Account”

The registered profile of a Customer. “The Payester Hold” refers to Payester's Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) Platform Account, which is the client monies account with Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave), which monies are transferred to via Payester during the process of a transaction. The Payester Hold is a safeguarded Hold Account. This Hold Account is statutorily protected so that the funds are held safely for Customers even in the event of our insolvency.

“Account”

(i) a payment account or payment instrument of a Buyer held with or issued by a third-party payment service provider (e.g. Buyer’s bank account or credit/debit card) from which funds are transferred to the Payester Hold; (ii) a payment account of a Seller held with or issued by a third-party payment service provider (e.g. Seller’s bank account or credit/debit card account) to which funds are transferred from the Payester Hold on completion of a Transaction.

“Business Day”

Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

“Payment”

The transfer of Funds by Payester from the Buyer to the Seller to satisfy the payment of the relevant Transaction.

“Funds”

The funds transferred to the Payester Hold under a specific Transaction ID pursuant to these Terms and for the purpose of effecting the payment of the Transaction between Buyer and Seller.

“Transaction ID”

The unique identifier associated to a particular Payment Transaction identifying the funds transferred to the Payester Hold on behalf of a specific Buyer and Seller.

“Prohibited Transactions”

Customers may not use the Platform or the Services in connection with any Transaction that is illegal or involves any illegal items, or is for any illegal purpose; involves any obscene or pornographic material; involves any munitions or firearm; involves pirated software, DVD or videos or item(s) otherwise infringing copyrighted works; involves illegal drugs or controlled substances; sale of alcohol to consumers; gambling and sale of electronic currencies.

“Security Details”

The personal username or password associated to your Payester Account.

“Seller”

Has the meaning as set out in paragraph 5.1(a) of these Terms.

“Services”

The transaction management and escrow-like services provided in relation to the Payester Hold and through the Platform.

“Buyer”

Has the meaning as set out in paragraph 5.1(a) of these Terms.

“Writing”

Includes emails. When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these terms, this includes emails.

“Transaction”

The sale of goods or services by the Seller to the Buyer.

2. Conditions of Use

You accept and acknowledge the following conditions to access and use of the Platform and any Services:

You are over the age of 18;

You only use the Platform and Services for lawful purposes and not for Prohibited Transactions; and you represent that you have the capacity to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction;

You have the authority to bind any business on behalf of which you use our Platform;

You register a Payester Account;

You have the necessary equipment and access to the internet;

You must provide us with accurate personal and contact information and not share your personal information with other Customers;

You will only represent yourself and will not create false aliases or impersonate any other person or entity (with or without their consent) in connection with the Platform;

You are not breaking any local, state, national or international law in your relevant jurisdiction by accessing or using this Platform or the Services.

3. Registration & Accounts

You accept and acknowledge the following conditions to access and use of the Platform and any Services:

To access the services, you will need to register a Payester Account by providing the information requested on the Platform (including full name, email address and other important information) and creating a password.

You consent to the use of this information to create your Payester Account in accordance with our Privacy Policy and acknowledge that we rely on the information provided by you during the registration process being true, accurate, current and complete.

You agree to provide all information and documents we need from time to time so we can verify your identity and/or your bank account and so we may comply with our legal obligations to combat financial crime, including money laundering and fraud. We may use third-party data services that specialize in customer due diligence services to verify your identity. You also authorize us to hold your information, including your browsing and activity history, so we may perform ongoing monitoring of the Services and your behaviours when using Payester to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

If we are unsuccessful in receiving satisfactory information for us to verify your identity at the point of registration, we reserve the right to refuse to register your Payester Account and prevent you from gaining access to the services. We may also have obligations to report such activity to governmental agencies and we do not require your consent to do so.

If you are provided with a username and password to access the Platform, it is your responsibility to keep your username and password secure (Security Details). You indemnify us for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of your fraudulent use of your Payester Account including you knowingly sharing your Security Details with a third party for the purposes of fraud. You must take all reasonable steps to avoid the loss, theft or misuse of the Security Details.

You warrant and represent that any information provided to us is accurate, complete and not misleading and remains so. You must notify us of any change to such information.

We may suspend your use of the Services if:

  1. We have reasonable concerns about the security of the Payester Account;
  2. We are unable to confirm your identity or there is a potential risk of financial crime as part of our ongoing monitoring process;
  3. We suspect the Services are being used in a fraudulent or unauthorised manner, or
  4. We need to deal with technical problems or make minor technical changes.

We will notify you of any such suspension in advance, or immediately after if this is not possible, unless we have detected a problem which is urgent or an emergency. We will provide you with the reasons for the suspension, unless to do so would compromise reasonable security measures or otherwise be unlawful. We will lift the suspension and, where appropriate, issue new Security Details free of charge as soon as practicable once the reasons for the suspension cease to exist.

We cannot be held liable for any delay to the Services if we require to make an urgent change or deal with an emergency that may affect the security of our Platform, although we will at all times comply with our regulatory obligations to complete a Payment Transaction.

We may change the Platform on regular intervals to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements, to implement minor technical adjustments and improvements, for example to address a security threat or otherwise to enhance the Services we provide through the Platform. These changes should not affect your access to or use of the Platform or Services. If we make more significant changes to the Platform or the Services, we will use our reasonable endeavours to inform you by email or by posting information on our website and may make changes to these terms to reflect such changes.

4. Other Service Providers

Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave)

Payment processing services for sellers on Payester are provided by Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) and are subject to the Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) Terms of Service (collectively, the “Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) Services Agreement”). By agreeing to these terms or continuing to operate as a buyer or seller on Payester you agree to be bound by the Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) Services Agreement, as the same may be modified by Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) from time to time. As a condition of Payester enabling payment processing services through Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave), you agree to provide Payester accurate and complete information about you and your business, and you authorise Payester to share it and transaction information related to your use of the payment processing services provided by Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave).

If you use our services to accept payments in advance of an event, you agree and authorize us and our payment processor to withhold an equal amount of funds from your normal payment processing payout. We and our processor will hold these funds in a reserve, to cover any potential customer disputes or chargebacks, until the event has occurred. Upon request, and based on a review of your payment processing and chargeback history, we and our payment processor may release some or all of the funds to you at an earlier date.


 

5. Transactions

Either party may start a Transaction. The Customer receiving the Payment Transaction shall be the Seller (“Seller”), the Customer making the Payment Transaction shall be the Buyer (“Buyer”). To initiate a Transaction, a Customer must log into their Payester Account, or, if the Customer does not have a Payester Account, register a Payester Account (as set out in paragraph 2). Once you have logged into your Payester Account and you have confirmed the details of the Transaction (including the Transaction value, details of the transaction and the contact details of the counterparty to that Transaction (“Counterparty”)), a unique alphanumeric code will be generated that you can then send to the counterparty so that they can join the transaction. In order to join a transaction, the Counterparty shall be required to log into their Payester Account or, if the Customer does not have a Payester Account, register a Payester Account (as set out in paragraph 2). Once all the details have been confirmed as correct, the Buyer transfers the funds, including the Payester fee, to the Payester Hold. The Funds will be debited from the Buyer’s Account and transferred to the Seller, identifiable by the Transaction ID. Once the Buyer has authorised the Payment Transaction, it cannot revoke that consent and the Funds will not be released until the transaction has been completed. Both parties will always be able to check the progress of the transaction by clicking on the relevant transaction in the “My Transactions section”. Once the item has arrived and the Seller is happy enough not to complain within the 24-hour time limit, the funds will be automatically released from the Payester Hold. No interest will accumulate on the funds while they are in the Payester Hold, as the account is managed by Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave). However, a Maintenance Fee may be charged for any unclaimed Funds as set out in paragraph 5.6. We do not require, but strongly recommend that the Seller keeps records of any Transaction in case of a Transaction dispute (such as photographs to act as proof of delivery or completion of services). The Funds remain in the Payester Hold on behalf of the Buyer from the receipt of the Funds until the transaction is completed. Payester reserves the right to deem a transaction complete or still in progress whenever necessary. Upon the completion of a transaction, the Payment is automatically executed. Once the Payment is executed the Funds remain in the Payester Hold on behalf of the Seller. The funds are transferred automatically to the Seller’s Account, subject to delays depending on the need for and the results of anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing or anti-fraud checks. You will get an indication of the anticipated time for the completion of the Transaction by checking the relevant transaction status. We will endeavour to notify you of any delays, and cannot be liable for any delays caused by any third-party service providers used as part of the transfer of the Funds to the Seller. We reserve the right to conduct customer due diligence checks on the Seller and/or the Buyer at any time. In the event that the Seller and/or the Buyer do not pass the checks, the Funds will not be transferred until all the checks have passed in accordance with applicable law. Depending on the result of the checks, the Funds may be transferred to a third party (including but not limited to a governmental asset recovery agency).


 

Payment & Fees

Payments, done through Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) Connect, must be made in advance by credit card, debit card or any other payment method specified on the Platform. Surcharges may apply for certain payment methods, including charges from your own card issuer. We shall charge you fees as listed on the Platform (“Fees”). We reserve the right to change these at any time, by providing you notice pursuant to paragraph 13.4.


 

Cancelling a Transaction

Once the Funds have been deposited into the Payester Hold, if the Transaction has not been completed, or as otherwise agreed/set by the parties on the Platform, the Buyer may lodge a complaint via the Platform. The Seller shall be notified of such Buyer request and, should the refund be agreed by both parties, a refund Payment Transaction shall be initiated and the Funds shall be returned to the Buyer. We reserve the right to charge any administrative fees or other charges for a cancellation (Cancellation Fees). Both parties can mutually agree to cancel a transaction if the item hasn’t been posted yet, the Payester fee will be non-refundable however.


 

Consumer Protection – Sellers terms, cancellation, refunds and returns

When you are a Buyer in a Transaction and you are an individual not engaged in conduct related to your trade, business, you are a consumer. A Seller shall be required to comply with the minimum requirements of the consumer regulations in the Seller’s own jurisdiction in respect of cancellations, refunds and returns. If the Seller is within the UK or European Union (“EU”), you as a consumer will be protected by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and any applicable EU consumer protection legislation that is directly applicable or applied through national legislation.


 

Currency Conversion

Payester does not provide a currency conversion service and any conversion service will be provided by your third-party payment service provider or Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) when transferring funds to and from your Account.


 

Customer Information

For each Transaction, you will be able to access all the following information in your Payester Account, as available and applicable:

  1. The unique alphanumeric code for any transaction that has started and information on the other party to the Transaction including a brief description of the item in question and the delivery service used if applicable;
  2. The status of the Transaction;
  3. The total amount, and the currency of, the Funds standing to the credit of the Payester Hold relating to the Transaction in question;
  4. The Fees, Maintenance Fees and other charges for the Payment Transaction and, where applicable, a breakdown of these payable by you;
  5. The date of receipt of the payment order.

6. Liabilities And Liability For Invalidated Payments

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you, except: as set out in paragraph 6;

  1. As a direct consequence of our fraud;
  2. For death or personal injury caused by us as a result of our negligence (or any other act or omission caused by our negligence that cannot be excluded by law).

Subject to the rest of this paragraph 6 we are not liable for:

  1. Any loss of profit, business, contracts, revenue or anticipated savings;
  2. Any special, indirect or consequential damages.


 

Unauthorised and incorrectly executed Transactions

Except where you have acted fraudulently and subject to notification under this paragraph 6.2 you will not be liable for any losses incurred in respect of an unauthorised Payment. We will assume that all Payments are authorised by you unless you notify us otherwise. If you believe you did not authorise a particular Payment or that a Payment was incorrectly carried out, in order to get a refund, you must contact us as soon as possible, and in any case, no later than 13 months after the amount of the Payment Transaction has been deducted from the Account. We will immediately (and no later than close of business on the day the refund was requested) refund the amount of any unauthorised Payment Transaction and any associated fees payable under the Terms subject to the rest of this paragraph. If we are liable for an incorrectly executed Payments, we will refund without undue delay the amount of the Payment and any associated fees payable under the Terms subject to the rest of this paragraph 6.2. If the refund request is received on a non-Business Day or after 4:30 pm on a Business Day, we will make the refund at the beginning of the next Business Day. We may require you to complete a dispute declaration form. We may conduct an investigation either before or after any refund has been made. We will let you know as soon as possible the outcome of any such investigation. If you are a consumer or a micro-enterprise, we will only conduct an investigation after we have refunded you unless we have prima facie evidence that we should not be making the refund.


 

Invalidated Payments

If you are a Seller, you are liable for all claims, expenses, fines and liability we incur arising out of:

  1. A chargeback, refund, over-payment, payment error, or other invalid payment you cause (collectively Invalidated Payment);
  2. Any error, negligence, misconduct or fraud by you, your employees, or someone acting on your behalf;
  3. Any losses resulting from your failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement.

In the event of an Invalidated Payment or other liability, we may deduct from the Funds the amounts due to us under these Terms prior to any refund.

7. Payout details

Users payout details must be up to date at all times if they intend to transact on our platform as a seller.

In the case where payout details are not up to date, funds may not be released to a users bank account. In the event that payout details are not provided 90 days from the point of completing a transaction, we may be forced to remove this balance from your account, as requested by our regulators, and you will be unable to withdraw these funds.

8. Notices & Communication

You can contact Payester via the contact us pages on the Platform. Alternatively, you can contact Payester by email [email protected]. Payester will contact you by using your email address, telephone number or residential address. All communications with respect to the Services will be in English. Notices regarding changes to these Terms or the termination of these Terms will be made in writing including by sending you an email or a PDF document The language of the Terms is English and any translation provided is for information purposes only.

9. Termination

You may terminate these Terms at any time by contacting us. Notwithstanding the termination, any ongoing Transactions will continue in accordance with these Terms until completed unless the parties agree otherwise. We may terminate these Terms, your right to access the Platform and Services, for any reason and at any time by giving you two months’ notice in writing. Upon termination of these Terms, and provided that these Funds are not held in relation to a Dispute or otherwise required by law, we shall repay the Funds to the party who is a Buyer in a Transaction. The termination of these Terms does not affect the parties’ rights in respect of periods before the termination of these Terms.

Cooling-off – If you are a consumer:

You hereby request immediate performance of these Terms for the provision of the Services and acknowledge that you will lose your statutory right of withdrawal from these Terms once the initial service is fully performed. Nevertheless, you retain your right to terminate these Terms pursuant to the rest of this paragraph 8.

10. Disputes

Only the buyer (“Buyer”) may start a Transaction dispute (“Dispute”) in the event that:

  1. Funds remain in the Payester Hold;
  2. The Buyer believes that the Seller has failed to comply with their obligations in relation to the Transaction.

To initiate a Dispute the Buyer must sign into the Platform click on the Transaction and click Opening dispute. The Buyer and Seller must then follow the dispute process as indicated within the Platform. The seller will be notified that the Dispute has been initiated and it will be visible on the status page of that transaction. You can track the dispute in Resolution Center.  Seller and buyer may decide to settle amicably. If it is the case that the Dispute isn’t resolved after the complaints process has ended. But if any of the party make claim then thee dispute will be forwarded to Administration intervention.

We may ask them to provide us with an explanation of the Dispute together with all documents that may apply to the Transaction (Evidence), including any business terms, quote, images or video relative to the Transaction, proof of recorded or courier delivery, and/or any correspondence or other documentation relative to the Transaction.  The date on which such Dispute is logged is called the “Dispute Date”. An arbitration period will begin “Arbitration Commencement Period”. Payester reserves the right to arbitrate and decide which party is liable for the dispute and we reserve the right to refund whoever we feel was wronged, less our fees. For more complex cases, the parties agree to refer disputes and differences of any kind to the Ajuve Dispute Resolution Rules which shall be read and construed as if set out in full herein. If we have received notice that either party is not in full compliance with the Ajuve Arbitration process, we may terminate or cancel the Transaction and refund whoever we feel was wronged, less our Fees. We reserve the right (but are under no legal obligation) to commence the Ajuve Arbitration on behalf of the parties, or to interplead the funds with a court of competent jurisdiction at any time. In this case, both parties authorise us to use the Funds to pay the Ajuve Arbitration fees (Ajuve Arbitration Fees) to initiate the Ajuve Arbitration. Other than in respect of an Ajuve Arbitration initiated by us pursuant to paragraph 9.10, the Ajuve Arbitration Fee shall be borne by the Initiating Party. Subject to the Ajuve Arbitration decision, such Ajuve Arbitration Fee may be recoverable. Any award in such Ajuve Arbitration will be final and binding upon the parties and judgment thereon may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Ajuve will provide us with a copy of the final award or decision and we will comply with Ajuve’s final award or decision. The parties may resolve the Dispute at any time by both parties approving a Payment Transaction in favour of either the Initiating Party or Responding Party (as the case may be). No disputed funds shall be released until the Dispute is resolved by:

  1. A joint instruction by the parties agreeing to release the disputed Funds;
  2. An Ajuve Arbitration order to release the Funds held during the Transaction.

This paragraph shall take precedence over any dispute resolution clause contained in any other agreement that governs the Transaction. If you are a consumer in the Transaction: Notwithstanding paragraphs 9.7 to 9.13, you have the right to refuse to participate in arbitration. You are not bound by any decision by Ajuve. Furthermore, nothing in these Terms (including this paragraph 9) prevents you from commencing proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction. We will not release any Disputed Funds pursuant to paragraph 9.14(b) without your explicit consent.

11. Complaints and ADR

If you are not satisfied with the Services, tell us first by contacting us on [email protected] so we can try to resolve the issue. We will promptly send you a complaint acknowledgement and a copy of our Complaints Procedure. You may also request a copy of our Complaints Procedure at any time. Details of our Complaints Procedure can also be found on the Platform in the FAQ’s section. You agree to cooperate with us and provide the necessary information for us to investigate and resolve the complaint as quickly as possible. We will investigate all complaints fairly and will attempt to resolve any complaint as promptly as possible in accordance with our regulatory obligations. or in all other cases you will receive our final response within 8 weeks from receipt of the complaint. The FOS is the only “ADR entity” that we are legally obliged and committed to use in order to resolve disputes with consumers for the purposes of ADR Law. We do not agree to resolve disputes with consumers using any other ADR entity or similar entity. However, as Third parties payment gateway like (Flutterwave) are the authorised payment institution and we are acting on their behalf, all complaints should be directed in the first instance to us and if necessary to the FOS pursuant to paragraphs 10.1 to 10.3. We do not agree to resolve disputes with consumers using any other ADR entity or similar entity for the purposes of ODR Law.

12. Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy

You accept our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy and agree that you will not do anything that shall compromise our compliance with the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy nor do anything contrary to the Privacy Policy or Cookie Policy insofar as your use of the Website is concerned. We may amend the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy without notice and at our absolute discretion, and by continuing to use the Website you accept such changes.

13. Force Majeure

We are not liable for any breach of the Terms where the breach is due to abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which would have been unavoidable despite all effects to the contrary, nor are we liable where the breach is due to our legal obligations.

14. General

Questions - If you have any questions regarding these Terms, please refer to our FAQ’s. If you cannot find an answer to your question, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Duration - The Terms are a framework contract of indefinite duration for the purposes of the Payment Services Regulations 2009. Assignment - We may assign or otherwise transfer our rights under these Terms by giving you two months’ written notice. You may not assign or otherwise transfer your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. Changes - We will notify you of any change to the Terms via the Platform and by email two months in advance. You will be deemed to have accepted the change if you do not notify us otherwise prior to the date the change takes effect and continue to use the Services. If you do not accept the change, the Terms will terminate at the end of the two-month notice. You may also end the Terms immediately and free of charge before the expiry of the two-month notice. Copies of the most up-to-date version of the Terms will be made available on the Platform at all times. Severability - Any provision of these Terms, which is invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, is, as to that jurisdiction, ineffective to the extent of the invalidity or unenforceability without affecting the remaining provisions of these Terms or affecting the validity or enforceability of that provision in any other jurisdiction. The parties will negotiate in good faith to replace any such provision with a provision which is valid and enforceable and consistent with the intention of these Terms, so far as is reasonably practicable. These Terms form part of an ecommerce transaction and the parties agree that these Terms shall be accepted electronically and the agreement to these Terms is formed and validly entered into electronically.

 

 

14. Disclaimers.

THE SERVICE OFFERINGS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS.” EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, OR TO THE EXTENT ANY STATUTORY RIGHTS APPLY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED, LIMITED OR WAIVED, WE AND OUR AFFILIATES AND LICENSORS (A) MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE REGARDING THE SERVICE OFFERINGS OR THE THIRD-PARTY CONTENT, AND (B) DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED OR EXPRESS WARRANTIES (I) OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR QUIET ENJOYMENT, (II) ARISING OUT OF ANY COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE, (III) THAT THE SERVICE OFFERINGS OR THIRD-PARTY CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR FREE OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, AND (IV) THAT ANY CONTENT WILL BE SECURE OR NOT OTHERWISE LOST OR ALTERED.