• Ace Union Limited (“Ace Union”) is a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales with company registration number 09530233. Registered office address is Piccadilly House, 49 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AP, United Kingdom.
• You can contact us on email ID [email protected] or by phone on +441614140040.

2.1 Carefully read through these Terms and Conditions which explain many of your responsibilities to us and our responsibilities to you;

2.2 If there are any terms that you do not understand or do not wish to agree to, please contact us;

2.3 Please note that some capitalised terms have specific definitions;

2.4 Underlined words in these Terms and Conditions contain hyperlinks to further information;

2.5 Print and/or save a copy of these Terms and Conditions for future reference; and

2.6 Read our Privacy Notice regarding how we use your personal information

Definitions

Various terms in these Terms and Conditions have a defined meaning as follows:

“Account” means the contractual arrangement wherein you as an individual has accepted these Terms and Conditions, our Fees and Limits Schedule and our Privacy Notice, and received approval from Ace Union Limited to use our Products and Services.

“Card” means a prepaid debit card issued by Checkout Ltd.

“E-money” means:

• Monetary value stored electronically and issued on receipt of (fiat currency) funds;
• Monetary value held on your Account as represented by a claim on Ace Union who are the issuer of e-money;
• Monetary value that does not expire but will not earn any interest;
• Used for the purposes of making payment transactions (as defined in regulation 2 of the Payment Services Regulations); and
• Accepted as a means of payment by persons other than Ace Union as the issuer of e-money.

“Relevant Funds” means (a) sums received from, or for the benefit of, you for the execution of a payment transaction, and (b) sums received from a payment service provider for the execution of a payment transaction on behalf of you.

“Fees” means charges payable by you to us for using our Products and Services. Please refer to our Fees and Limits Schedule.

“Business Day” means any day Ace Union are open for business excluding Saturday and Sunday and any national holidays or legal holidays such as Bank Holidays.

“Privacy Notice” explains how we collect, process and transfer your personal data, which is available on our Website, and may be amended by us from time to time.

“We”, “us”, “our” means Ace Union Limited.

“You”, “your” means you, the natural person in whose name an Account with us is opened and maintained

3.1 Ace Union are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom (UK) as an Authorised Electronic Money Institution (EMI) under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 with a FCA Firm Refence Number (FRN) of 900476.

3.2Ace Union provide Payment Services and Electronic Money (“e-money”) within the UK. To understand more about Ace Union and how we are regulated please visit the FCA’s Financial Services Register here: https://register.fca.org.uk/.

3.3Ace Union is not a bank and does not offer credit.

3.4As part of being an EMI, Ace Union maintain:

• Ongoing capital requirements;
• Sufficient liquidity;
• Organisational arrangements that are sufficient to minimise the risk of the loss or reduction of our customer’s relevant funds through fraud, misuse, negligence, or poor administration;
• Effective risk management procedures;
• Adequate internal control mechanisms; and
• Relevant records.

3.5Ace Union comply with Legal and Regulatory requirements that aim to deter and detect Financial Crime, which includes:

• Money Laundering;
• Tax Evasion;
• Terrorist Financing;
• Fraud; and
• Sanctions Abuse.

3.6The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs) and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) apply to these Terms and Conditions which form a contract you enter into with Ace Union.

3.7 The CRA requires terms used by Ace Union in these Terms and Conditions and any other notices on our Website to be fair and transparent.

3.8Ace Union ensure that our Terms and Conditions comply with the conduct of business provisions of the PSRs 2017 and EMRs and the unfair contract terms provisions of the CRA (or UTCCRs).

3.9The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) apply to the payment services and e-money business we provide to you. The CPRs and are intended to protect you from unfair commercial practices by us for example our advertising and marketing, or other commercial communications directly connected with the sale, promotion or supply of a product we offer.

3.10Ace Union have taken every precaution to avoid giving you misleading impressions or marketing our products and services in a misleading way. For example, we have made it clear that relevant funds are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

4.1Our terms and conditions tell you, our customer:

• Who we are;
• How we will provide payment services and e-money to you;
• What to do if there is a problem with our provision of services; and
• Other important information such as your account with us and how to complain if something does go wrong.

4.2These Terms and Conditions, along with our Fees and Limits Schedule, Privacy Notice and any other Terms and Conditions that apply to our Services, form a legal agreement (the "Agreement", or the "Terms") between you, the Account Holder and our Customer; and us;

4.3If you think that there is a mistake in these Terms and Conditions which make up our Agreement with you then please get in touch with us to discuss.

4.4Communications between us are to be in English. This Agreement is concluded in England and all communications between you and us shall be in English only.

4.5You accept this Agreement by visiting our Website and/or using our Services (including downloading and using our App, or via any application programming interface (API) provided by Ace Union or other authorised third party), you confirm that you accept and agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use our Products and/or Services.

4.6Information on our App (iOS and Android) and Website is given in good faith and we are not responsible for any liability resulting from any inaccuracies in our App and Website.

4.7We may need to change these Terms and Conditions from time to time to:

• Comply with Laws or Regulations;
• Reflect changing sectoral conditions (payment services and e-money); or
• Meet our changing business requirements.

5.1The following additional documents also apply to your use of our Products and Services:

• Privacy Notice: which sets out how we collect, process, record and share any personal data we collect about you, or that you provide to us. By using our Products and Services, you consent to such processing and you promise that all data provided by you is accurate;
• Fees and Limits Schedule: sets out fees and limits as they apply to your Account with us; and
• Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs"): which provides answers to common questions about us or our products and services.

6.1You can open an Ace Union Account (“Account”) if you are resident in the UK. If you are resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) these terms and conditions do not apply to you.  

6.2You must be aged over 18 years of age and have full legal capacity to enter into this Agreement with us.

6.3You are not allowed to open an Account on someone else’s behalf unless you have Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney and can provide evidence of such authority.

6.4Your Account is an e-money Account which enables you to send and receive electronic payments. It is not a deposit or savings account.

6.5To start using our Services, you must open an Account with us and provide your details as prompted, you will then undergo legally mandated checks to verify you are who you say you. You will be subject to ongoing Customer Due Diligence and Screening (for example against lists of Politically Exposed Persons or Sanctioned Individuals). We reserve the right to verify your identity using third party service providers, against third party databases or through other sources.

6.6We may ask you at any time to confirm the accuracy of your information and/or provide additional supporting documents this includes when we decide to apply Enhanced Due Diligence which can lead to questions about Source of Funds or your Source of Wealth.

6.7You must provide any information requested quickly so that there is no disruption to your account or our services.

6.8All information provided by you must be accurate, complete and truthful at all times.

6.9You must update us when your information or circumstances change.

6.10We cannot be responsible for any financial loss arising out of your failure to provide accurate and complete information.

6.11All activities on your Account shall be deemed as activities carried out by you as registered user. You shall only use our Services to transact on your own account and not on behalf of any other person or entity.

6.12We take matters regarding Account security seriously and colluding or sharing Account information can lead to termination of this Agreement and your Account closure.

6.13Where we detect duplicate Accounts, we reserve the right to close or merge any such duplicate accounts at its sole discretion.

6.14You may correct any information we hold by emailing us.

6.15You can check all payments into and out of your Account through our app. You can download this information from the app at any time. Ace Union will not make any changes to your account information or transaction history.

7.1Funds can be loaded to your Account by wages/salary, debit card or transfer from a bank account in your name.

7.2To upload money, you need to log in to your Account and follow the steps as they appear on the app screen. 

7.3Once funds are received then they will be Safeguarded and available to spend as e-money with your Card.

7.4Once you have e-money available in your Wallet you'll be able to use our services. For example:

• Send money and receive money using Faster Payment or Direct Debit;
• Make payments and withdraw cash using your Card; and
• View information about and manage your Account.

8.1Ace Union understands that customers expect payments and transactions to be processed quickly and reliably, therefore we offer Faster Payment Service (“FPS”) Payments using a third-party service provider, ClearBank Ltd (“ClearBank”) who are authorised by the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA under FRN 754568. ClearBank have direct access to the Faster Payments System.

8.2A Faster Payment is a type of electronic transfer that is a very quick way of sending money within the UK.

8.3ClearBank may check you have enough funds before making a Faster Payment. If ClearBank are unsure of your identity, it may hold any payment and perform additional checks. After doing so, it will send the funds via the FPS.

9.1Direct Debit is an automated payment method that allows merchants to pull payment directly from your Account.

9.2Through our relationship with ClearBank we are able to offer Direct Debits.

9.3The Direct Debit Guarantee applies to all Direct Debits. It protects you in the rare event that there is an error in the payment of your Direct Debit, for instance if a payment is taken on the incorrect date, or the wrong amount is collected

9.4You can cancel a Direct Debit payment at any time before the payment is due to be made. If a payment is taken after you have cancelled it, you will be entitled to an immediate refund.

10.1You have the right to withdraw funds from your Account at any time.

10.2We reserve the right to request evidence of your identity or your relation to any account you have nominated for a withdrawal beforehand.

10.3You must have sufficient funds in your Account to cover any requested withdrawal (subject to Fees and Limits).

10.4You can choose the method of withdrawal when submitting your withdrawal request.

11.1We may terminate your Account or Card with us at any time by giving you reasonable prior notice.

11.2When we terminate your Account or Card, we may give you instructions on how to withdraw remaining funds back to originating funding sources.

11.3We reserve the right to suspend your Account or Card without notice if:

• you breach any condition of these Terms and Conditions;
• you conduct activity that we identify as suspicious;
• we have reason to believe that you are in violation of any law or regulation that is applicable to your use of our products and services;
• you harass or engage in obscene, rude or abusive behaviour against our staff or Ace Union; and / or
• we reasonably believe that your Card or Account has been compromised.

12.1You must ensure that the information recorded on your Account is always accurate and up to date.

12.2Ace Union shall not be liable for any loss arising out of your failure to provide us with accurate information and we reserve the right to request any information, documents or other evidence.at any time in order that we may verify your identity or verify activity on your Card or Account.

12.3It is strictly forbidden to use your Account or Card for any illegal purposes including but not limited to abuse of global Sanctions, Fraud, Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism, Sex Trafficking (for example forcefully involving women, men and/or children in commercial sex acts), Human Trafficking (defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit) or any activity that encourages or facilitates illegal or illicit activities including material which incites violence, hatred, racism or which is considered obscene.

12.4We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to add categories of prohibited transactions and payments by adding such categories either to these Terms and Conditions or to our Website.

12.5Upon entering into a contract with us, you expressly agree that we have an immediate right to immediately cancel any your Card or Account without notice to you, and to report activity to the appropriate authority, where we suspect or detect that any crime is being committed by you or any third party acting on your behalf.

13.1You explicitly consent to us collecting, accessing, processing, sharing and retaining any information you provide to us, for the purposes of providing products and services to you.

13.2This does not affect our respective rights and obligations under data protection legislation.

13.3You may withdraw such consent by closing your Account. If you withdraw consent in this way, we will cease using your data for this purpose, but may continue to process your data for other purposes where we have other lawful grounds to do so, such as where we are legally required to keep records of transactions.

13.4We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary under the UK's Money Laundering Regulations and for the purposes described in these terms and conditions and our privacy notice which for in the majority of cases will be for a period of 5 years from the end of a business relationship with Ace Union.

14.1You have a responsibility to keep your Account safe.

14.2The following is good practice:

• Change your password regularly and ensure that it isn’t reused across other online accounts;
• Contact our Customer Support team if anyone pretends to be from Ace Union and is asking for your password;
• Let our Customer Support team know immediately if your email address, phone number or identity has been compromised; and
• Keep your account details safe. This includes letting anyone see you access your Account such as at home or on public transport.

15.1You may close your Account or cancel your Card at any time by contacting us using the contact details as shown in these Terms and Conditions and as made available on our Website.

15.2In the event you hold a balance at the time of Account closure, we will ask you to withdraw your funds within a reasonable period of time, during which time your Account will be accessible for the purpose of withdrawing the remaining balance only.

15.3When closing your Account, we may give you instructions on how to withdraw remaining funds back to originating funding sources.

16.1As a business regulated by FCA, Ace Union must follow complaint-handling rules. These require us to have in place and to follow an effective, clear complaints-handling process. A copy of our Complaint Handling Rules can be obtained upon request.

16.2In summary Ace Union will:

• Handle your complaint fairly and promptly;
• Give a copy of our Complaint Handling Rules in writing upon request and when acknowledging a complaint;
• Send you a prompt written acknowledgment or a summary resolution communication (if the complaint can be resolved within 3 business days);
• Keep you reasonably informed about the progress of your complaint; and
• Send you a final response within 15 business days, or 35 business days in exceptional circumstances.

16.3Please note that FOS won’t usually consider a complaint against Ace Union until we have had the opportunity to deal with it first.

16.4FOS may not consider a complaint if it is referred to FOS:

• More than 6 months after the date of our final response or redress determination; or
• More than 6 years after the event complained of; or
• If later, 3 years from the date on which you as complainant became aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) that you had cause to complain.

16.5We encourage you to read FOS’s leaflet here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/resolving-complaint/ordering-leaflet/leaflet

17.1Ace Union are required by the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs) to Safeguard "relevant funds" i.e., sums paid by customers of Ace Union in exchange for e-money.

17.2Relevant Funds are held in a segregated account in a designated bank account maintained by ClearBank Ltd, such funds are kept separate from Ace Union’s corporate funds.

17.3Please note that your Relevant Funds are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If Ace Union goes out of business:

• customers won’t automatically get their money back (as is the case with the FSCS);
• customers should get majority of their money back (less costs that may be taken from any customer asset pool by an appointed administrator or liquidator as they relate to the returning of all relevant funds); and
• Ace Union would adhere to The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency (England And Wales) Rules 2021 which come into force on 12 November 2021 and which contain the objective of ensuring the return of relevant funds as soon as is reasonably practicable.

17.4Please use all the information within our Terms and Conditions as well as information available from the FCA to take an informed decision about how your money with Ace Union is protected.

17.5Please use the following link to the FCA’s website which can help you decide whether the level of protection Ace Union offer is appropriate for your circumstances: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/using-payment-service-providers

18.1Your Card is issued by Checkout Ltd (“Card Issuer”) a Company incorporated under the Laws of England and Wales with Company Registration Number 08037323 and a registered office address of Wenlock Works, Shepherdess Walk, London, England, N1 7BQ.

18.2Checkout Ltd are an EMI authorised by the FCA under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 for the provision of electronic money services activities and payment services (FRN 900816).

18.3Checkout Ltd are a Principal Member of Mastercard International.

18.4Your Ace Union Card (“Card”) is a prepaid debit card; it is not a credit, debit or charge card. Your Card remains the property of the Card Issuer. Ace Union are the e-money issuer against any funds we receive from customers.

18.5Your Card is linked to a Wallet that Ace Union creates for each customer. Your Card can be used to pay for goods and services using the balance of your Wallet. We will not setup a separate account in connection with your Card.

18.6Your Card may be used where Mastercard is accepted. Fees we charge to process your Card transactions are detailed in our Fees and Limits Schedule.

18.7Your Card can only be used for transactions up to the value of your Wallet balance at any given time. Before making a Payment, you must therefore ensure that your Wallet has sufficient balance.

18.8Your Card is a financial services product. Every purchase you make shall be deemed performed in England and Wales.

18.9Ace Union are mandated by UK Law to hold certain information about our customers. We use this information to help identify you, protect your Account from Fraud and other Financial Crime and to assist you of your Card is Lost or Stolen.

18.10We may not permit the Card to be used for manual or offline transactions. If such functionality is enabled, we will notify you of this at the time we approve you for a Card.

18.11When you receive a Card, you must sign the back and activate it. We will send you instructions on how to activate your Card when we send this to you.

19.1A Card Transaction entails realising a payment, or a purchase of goods or services where payment is made (in whole or in part) by use of electronic payment services including shops, restaurants, online, telephone or withdrawals from an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).

19.2We may agree Transaction Limits on your Card which may be on a per day or per transaction basis.

19.3We reserve the right to place Limits on the number of Cards you can request from us or that you may have active at any one time. Please refer to our Fees and Limits Schedule.

20.1We will refund you any money you have lost as a result of:

• Any unauthorised transaction which you have promptly reported (and within 13 months of any transaction), provided you have not acted fraudulently or carelessly;
• Mistakes we made when processing your payments; or
• Any transactions authorised by us after you froze your card (but only to the amount of the original authorisation).

20.2If a payment transaction was not properly authorised by you (unauthorised transaction) then we will refund the amount of the transaction to you and, if applicable, restore your Account to the state it would have been in had the transaction not been made (i.e., we will refund any charges and any interest which you have paid and/or credit interest which you have lost).

20.3If we can show that you have acted fraudulently, or intentionally, or gross negligence, not complied with obligations under regulation 72 of the PSRs 2017 regarding the use of your Card including keeping safe personalised security credentials, you will be liable for all losses.

20.4Your obligations in relation to your Card and any personalised security credentials include:

• Using your Card in accordance with these terms and conditions which govern its issue and use; and
• Notify us without undue delay on becoming aware of the loss, theft, misappropriation or unauthorised use of your Card.

20.5Ace Union reserve the right to make you liable for losses up to a maximum of £35 resulting from Unauthorised Transactions from the use of a Lost or Stolen Card, or from the misappropriation of your Card. The £35 liability limit is applicable to each instance of Loss, Theft or Misappropriation, and not to each Transaction.

21.1If any goods or services you bought with your Card, are not as described, damaged, or are never received and you have tried to get a refund from the Retailer or Merchant and were unsuccessful you can ask us to process a refund request (this is known as a Chargeback).

21.2A chargeback is a Transaction reversal made to dispute a Card transaction and secure a refund for a purchase. Chargebacks can only be used for Card purchases. You can claim for any amount subject to a GBP 10.00 minimum.

21.3You should:

• Inform us as soon as possible after the date of the transaction in question and within 120 days. Ace Union are not responsible for any loss to you if you do not ask us to reverse a transaction in time; and
• Provide us with any information we ask for to support your request.

21.4We reserve the right to investigate your entitlement to reverse a Transaction. If we ask for copies of any correspondence (for example letters, emails, SMS, social media messages or records of phone calls) you had with a Retailer or Merchant when you tried to get your money back please do so promptly.

21.5If you do not notify us and provide us with sufficient information, we may be unable to investigate or lodge a Chargeback claim in time in which case you will be liable for the Transaction.

21.6You should be aware that Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act does not apply when you use your Card (it is not a credit card, we do not offer credit).

21.7If you used your Card to withdraw cash and used that cash to pay for something you are not covered by Chargeback rules.

21.8If your Chargeback request is rejected, you have the right to know why and if you believe our decision to be unfair you can complain under our Complaints Handling Rules.

21.9If we maintain a refusal to your Chargeback claim, you have six months to take your complaint and our final response to the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”). Please read their leaflet here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/resolving-complaint/ordering-leaflet/leaflet

21.10To notify us of a disputed transaction, please contact us by either:

Writing to us at: Piccadilly House, 49 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AP, United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]

21.11Please assist us by providing as much information as you can.

22.1Services sold by us and our App and Website content may be subject to copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights in favour of third parties. We acknowledge those rights.

22.2The content of our App and Website is protected by copyright (including design copyrights), trademarks, patent, database and intellectual property rights and all materials comprising or contained in our app or Website including but not limited to all text/articles, logos, software and images, are owned, or as the case may be licensed, except as otherwise expressly stated, by Ace Union.

22.3Other similar proprietary rights which include, (without limitation), all rights in materials, works, techniques, computer programs, source codes, data, technical information, trading business brand names, goodwill, service marks utility models, the style or presentation of our Products and Services, confidential information, know-how and any research effort relating to Ace Union rights in any country (whether registered or unregistered and including applications for and the right to apply for them in any part of the world) and you acknowledge that the intellectual property rights in the material and content supplied as part of the App or Website shall remain with us or our licensors.

22.4You are entitled to access the App or Website for the purposes of accessing the Products and Services offered by Ace Union. However, you may not use in any way, directly or indirectly, any of its components for any other purpose. You may download or copy the content and other downloadable items displayed on our App or Website subject to the condition that the material may only be used for personal non-commercial purposes. Copying or storing the contents of our App or Website for other than personal use is expressly prohibited.

23.1All use of our App, Website and these Terms and Conditions and any other non-contractual obligations related to these Terms and Conditions are governed by the Laws of England and Wales. As such all disputes arising out of the use of our products and services shall be resolved by the Courts of England and Wales.

23.2Our App Store or Google Play listings do not constitute any invitation or solicitation to any person to use our Products or Services in any country (or jurisdiction) where to do so is prohibited by Law or Regulation. You should not use our App, Products or Services if you reside in a country or jurisdiction whereby accessing or using our App, Products or Services is prohibited by Law or Regulation.

23.3Ace Union reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions from time to time. When we renew these Terms and Conditions we will arrange for mutual consent unless a change is mandated by Law or Regulation. We will notify you of any changes in a timely manner and provide you with ample notice.

24.1We cannot guarantee a Retailer or Merchant will accept your Card, or that we will authorise any particular Transaction.

24.2Unless otherwise required by Law, we shall not be liable for any direct or indirect loss or damage you may suffer as a result of your total or partial use or inability to use your Card.

24.3We will also not be liable for any losses or expenses incurred by you arising from our compliance with Legal and Regulatory requirements.

24.4In the event that you do not use your Card in accordance with these Terms and Conditions or we find that you are using your Card fraudulently, we reserve the right to charge you for any reasonable costs that we incur in taking action to stop you using this Card and to recover any monies owed as a result of your activities.

24.5We will not be liable for any loss which results from abnormal or unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, including but not limited to third party interference with your Account or Card.

24.6Our total liability under these Terms and Conditions will be where we have provided a defective Card, where funds are incorrectly or erroneously debited from your Account with us.

24.7We ask that you check your Card and Account Transactions history regularly and contact us immediately in the event you have questions or concerns.

24.8If you believe your Card has been Lost or Stolen or used without your authorisation or that a third party has gained access to your Account with us, then you must notify us immediately.

25.1It is illegal to offer, promise, give, request, agree, receive or accept bribes. As a UK company, Ace Union may be liable for failing to prevent a person from bribing on our behalf if that person performs services for Ace Union in business.

25.2Ace Union have a zero-tolerance approach to Bribery and Corruption.

25.3Ace Union employees (including contractors and temporary staff) are required to act honestly and with integrity at all times and comply with relevant ABC related Laws and Regulations.

25.4Ace Union employees must not offer or receive hospitality, gifts and entertainment that could improperly influence, or be perceived to influence our business

26.1The Law of England and Wales applies to these Terms and Conditions and the Courts of England and Wales shall deal with any legal proceedings between You and Us.