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ACE Union Limited Card and Account Terms and Conditions
(Effective from and including 05 November 2021)

Ace Union Limited Card and Account Terms and Conditions
(Effective From and including 05 November 2021)
  1. About Ace Union Limited
    1. Ace Union Limited (“Ace Union”) is a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales with company registration number 09530233.You can contact us on email ID [email protected]  or by phone on  +44 161 414 0040.
  2. Before you start
    1. Carefully read through these Terms and Conditions which explain many of your responsibilities to us and our responsibilities to you;
    2. If there are any terms that you do not understand or do not wish to agree to, please contact us;
    3. Please note that some capitalised terms have specific definitions;
    4. Underlined words in these Terms and Conditions contain hyperlinks to further information;
    5. Print and/or save a copy of these Terms and Conditions for future reference; and Read our Privacy Notice regarding how we use your personal information.
  3. 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:

    a) Monetary value stored electronically and issued on receipt of (fiat currency) funds;
    b) Monetary value held on your Account as represented by a claim on Ace Union who are the issuer of e-money;
    c) Monetary value that does not expire but will not earn any interest;
    d) 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.

  4. Regulations and Laws
    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.
    2. Ace 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. Ace Union is not a bank and does not offer credit.
    4. As part of being an EMI, Ace Union maintain:

      a) Ongoing capital requirements;
      b) Sufficient liquidity;
      c) 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;
      d) Effective risk management procedures;
      e) Adequate internal control mechanisms; and
      f) Relevant records.

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

      a) Money Laundering;
      b) Tax Evasion;
      c) Terrorist Financing;
      d) Fraud; and
      e) Sanctions Abuse.

    6. The 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.
    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.
    8. Ace 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).
    9. The 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.
    10. Ace 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.
  5. Why you should read our terms and conditions
    1. Our terms and conditions tell you, our customer:

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

    2. These 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;
    3. If 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. Communications 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.
    5. You 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.
    6. Information 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.
    7. We may need to change these Terms and Conditions from time to time to:

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

  6. Other additional documents which apply to you:
    1. The following additional documents also apply to your use of our Products and Services:

      a) 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;
      b) Fees and Limits Schedule: sets out fees and limits as they apply to your Account with us; and
      c) Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs"): which provides answers to common questions about us or our products and services.

  7. Your Account
    1. You 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.
    2. You must be aged over 18 years of age and have full legal capacity to enter into this Agreement with us.
    3. You 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.
    4. Your Account is an e-money Account which enables you to send and receive electronic payments. It is not a deposit or savings account.
    5. To 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. We 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.
    7. You must provide any information requested quickly so that there is no disruption to your account or our services.
    8. All information provided by you must be accurate, complete and truthful at all times
    9. You must update us when your information or circumstances change.
    10. We cannot be responsible for any financial loss arising out of your failure to provide accurate and complete information.
    11. All 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.
    12. We take matters regarding Account security seriously and colluding or sharing Account information can lead to termination of this Agreement and your Account closure.
    13. Where we detect duplicate Accounts, we reserve the right to close or merge any such duplicate accounts at its sole discretion.
    14. You may correct any information we hold by emailing us.
    15. You 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.
  8. How to fund your account
    1. Funds can be loaded to your Account by wages/salary, debit card or transfer from a bank account in your name.
    2. To upload money, you need to log in to your Account and follow the steps as they appear on the app screen.
    3. Once funds are received then they will be Safeguarded and available to spend as e-money with your Card.
    4. Once you have e-money available in your Wallet you'll be able to use our services. For example:

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

  9. Individual Payments:
    1. Ace 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.
    2. A Faster Payment is a type of electronic transfer that is a very quick way of sending money within the UK.
    3. ClearBank 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.
  10. Direct Debits:
    1. Direct Debit is an automated payment method that allows merchants to pull payment directly from your Account.
    2. Through our relationship with ClearBank we are able to offer Direct Debits.
    3. The 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.
    4. You 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.
  11. Withdrawing Funds
    1. You have the right to withdraw funds from your Account at any time.
    2. We reserve the right to request evidence of your identity or your relation to any account you have nominated for a withdrawal beforehand.
    3. You must have sufficient funds in your Account to cover any requested withdrawal (subject to Fees and Limits).
    4. You can choose the method of withdrawal when submitting your withdrawal request.
  12. International Transfers
    1. By placing a remittance service request, you consent to payment being charged to your ACE Union E-Money account.
    2. Payment will be debited from your account before the provision of the service to you.
    3. All remittance service requests are subject to acceptance and availability. Any remittance service request placed by you constitutes an offer to avail the Services from us. All such offers received from you are subject to acceptance by us and we reserve the right to refuse any service request placed by you at any time prior to acceptance, without providing an explanation. ACE Union and its partners reserve the right to refuse provision of service. In such cases, you will be informed via email or other available communication mediums.
    4. We will send you an email to confirm the remittance service order (a Confirmation Notice). The Confirmation Notice will amount to an acceptance of your offer to buy the Services from us. The Contract will only be formed when we send you the Confirmation Notice (whether or not you receive it).
    5. The remittance services will be provided to you and delivered to the receiver or recipient at the address or bank details you have provided during the order process. We may where appropriate and at our option, deliver all or part of the remittance, to the account or wallet number, or beneficiary name, or telephone number you supplied on registration or such order or account name or account / wallet number or telephone number that we agree to use for the purposes of remitting the funds to the receiver or to communicate with you or the receiver.
    6. Any dates quoted for completing performance of the remittance service are approximate only. If no date is specified, then it will take place within 30 days or a reasonable time of the date of the Confirmation Notice unless there are exceptional circumstances.
    7. We shall not be liable for any delay in completing performance of the Service, however caused.
    8. You may cancel your remittance service request for the Services at any time prior to receiving a Confirmation Notice from us so long as apply for cancellation through the option available in your login with ACE Union.
    9. You are entitled to cancel your remittance service request and obtain a refund only before we complete the money remittance Service or send remittance instructions to our pay-out partner. We shall be deemed to have already completed providing the money remittance Services, in circumstances where payment of the funds has already been deposited into your receiver’s bank account or similar account or you or your receiver have already accessed the funds.
    10. Where money remittance service is not completed however, we have passed the service request instructions to the pay-out partner, you will not be able to cancel the order. However, you can apply for the cancellation which will be subject to confirmation. As payment service request is already passed to the payout partner, we have to confirm the deliverance of service from the partner. Where partner confirmed that payment order has already processed and services are already provided, cancellation request will not be accepted, and we will not be able to refund you money.
    11. Whilst we try and ensure that all the information on our website and mobile app is accurate, errors may occur. In the unlikely event that the price and/or description of an item listed on the Website or mobile app has been incorrectly advertised, we will not be under any obligation to sell or provide those Services to you.
    12. If we discover the error before sending you a Confirmation Notice we will at our discretion, either reject your service request and notify you of such rejection or inform you as soon as possible and give you the option of cancelling your service request or reconfirming it at the correct price and/or description. If we give you the option of cancelling your order or reconfirming it at the correct price and/or description but either cannot contact you or do not receive your response within 14 days of sending you notification (whether or not you receive it), we will reject your order.
    13. If we discover the error after sending you a Confirmation Notice we may, at our discretion and without incurring any liability to you, cancel the Contract provided that the error is, in our reasonable opinion, obvious and unmistakable and could have reasonably been recognised by you. We will notify if we cancel the Contract.
    14. We will notify you about your refund via email within a reasonable period of time. We will usually process a refund as soon as possible and, in any case, within 30 days of the day we confirmed to you via email that you are entitled to a refund. Refunds will be made by crediting your ACE Union account used to purchase the Services.
    15. The Airtime Top Up service will only be provided to you by us in respect of the mobile phone operators available on our portal. These operators are subject to change and availability.
    16. You must input the mobile phone number to which any Airtime Top Up is to be credited into the appropriate space in our Portal. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have correctly inputted the mobile phone number. if you enter the wrong number, the transfer will go ahead and there is no way to reclaim or redirect the Airtime Top Up once the Payment Instruction has been processed by us.
    17. The cost of Airtime Top Up will vary depending on the amount of Airtime Top Up that you wish to send and according to the denominations displayed in our Portal.
    18. Several countries around the world have chosen to apply taxes to incoming remittances or Airtime Top Ups. When sending to a Payee in these countries, the corresponding deduction will be made from the Transaction Amount, meaning the Payee will get a lower amount of remittance or Airtime Top Up.
    19. Our obligation in relation to Airtime Top Up is simply to send Airtime Top Up in accordance with your Instruction. The relevant mobile operator will be solely liable to you and the Payee of the Airtime Top Up for the provision of mobile services related to the Airtime Top Up. Once the Airtime Top Up is sent to a mobile phone number, it cannot be refunded or removed from the phone. To stop this mistake from happening, we ask you to ensure that the number you have entered is correct.
    20. You will not be able to cancel the Airtime Top Up once we receive your instruction.
    21. We may be obliged (for example, due to local laws or mobile operator restrictions) to limit the number of Airtime Top Ups that can be performed or the maximum value of Airtime Top Ups (the latter typically due to mobile operator restrictions) over a given period of time e.g., daily, weekly, monthly.
  13. Termination and Suspension
    1. We may terminate your Account or Card with us at any time by giving you reasonable prior notice.
    2. When we terminate your Account or Card, we may give you instructions on how to withdraw remaining funds back to originating funding sources.
    3. We reserve the right to suspend your Account or Card without notice if:

      a) you breach any condition of these Terms and Conditions;
      b) you conduct activity that we identify as suspicious;
      c) 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;
      d) 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.

  14. Maintaining your Account
    1. You must ensure that the information recorded on your Account is always accurate and up to date.
    2. Ace 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.
    3. It 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.
    4. We 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.
    5. Upon 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.
  15. Your Data
    1. You 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.
    2. This does not affect our respective rights and obligations under data protection legislation.
    3. You 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.
    4. We 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.
  16. Keep Your Account Safe:
    1. You have a responsibility to keep your Account safe.
    2. The following is good practice:

      a) Change your password regularly and ensure that it isn’t reused across other online accounts;
      b) Contact our Customer Support team if anyone pretends to be from Ace Union and is asking for your password;
      c) 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.

  17. Closing Your Account and/or Cancelling Your Card
    1. You 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.
    2. In 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.
    3. When closing your Account, we may give you instructions on how to withdraw remaining funds back to originating funding sources.
  18. Complaints
    1. As 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.
    2. In summary Ace Union will:

      a) Handle your complaint fairly and promptly;
      b) Give a copy of our Complaint Handling Rules in writing upon request and when acknowledging a complaint;
      c) Send you a prompt written acknowledgment or a summary resolution communication (if the complaint can be resolved within 3 business days);
      d) 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.

    3. Please note that FOS won’t usually consider a complaint against Ace Union until we have had the opportunity to deal with it first.
    4. FOS may not consider a complaint if it is referred to FOS:

      a) More than 6 months after the date of our final response or redress determination; or
      b) More than 6 years after the event complained of; or
      c) 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.

    5. We encourage you to read FOS’s leaflet here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/resolving-complaint/ordering-leaflet/leaflet
  19. Safeguarding arrangements
    1. Ace 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.
    2. Relevant 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.
    3. Please note that your Relevant Funds are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If Ace Union goes out of business:

      a) customers won’t automatically get their money back (as is the case with the FSCS);
      b) 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
      c) 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.

    4. Please 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.
    5. Please 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
  20. Your Ace Union Card
    1. Your 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.
    2. Checkout 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).
    3. Checkout Ltd are a Principal Member of Mastercard International.
    4. Your 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.
    5. Your 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.
    6. Your Card may be used where Mastercard is accepted. Fees we charge to process your Card transactions are detailed in our Fees and Limits Schedule.
    7. Your 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.
    8. Your Card is a financial services product. Every purchase you make shall be deemed performed in England and Wales.
    9. Ace 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.
    10. We 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.
    11. When 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.
  21. Transaction and Card Limits
    1. A 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).
    2. We may agree Transaction Limits on your Card which may be on a per day or per transaction basis.