Electronic Money Terms

Through our partnership with Optimus Cards UK Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue e-money (FRN: 902034) pursuant to the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (“Optimus”), we collectively provide electronic money accounts for fiat currencies and related payment services.

Uphold Europe Limited (“Uphold”) is an EMD agent of Optimus.

The e-money services enable you to hold fiat balances in various fiat currencies (e.g., GBP and USD) in e-money accounts (“E-Money Account”) and transfer fiat funds to other users of the Platform and third parties using funds held in your E-Money Account. The currencies available are set out on the Platform. 

Please read these Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) carefully before you agree to use an E-Money Account or any related services provided by or through Optimus.

Terms not defined in these Terms have the same meaning given to them in the Agreement.

References to “we” and “us” in the Terms refer to Uphold and Optimus (as the case may be).

Scope of Services

Optimus issues the electronic money associated with the E-Money Account.

The E-Money Account is not a deposit or investment account, which means that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will not protect your electronic money held in the E-Money Account.

Your funds will be held in a designated safekeeping account with a regulated financial institution.

Electronic money held in an E-Money Account will not earn any interest. Your E-Money Account may hold electronic money denominated in different currencies. Uphold will show the e-money balance for each currency that you hold on the Platform. 

Uphold will open your E-Money Account on your behalf. You may only hold an E-Money Account so long as you remain an approved client of Uphold.

Using your E-Money Account

Your E-Money Account can receive bank transfers and other payment types as added and notified to you from time to time.

Your E-Money Account will be credited when we receive the funds which could be up to 3 Business Days after the payment being instructed, depending on how the payment was sent. Your E-Money Account can also receive internal transfers from other E-Money Accounts, which apply instantly.

An incoming payment will not be credited to your E-Money Account if: 

• the E-Money Account has reached the account maximum balance or account limits notified to you from time to time; or
• the E-Money Account is inactive or blocked or terminated; or 
• the sender has provided incorrect/invalid E-Money Account details for your E-Money Account; or 
• Optimus or Uphold suspects the payment to be fraudulent.

You may purchase Supported Cryptoassets by using e-money credited to your E-Money Account. To carry out a Cryptoasset Transaction using your E-Money Account, you must follow the relevant instructions on the Platform. A Cryptoasset Transaction using your E-Money Account should normally be settled no later than one business day after we receive your instructions. You authorise us to debit electronic money from your E-Money Account. Although we will attempt to deliver Cryptoassets to you as promptly as possible, electronic money may be debited from your E-Money Account before Cryptoassets are delivered to your Uphold Account.

If we are unable to credit your E-Money Account for any of the reasons set out above then the funds may be sent back to the sender without a prior notification to you.

Your E-Money Account will be configured and operated by Uphold. You agree that Optimus may take instructions from Uphold regarding the operation of your E-Money Account, including the creation of beneficiaries and instruction of payments, on your behalf.

Your E-Money Account can make payments out to external bank accounts via SEPA, Faster Payments, and other methods as added and notified to you by Uphold from time to time.

A transaction is deemed to be authorised by you, when you or your Authorised Person enters the security information on the Platform to confirm a transaction is authorised, or when it is instructed via Uphold’s API with the relevant security credentials and/or when you give instructions through a third party (i.e., a payment initiation service provider). 

Once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be revoked save for the following circumstances:

• any transaction which is agreed to take place on a date later than the date you authorised it, provided that notice is given no later than close of business on the Business Day before the transaction was due to take place; and/or
• Transactions due to take place on a future date.

Where we refuse to execute a payment order to or to initiate a transaction, we will, without undue delay and provided we are legally permitted to do so, notify you of the refusal. If possible, we will provide the reasons for the refusal and where it is possible to provide reasons for the refusal and those reasons relate to factual matters, the procedure of rectifying any factual errors that led to the refusal.

You can check your balance and transaction history of your E-Money Account via the Platform. Uphold will provide you with a monthly statement free of charge setting out information relating to individual payment transactions via your E-Money Account.

Fees

Full details of the fees charged in respect of the e-money services are located here.

By agreeing to these Terms, you agree to pay the fees associated with the e-money services.

Third Party Access

You can instruct a third party provider (“TPP”) to access information on your E-Money Account or initiate certain transactions from your E-Money Account provided such TPP has identified itself to us and it has acted in accordance with the relevant regulatory requirements. We will treat any instruction from a TPP as if it was from you or an Authorised Person.

We may deny TPP access to your E-Money Account if we are concerned about unauthorised or fraudulent access by that TPP setting out the reason for such denial. Before doing so, we will tell you that we intend to deny access and give our reasons for doing so, unless it is not reasonably practicable, in which case we will immediately inform you afterwards. In either case, we will tell you in the manner in which we consider most appropriate in the circumstances. We will not tell you if doing so would compromise our security measures or would otherwise be unlawful.

If you have provided consent to a TPP to access the data in your E-Money Account to enable them to provide account information services to you or initiate Transactions on your behalf, you consent to us sharing your information with the TPP as is reasonably required for them to provide their services to you. You must let us know if you withdraw this permission and we recommend you let the TPP know. On notification from you, we will not provide such TPP access to your E-Money Account or the data in it.

Redeeming Electronic Money

You may redeem all or part of any electronic money held in your E-Money Account at any time via the Platform and following the instructions. Unless agreed otherwise, funds will be transferred to the bank account you have registered with us.

Prior to redeeming electronic money from your E-Money Account, we may conduct checks for the purposes of preventing fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes, and as required by applicable law. This may mean you are prevented or delayed from withdrawing electronic money until those checks are completed to our reasonable satisfaction in order to comply with our regulatory requirements.

Your Liability

You are responsible for understanding and complying with the Agreement and these Terms. 
Optimus and/or Uphold may restrict or refuse to authorise your use of your E-Money Account if using your E-Money Account is causing or could cause a breach of these Terms or the Agreement or if either party has reasonable grounds for suspecting that you or a third party has committed or is about to commit a crime or other abuse in connection with your E-Money Account.

You or your Authorised Persons must not allow another person to use security information related to the E-Money Account, write down password(s) or any security information unless this is done in a way that would make it impossible for anyone else to recognise any of that information, or disclose passwords or any security information, or otherwise make them available to any other person, whether verbally or by entering them in a way that allows them to be observed by others. You must take all reasonable steps to keep your E-Money Account and password(s) and any other security-related details safe at all times.

If you have any indication that your E-Money Account, password or other security information has been compromised, you must immediately change your password and notify us as soon as possible.

Unauthorised or Incorrect Transactions

If you believe that a transaction using your E-Money Account has been carried out that you did not authorise (an “Unauthorised Transaction”), or if you have reason to believe that a transaction using your E-Money Account has been incorrectly carried out or is not complete (an “Incorrect Transaction”), you must contact us as soon as possible, and in any case no later than 13 months after the Unauthorised Transaction or Incorrect Transaction occurred.

It is important that you regularly check your E-Money Account balances and transaction history to ensure any Unauthorised Transactions or Incorrect Transactions are identified and notified to us at the earliest possible opportunity.

Neither Uphold nor Optimus are not responsible for any claim for Unauthorised Transactions or Incorrect Transactions unless you have notified us in accordance with these Terms. 

Neither Uphold nor Optimus are not responsible for any claim for Unauthorised Transactions or Incorrect Transactions if you have acted fraudulently, intentionally or with negligence and this has resulted in the Unauthorised Transactions or Incorrect Transactions.

During any investigation of any actual or potential Unauthorised Transactions or Incorrect Transactions, we reserve the right to suspend your E-Money Account to avoid further losses.

If an Unauthorised Transaction occurs in your E-Money Account as a result of our failure, we will refund you the amount of that transaction by no later than the end of the next business day after becoming aware of the unauthorised transaction and restore your E-Money Account to the state it would have been in had the unauthorised transaction not taken place. Generally, you will not be liable for losses incurred after you have notified us of the unauthorised transaction or if we have failed at any time to provide you with the means for notifying us.

You will be liable for the first £35 of any losses you incur in respect of an unauthorised transaction in your E-Money Account which arises from the use of lost or stolen credentials (for example when you have failed to keep your Login Credentials secure), and if you are fraudulent, or you intentionally or negligently fail to carry out your obligations under these Terms and this results in unauthorised transactions in E-Money Account (for example, if you deliberately share your email and password with a third party, or are grossly negligent in keeping your email and password secure), you will be liable for all resultant losses incurred as a result of any such unauthorised transactions, not just the first £35.

Where there is a dispute between us and you regarding whether or not a transaction is an Unauthorised Transaction, we may (but are not obliged to) temporarily credit your E-Money Account whilst we settle the dispute.

Where we determine that the transaction was authorised, we may reverse that credit and correct errors made in any statement of E-Money Account without prior notice to you, although please note that during this period your E-Money Account may be temporarily locked to avoid further Unauthorised Transactions. You will also be liable to Optimus (as a debt) for any electronic money you have transferred which was temporarily credited to your E-Money Account.

Where an Incorrect Transaction is made in your E-Money Account as a result of our action or error we shall refund to you the amount of that transaction without undue delay and restore your E-Money Account to the state in which it would have been had the Incorrect Transaction not taken place. We will also endeavour to provide you with reasonable notice where possible. We will also pay any charges for which we are responsible. Irrespective of our liability, on your request, we shall try to trace any incorrect transaction initiated by you free of charge. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to trace such transactions.

Amendments

We may change these Terms by providing you with at least 2 months’ prior notice by e-mail (provided you have supplied us with an up-to-date e-mail address). All proposed changes will also be posted on the Platform.

You have no obligation to accept such proposed amendments. If you do not agree with the changes to the Terms, you may at any time within the 2 months’ notice period notify us and these Terms will be terminated and your E-Money Account closed free of charge. If you do not notify us to the contrary during this period then you will be deemed to have accepted the change and it will apply to you when it comes into force.

If any part of these Terms are inconsistent with any legal requirements then we will not rely on that part but treat it as if it did actually reflect the relevant legal requirement. If we need to make operational changes before we can fully comply with the new regulatory requirement, we will make those changes as soon as reasonably practical.

Termination or Suspension

Optimus and/or Uphold can terminate your E-Money Account at any time if we give you two months’ notice and transfer any available balance at the time to your nominated bank account without a charge.

Optimus and/or Uphold can suspend or terminate your E-Money Account at any time with immediate effect (and until your default has been remedied or the Terms terminated) without any prior notice to you if:

• we discover any of the Information that we hold for you is false, misleading or materially incorrect; 
• you, an Authorised Person or a third party has engaged in fraudulent, money laundering, terrorism financing or other illegal activity in connection with your E-Money Account or Uphold and/or Optimus have reasonable suspicions in respect of same; 
• if you have reached your account limit; 
• if you have breached these Terms or the terms of the Agreement;
• Optimus and/or Uphold is required to do so under any applicable law or regulation or at the direction of any regulatory, law enforcement or other competent authority; or
• Uphold suspends or terminates your use of its services under the terms of the Agreement.

In the event that we do suspend or terminate your E-Money Account then if we are able to do so, we will tell you in advance otherwise we will let you know immediately afterwards (to the extent we are permitted by law).

Closing your E-Money Account

You may close your E-Money Account at any time by contacting [email protected].

The E-Money Account will be closed if Uphold instructs Optimus to close your E-Money Account (in which case Uphold will inform you of this instruction). 

Any available balance remaining on the E-Money Account after closure will be transferred to your nominated bank account. If for any reason this is not possible, such available balance will remain yours and you may at any time request a refund by contacting [email protected].  We will maintain the balance for 6 years commencing on the date of termination of these Terms.

You must pay immediately all outstanding fees due (where applicable).

You will not have any access to your E-Money Account from the date of closure and these Terms will terminate.

Our Liability

Optimus’ and Uphold’s liability in connection with these Terms (whether arising in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise) shall be subject to the following exclusions and limitations:

1. We shall not be liable for any default resulting directly or indirectly from any cause beyond our control, including but not limited to, a lack of funds;
2. We shall not be liable for any loss of profits, loss of business, or any indirect, consequential, special or punitive losses, including any tax consequences;
3. Where sums are incorrectly deducted from your available balance due to our default, our liability shall be limited to payment to you of an equivalent amount to that which was incorrectly deducted from your available balance; and
4. In all other circumstances of our default, our liability will be limited to transferring any available balance to your nominated bank account.

In circumstances where sums are incorrectly deducted from your available balance due to our fault, if we require your support to enable us to recover the incorrect deduction, you agree to provide us with all assistance that we reasonably require.

Nothing in these Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or fraud.

To the extent permitted by law, all conditions or warranties implied by law, statute or otherwise are expressly excluded. 

The above exclusions and limitations apply to any liability of our affiliates and other suppliers, contractors, agents or distributors and any of their respective affiliates (if any), to you, which may arise in connection with these Terms.

Complaints

Complaints regarding any element of the service provided by us can be sent to [email protected].

All complaints will be subject to our complaints procedure. Uphold will provide you with a copy of the complaints procedure upon request.

In most cases, we will provide a full response by email to your complaint within fifteen Business Days after the date we receive your complaint. In exceptional circumstances where we are unable to respond in full to your complaint, we will inform you of this giving our reasons for the delay and the timeframe within which you will receive a full reply, which in any event shall be within thirty-five days of the date we received your complaint.

If you have a complaint relating to the electronic money services provided to you under these Terms, and that complaint cannot be resolved through the dispute process set out above, you may then be able to take unresolved complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS”).

You can find further information about the FOS and the types of complainants eligible to submit matters to the FOS using the following details:

• Address: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR
• Telephone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9 123
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

General

These Terms are written and available only in English and we undertake to communicate with you in English regarding any aspect of your E-Money Account. You agree that Optimus or Uphold may communicate with you in the same manner as set out in the Agreement. 

You can request a copy of these Terms at any time by contacting [email protected].

Any delay or failure to exercise any right or remedy under these Terms by us shall not be construed as a waiver of that right or remedy or preclude its exercise at any subsequent time.

If any provision of these Terms is deemed unenforceable or illegal, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

You may not assign or transfer any of your rights and/or benefits under these Terms and you shall be the sole party to the contract between us. You will remain liable until the E-Money Account issued to you is terminated. We may assign our rights and benefits at any time without prior written notice to you. We may subcontract any of our obligations under these Terms.

No third party who is not a party to these Terms has a right to enforce any of the provisions in these Terms.

You acknowledge that both Uphold and Optimus may process personal data in relation to you, either that you have provided or in the future will provide to us, in connection with these Terms, or the electronic money services. Uphold will process this personal data in accordance with Privacy Policy.

You consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales in connection with any dispute or controversy arising under or related to these Terms.

The laws of England and Wales, subject to any local mandatory law, or rights available to consumers, shall govern this Agreement and the relationship between us.