End-User Terms of Service
Payment Initiation Services Terms
Last Updated: 15 January 2024
1. Introduction
1.1. These terms apply to your use of our Payment Initiation Services. We call our Payment Initiation Services the “Services” in these terms.
1.2. It’s important you read these terms carefully and keep a copy in case you need to look at them in the future. You can ask us for a copy at any time free of charge via email to support@acquired.com
2. Who we are
2.1. We are Acquired Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under number 9660317 with our registered office at Glasshouse, Alderley Park, Nether Alderley, England, SK10 4ZE.
2.2. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 for the provision of payment services.
2.2.1. We are entered on the Financial Services Register and our firm reference number is 910612.
3. What is a Payment Initiation Service?
3.1. Payment Initiation Services are a type of payment service that is regulated by the Payment Services Regulations 2017.
3.2. In summary, Payment Initiation Services are a way of instructing us, Acquired Limited, to initiate a payment from your account on your behalf. You can choose to use our Payment Initiation Services as a simple alternative to using your credit or debit card to pay a merchant for goods or services you are purchasing.
3.3. Our Payment Initiation Services are provided using Open Banking, which is a secure method by which we communicate with your account provider (such as your bank or building society) to initiate the payment for you. You can find out more information about Open Banking at www.openbanking.org.uk.
4. The meaning of certain words used in these terms
4.1. We use certain words in these terms which start with a capital letter to show they have a special meaning under this agreement.
4.1.1 Account Provider means the bank or other institution that provides the account which you want to make a payment from.
4.1.2 Merchant means the business, organisation or individual you are making a payment to.
4.2. The word ‘you’ in this agreement, includes each person who is named on the account which you want to make a payment from using our Services. ‘You’ also includes any third parties you’ve authorised to act on your behalf where the term relates to giving us instructions. ‘You’ or ‘your’ means any one, both or all of you depending on the context.
4.3. The words ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ means Acquired Limited.
5. Introduction
5.1. These terms apply to the agreement between you and us to use our Services. Nothing in these terms affects your relationship with your Account Provider.
6. Our Services
6.1. We provide Payment Initiation Services. By choosing to pay using our Services, you are authorising us to access your account and instruct your Account Provider to make a payment to the Merchant on your behalf.
7. When can I use the Services and how do they work?
7.1. If you select to pay using our Services, you’ll be asked to select your Account Provider from a list of account providers. You can only use our Services to make a payment to the Merchant if your Account Provider is on that list, and only if your account is a UK sterling account.
7.2. Once you have selected your Account Provider, you’ll then be asked to confirm the name of the Merchant and the payment amount. By pressing ‘continue’ on the screen, this will be your consent to us to initiate the payment on your behalf.
7.3. After pressing ‘continue’, you’ll then be redirected to your Account Provider’s webpage or mobile banking app where you’ll be asked to provide your security information and select which account you want to make the payment from. Your Account Provider will not share your security information with us.
7.4. Your Account Provider will only display the accounts you’re able to make a payment from using Open Banking, which will be accounts which are accessible and can be operated online. You should contact your Account Provider if you can’t see an account you would expect to see. You’ll need to check that all the payment details (including the name of the Merchant and the amount), are correct as we can’t check them for you.
7.5. We’ll tell you on the screen if your payment has been initiated successfully or not.
8. Are there any fees for using our Services?
8.1. There are no fees for using our Services, which are free of charge to you.
9. How does the Merchant receive their money?
9.1. Once you have confirmed the account you want to make a payment from, we’ll ask your Account Provider to transfer your payment straight to the Merchant. You should be aware that we don’t handle your money at any time as part of our provision of the Services to you.
9.2. Your Account Provider is responsible for making the payment to the Merchant. The payment will be subject to your Account Provider’s terms and conditions. Your Account Provider may choose not to make the payment in line with the terms and conditions of your account. You should contact your Account Provider directly if there is any issue with your payment.
10. What types of payment can I use the Services for?
10.1. You can use our Services to make a single immediate payment to any Merchant who allows you to pay them using our Services as a payment option.
10.2. You will not be able to use our Services to make regular or recurring payments to the Merchant, for example to pay for a subscription. If you need to make this type of payment, you must use one of the other payment options provided to you by the Merchant.
11. What happens if something goes wrong?
11.1. It is important that you check the Merchant and payment details before confirming that you want us to initiate the payment for you. We aren’t responsible for any of the transaction details (such as the amount and Merchant details) as this information is passed to us by the Merchant, the product or service that you’re using, or in some instances, you may be asked to set the payment amount.
11.2. If the payment value is incorrect, we are not responsible for correcting the error, you should contact the Merchant before you ask us to initiate the transaction.
11.3. You are responsible for selecting your debiting account with your Account Provider (the particular account you want to make the payment from). If you select the wrong account, we will not be responsible for any loss you suffer as a result.
11.4. If you’re using Our Services to purchase goods or services and have any queries in relation to your order, you should contact the Merchant direct.
12. Service availability
12.1. If your Account Provider limits our access to your account for reasons that are beyond our control, we will not be able to initiate a payment to the Merchant on your behalf. This means that you will need to choose an alternative payment method to pay the Merchant using other means (such as using your card). We will tell you if we are not able to initiate the payment for you.
13. Your information
13.1. We will use your information to improve the way that we provide our Services to you and in order to make sure we can meet our legal and regulatory obligations.
13.2. Your information may be shared with selected partners involved in the delivery of our services. For further details on how and why we use your information, please refer to https://acquired.com/privacy-policy/.
14. Keeping your details safe
14.1. To keep your security information safe, you should never leave the device you are using to access our Services unattended. You should also make sure that any security information you use to access our Services is kept secret from others.
15. Making a complaint
15.1. If you are unhappy with our Services for any reason, please get in touch with us using the contact information below.
15.1.1. You can call us by telephone on +44 02039826580.
15.1.2. You can write to us at 5th Floor,15-19 Cavendish Place, London, W1G 0QE.
15.1.3. You can email us at compliance@acquired.com.
15.2. If you aren’t happy with the way we have dealt with your complaint, you may have the option to escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This is an independent organisation which specialises in resolving complaints with financial organisations.
15.2.1. The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted at Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR, 0800 023 4567, or by visiting www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact.
15.3. You can also get in touch with the Financial Conduct Authority, which is our regulatory supervisor if you have a complaint.
15.3.1. If you need to contact them you can do so by calling them on 0800 111 6768 (or +44 207 066 1000 from outside the UK), writing to them at 12 Endeavour Square London E20 1JN or visiting www.fca.org.uk/contact.
16. The law that applies to these terms
16.1. These terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes or claims) will be governed by English law.
16.2. If there’s a dispute between us, you can take legal action against us in any UK court. These terms and any communications we send to you will be in English.