Legal

Website Terms of Use

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using the website

1. Terms of website use

This terms of use (together with the documents referred to in it) tells you the terms of use on which you may make use of our website Checkout.com (‘our website’), whether as a guest or a registered user. Use of our website includes accessing, browsing, or registering to use our site. Please read these terms of use carefully before you start to use our website. By using our website, you confirm that you accept these terms of use and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these terms of use, you must not use our website.

2. Other applicable terms

The following terms also apply to your use of our website:
Our Privacy Policy, which sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. By using our website, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.

Our Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies on our website.
[If you purchase services from our website, our Merchant Services Agreement will apply to the sales.]

3. Information about us

www.checkout.com is a website operated by Checkout Ltd (“we”). We are regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as an electronic money institution under number 900816 and have our registered office at Wenlock Works, Shepherdess Walk, London, N1 7BQ. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under number ZA071209.

4. Changes to these terms

We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. Please check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we made, as they are binding on you.

5. Information on our website and changes to it

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. We endeavour to keep the information published on our website up to date and correct, however we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

6. Your account and password

If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential. You must not disclose it to any third party.

We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use.

If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user identification code or password, you must promptly notify us at [email protected] stating in the subject matter of your email ‘Website Terms of Use – Password issues’.

7. Privacy

Our overriding objective is to handle all data fairly and securely. Any information you give us about yourself will be stored on our systems and may be disclosed to, processed and used by us, and the other companies that assist us in providing our services in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

8. Intellectual property rights

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our website, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.
You may print or download extracts of any page(s) from our website for your personal use and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to content posted on our website.

You must not modify in any way the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our website must always be acknowledged.

You must not use any part of the content on our website for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

If you print off, copy or download any part of our website in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

9. Limitation of our liability

Nothing in these terms of use excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other terms which may apply to our website or any content on it, whether express or implied.
We will not be liable to any user for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:
use of, or inability to use, our website ; or
use of or reliance on any content displayed on our website.

If you are a business user, please note that in particular, we will not be liable for:
loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue;
business interruption;
loss of anticipated savings;
loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or
any indirect or consequential loss or damage.

If you are a consumer user, please note that we only provide our website for domestic and private use. You agree not to use our website for any commercial or business purposes, and we have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our website or to your downloading of any content on it, or on any website linked to it.

We assume no responsibility for the content of websites linked to our website. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsements by us of those linked websites. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Different limitations and exclusions of liability will apply to liability arising as a result of the supply of any goods by us to you, which will be set out in our Merchant Service Agreement.

10. Viruses

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform in order to access our website. You should use your own virus protection software, as we do not guarantee that our website will be secure or free from bugs or viruses at all times.

You must not misuse our website by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorized access to our website, the server on which our website is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to our website. You must not attack our website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our website will cease immediately.

11. Linking to our website

You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it.
You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.
You must not establish a link to our website in any website that is not owned by you.
Our website must not be framed on any other website, nor may you create a link to any part of our website other than the home page.
We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

12. Third party links and resources in our website

Where our website contains links to other websites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those websites or resources.

13. Contact us

To contact us in relation to these terms of use, please email [email protected] stating in the subject matter of your email ‘Question re Website Terms of Use’.
Thank you for visiting our website.

Payments and E-Money Regulation Policy Statement

It is our policy and obligation to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements when providing services to our customers. The provision of the payment services in the UK is regulated by the EU Payment Services Directive which continues to form part of domestic law in the UK post Brexit through the Payment Services Regulation 2017 and UK versions of other European secondary legislation. Checkout Ltd, as an electronic money institution (EMI), is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 for the provision of electronic money services activities and payment services (Register No. 900816).

Key features of UK payments and e-money regulation include:

• Capital requirements & liquidity – EMIs such as Checkout Ltd are required to maintain minimum levels of capital. We must also hold sufficiently liquid assets to be able to honour processed transactions and to meet our working capital requirements.
• Systems & Controls – Checkout Ltd must maintain organisational arrangements that are sufficient to minimise the risk of the loss or reduction of our customers’ funds or assets through fraud, misuse, negligence or poor administration. In addition, we are required to have effective risk management procedures, adequate internal control mechanisms and to maintain relevant records.
• Financial Crime – Checkout Ltd must comply with legal requirements to deter and detect financial crime, which includes money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Status of e-money accounts and safeguarding when Checkout provides e-money and payment services
  If you are a merchant using Checkout.com’s services, please note that your account is not a deposit or savings account – it’s an e-money and payment account. As your Checkout.com account is not a bank account, it’s not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
  Although there is no FSCS protection, Checkout.com ensures that your money is safe by complying with the safeguarding requirements under the payments and e-money regulations. We do this by holding our customers’ money separately from Checkout.com’s own funds – this is called ‘safeguarding’. Customers’ money is held in separate bank accounts with top UK banks. Safeguarding ensures that in the unlikely event Checkout.com became insolvent, customers’ funds would be protected against claims by creditors because the funds are held separately and are not classed as Checkout.com funds.
  

Declined Lines of Business Policy

You may not use the Checkout.com service for activities that:

• Are inappropriate content, goods or services that promote, cause or further Hate/Violence/Racism/Religious persecution;
• Cannabis, Marijuana and Marijuana-Related Businesses;
• Calling cards;
• Cigarettes;
• Drug paraphernalia;
• Drugs / Illicit substances, steroids and certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety;
• Encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity;
• High Risk File hosting / sharing and cyberlockers;
• Human body parts or bodily fluids;
• Infringe any duly registered copyrights/trademarks or other violation of intellectual property rights;
• Involve the sale of products or services identified by government agencies to have a high likelihood of being fraudulent;
• Involve offering or receiving payments for the purpose of bribery or corruption any form of high yield financial investments (get rich quick schemes);
• Items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity;
• Mail order spouse / global matchmaking services;
• PC Support sold via outbound telemarketing;
• Penny and reverse Auctions;
• Pornography and other obscene materials;
• Pyramid or ponzi schemes, matrix programs;
• Relate to the sale of dangerous or hazardous goods;
• Repossession services;
• Sale of government ID’s or documents;
• Stolen goods including digital and virtual goods;
• Transactions involving fraudulent / deceptive marketing practices;
• Violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation;
• Weapons, firearms and ammunitions;
  

Activities Requiring Approval

Checkout Ltd requires pre-approval to accept payments for certain services as detailed below:

• Activities involving gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, fantasy sports, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not legally defined as gambling) and sweepstakes, if the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law;
• Acting as a money transmitter or selling stored value cards; selling stocks, bonds, securities, options, futures (forex) or an investment interest in any entity or property or providing escrow services;
• Any form debt and loan related businesses;
• Any product or services sold through negative option marketing;
• Any product or services sold through outbound telemarketing;
• Collecting donations as a charity or non-profit organization;
• Dating services;
• Dealing in jewels, precious metals and stones;
• Delivery of future services including airlines, travel agencies and hotel bookings and event ticketing;
• Dropshipping;
• Internet pharmacies (including referral sites) or prescription drugs/devices;
• Mail Order or Telephone Order companies (MOTO);
• Proprietary trading firms;
• Pseudo-pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals and food products (highly regulated), including, but not limited to CBD related products;
• Selling alcoholic beverages, e-cigarette devices and non-cigarette tobacco products, food supplements;
• Third-party agents (Payment facilitation and aggregation);
• Virtual currencies including but not limited to Bitcoin and Bitcoin exchanges;
• VOIP and airtime sales;
  

Violations of the Acceptable Use Policy

We encourage you to report violations of this Acceptable Use Policy to Checkout.com immediately. If you have a question about whether a type of transaction may violate the Acceptable Use Policy, you can email our Compliance Department at:  [email protected]

Infringement Reporting Policy

It is our policy to take appropriate action where necessary to remove from our services or to disallow the use of our services in connection with material that is claimed to be infringing. If you are an intellectual property rights owner and you believe a website or a webpage using our services sells, offers for sale, makes available goods and/or services, or otherwise includes content or materials that infringe your intellectual property rights, then please contact us at  [email protected] stating in the subject matter of your email ‘Infringement Report’.

Anti-Money Laundering Policy Statement

It is our policy and obligation to comply with the anti-money laundering legal and regulatory requirements, and we take these very seriously. As a registered electronic money institution operating in UK, Checkout Ltd is subject to The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (“Money Laundering Regulations”); The Terrorism Act 2000; The Proceeds of Crime ("POCA") Act 2002 and The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008.

As it is supervised by the FCA, Checkout Ltd is required to meet, among others, the following legal requirements:

• Understand and interpret the legal and regulatory framework for AML/CTF requirements and systems;
• Understand standard industry best practice in AML/CTF procedures and proportionate risk-based approach;
• Design and implement the systems and controls necessary to mitigate the risk of being used in connection with money laundering or financing terrorism.
  

Checkout Ltd’s AML legal obligations include among others:

• Verify customers’ (including beneficial owners’) identity and address;
• Keep full records of all transactions together with identification provided;
• Monitor any unusual or suspicious transactions of any size;
• Report any suspicious transaction to the National Crime Agency.

Complaints Handling Policy

Our policy
Checkout.com is committed to providing the highest level of care to all our customers. If you feel that our service has not met your expectations, then please tell us. Customer complaints are important to our organisation. They offer specific insights into how we might improve our services, processes and procedures.

What to do if you have a complaint?
Please contact us at  [email protected], detailing the nature of your complaint and providing all relevant information and your contact details. To ensure that your complaint is resolved as soon as possible, please outline any steps you would like us to take in addressing the issue.

Our complaints procedure
• Once a complaint has been received, we will acknowledge it and aim to resolve it as quickly as possible. The length of time will depend on the nature of the issues involved. Should a delay occur, we will contact you explaining the reason of the delay and outline the next steps.
• If you have received an offer of remedial action or redress from us in response to a complaint you have submitted, and if you consider it to be acceptable, please let us know so that we can comply promptly with it.

United Kingdom

This information is for Checkout.com customers based in the United Kingdom that receive services from Checkout Ltd. If you have submitted a complaint to Checkout.com and are not satisfied with our final response, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), but you must do this within six months of our final response. The FOS is an independent organisation. Its function is to help settle individual disputes between consumers and businesses providing financial services, such as Checkout Ltd.

Please refer to the FOS’ website for details of your rights. In summary, only "eligible complainants" may refer their complaints to the FOS. These include microenterprises, medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) and small charities. Contact details for the FOS are outlined below.

The Financial Ombudsman Service

Exchange Tower

London

E14 9SR

‍[email protected]

‍0800 0 234 567

Canada

‍This information is for Checkout.com users based in Canada that are serviced by Checkout Payment Systems Canada Inc. (CPSC). Checkout.com has established a process for managing potential Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada compliance violations. If you have a complaint about a particular element of the Code, please fill out the applicable fields in the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) complaint handling form and submit the completed form to [email protected].Checkout.com will provide the following promptly after a complaint has been investigated and addressed:

• A summary of the complaint
• The final result of the investigation
• The final decision, including an explanation

If you have made a complaint to CPSC and are not satisfied with the response received, you can refer your complaint to the FCAC by calling 1-866-461-3222 or emailing [email protected].

Tax strategy

Checkout.com is a cloud-based payments platform which enables businesses and their communities to thrive in the digital economy. A key operating principle for our people at Checkout.com is to create a positive legacy, and our tax strategy is adopted with this in mind.

Approach to tax risk management:

Checkout.com strives to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, including through our responsible approach to tax risk management. We commit to complying with applicable tax laws and regulations in the jurisdictions which we operate. This includes calculating, reporting and paying the appropriate amount of tax in a timely manner.

Ultimate responsibility for Checkout.com’s tax policy sits with the Board, who delegate executive level responsibility to the CFO. Day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the Group VP Tax, who sits on a series of Committees which provide a forum to share tax updates to the CFO and Board.

The Group VP Tax is supported by an experienced tax team. They are closely integrated with the business so that tax risk is proactively considered at the forefront of business decisions. If there is uncertainty or ambiguity in relation to a particular tax risk, professional advisers will be consulted.

Checkout.com operates a tax risk framework to ensure we have the appropriate people, processes, controls and systems in place to proactively manage tax risk.

Attitude to tax planning and level of risk:

Checkout.com has a low appetite for tax risk. We take responsible tax decisions that are compliant, and only engage in genuine commercial activities. We do not pursue tax planning initiatives that are considered aggressive or out of line with the principles set out in this tax strategy.

Relationship with HMRC and other stakeholders:

Checkout commits to having  an open, collaborative and transparent relationship with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customers (‘HMRC’) and other stakeholders, including our auditors and financial regulators. Where appropriate, Checkout may seek to notify HMRC on our interpretation of the law before a tax decision is made. Checkout will also respond to requests from HMRC in a transparent and timely manner where additional clarity in relation to our tax compliance is required.

Scope of this tax strategy:

This tax strategy applies to our UK companies, Checkout Ltd and Checkout Technology Ltd, in relation to the year ended 31 December 2024. It has been published in accordance with the requirements set out at paragraph 19(2) of Schedule 19 of the Finance Act 2016.

Value Added Services Terms

B. Account Updater Service

These Account Updater Service Terms supplement the General Terms.

1. Account Updater Service
   1. The Company may send Checkout.com Buyer information that it holds or Checkout.com may regularly check Buyer information that it holds on the Company’s behalf.
   2. Checkout.com may request a Payment Method to check Buyer information and confirm whether there has been any change to such information. If Checkout.com receives confirmation of changes to the Buyer information, it will update such Buyer information accordingly.
   3. Checkout.com is not responsible for the accuracy of the Buyer information received from the Company or any Payment Method.
   4. The Company must only use the Account Updater Service in accordance with the instructions of Checkout.com.
2. Definitions
   1. Capitalised terms used but not defined in these Account Updater Service Terms will have the meaning given to them in the General Terms.

C. Authentication Services

These Authentication Service Terms supplement the General Terms. 

Authentication Services

1. Authentication Services
   1. The Authentication Services will be made available for Transactions that are processed via Checkout.com or via a third party acquirer, provided the means of Authentication is supported by the Payment Method used, the respective issuer and implemented by Checkout.com’s current software.
   2. Checkout.com will not be liable for any delays in the response times for Authentication, or declines or malfunctioning of Authentication where such issues are caused by third parties, including issuers and their Authentication providers.
2. Definitions
   1. Capitalised terms used but not defined in these Authentication Terms will have the meaning given to them in the General Terms.

F. Fraud and Risk Management Service

These Fraud and Risk Management Service Terms supplement the General Terms. 

1. Fraud and Risk Management Service
   1. The Company must use the Fraud and Risk Management Service in accordance with Checkout.com’s instructions and provide complete and accurate payment information required by Checkout.com.
2. Risk Assessment 
   1. The Fraud and Risk Management Service is a rule-based solution and the Company may apply the settings and rules that it wants via the Dashboard.
   2. The Fraud and Risk Management Service utilises a machine learning tool that scores transactions based on their likelihood of being fraudulent, which can be incorporated into the Company’s settings and rules. As this tool is based on machine learning, Checkout.com may be unable to provide the underlying reasons for why a particular score is given to a Transaction.
   3. The final responsibility for the acceptance or cancellation of a Transaction, based on the Company’s settings and rules remains with the Company.
   4. Checkout.com may change the settings and rules that are available and used in the Fraud and Risk Management Service.
   5. The Fraud and Risk Management Service does not guarantee the prevention of fraudulent Transactions. Checkout.com may notify the Company if it believes that the settings and rules that are chosen are likely to result in high levels of unauthorised Transactions. Checkout.com is not obliged to check the settings and rules chosen.
3. Definitions
   1. Capitalised terms used but not defined in these Fraud and Risk Management Service Terms will have the meaning given to them in the General Terms.

I. Intelligent Acceptance Service

These Intelligent Acceptance Service Terms supplement the General Terms.

1. Intelligent Acceptance Service
   1. The Company must only use the Intelligent Acceptance Service in accordance with the instructions of Checkout.com. Checkout.com may change the settings of the Intelligent Acceptance Service to manage Transactions as it deems fit, based on the Company’s given preferred criteria for optimisation.
   2. Use of the Intelligent Acceptance Service may dictate strategies that make use of other Services. To use the Intelligent Acceptance Service, Checkout.com may automatically opt the Company into other chargeable Services, and should it do so, the relevant Service Terms will apply and the Company’s usage of such Services will constitute acceptance of the relevant Service Terms. Depending on the Company’s preferences, certain Transaction flow strategies may result in additional Fees.
   3. The Company must send Checkout.com the information it requires in relation to the Intelligent Acceptance Service and cooperate with Checkout.com in the analysis of the information and the implementation of the analysis. The Company must ensure that any information provided is complete and accurate.
   4. The Intelligent Acceptance Service does not guarantee any outcomes.
   5. To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, Checkout.com is not liable for any increase in Payment Method fees or loss of success rate as a result of the Intelligent Acceptance Service.
2. Definitions
   1. Capitalised terms used but not defined in these Intelligent Acceptance Service Terms will have the meaning given to them in the General Terms.

J. Network Token Service

These Network Token Service Terms supplement the General Terms.

1. Network Token Service
   1. In using the Network Token Service, the Company represents and warrants at all times that:
      1. it has all necessary approvals to transfer data to Checkout.com or its third party acquirer; and
      2. its use of the Network Token Service will not cause it to be in breach of any of its existing contracts.
   2. Checkout.com is not responsible for the accuracy of the data received from the Company or any third party acquirer, nor can Checkout.com guarantee that any Transactions processed using the Network Token Service will be authorised.
   3. The Company must only use the Network Token Service in accordance with the instructions of Checkout.com.
2. Definitions
   1. Capitalised terms used but not defined in these Network Token Service Terms will have the meaning given to them in the General Terms.

M. Vault Services

These Vault Service Terms supplement the General Terms.

1. 1. Complying with Applicable Laws‍
      1. The Company is fully responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Vault Data it stores with Checkout.com and that such Vault Data is compliant with Applicable Law.
      2. In the event that any Regulatory Authority requests access to the Company’s Vault Data, Checkout.com may provide such access without prior notice to the Company.
      3. The Company must indemnify Checkout.com for any Losses incurred if the Vault Data stored by the Company with Checkout.com is found to be stolen or misused in any manner.
   2. Deletion of Vault Data
      1. The Company is the data controller, and Checkout.com acts as the data processor, for the Vault Data submitted by the Company for storage in the Checkout.com vault.
      2. Checkout.com will delete any and all Vault Data stored with Checkout.com upon the Company’s request and promptly following termination of this Agreement or the permanent cessation of the provision of the Vault Services.
   3. Forward API
      1. Subject to section 3.4, the Company may use forward API functionality to securely transmit tokenized Vault Data to third parties.
      2. When using forward API functionality, it is the Company’s responsibility to ensure that the designated endpoint of any Vault Data that it instructs Checkout.com to transfer complies with Applicable Law, including any PCI DSS requirements.
      3. To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, Checkout.com shall not be liable for any Losses arising out of any transfer of Vault Data requested by the Company.
      4. Checkout.com reserves the right to refuse any transfer of Vault Data where it reasonably believes that the transfer or designated endpoint is not compliant with Applicable Law or Checkout.com internal policies, systems or controls.
   4. Definitions
      1. Capitalised terms used but not defined in these Vault Service Terms will have the meaning given to them in the General Terms.

Verification Policy

Please see our Verification Policy here