Terms of use

Last updated: May 04, 2021

General

Please read these Terms of Use carefully before apply for a HELPFUL account. You should read this document along with our Privacy Policy and the PayrNet emoney Terms and Conditions.

These legal terms are between you and HELPFUL Ltd. and you agree to them by applying for a HELPFUL account. English law applies and disputes will be settled by English courts

The HELPFUL account is an electronic money product distributed by HELPFUL Ltd. All references to “we”, “us” or “HELPFUL”, refer to HELPFUL Ltd.. HELPFUL is a company registered in the United Kingdom with company number 10663300.

The HELPFUL account is an electronic money product and is a product regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority. Your emoney is issued by PayrNet Ltd. PayrNet Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 900594) and is permitted to issue emoney, with its registered office at Kemp House, 152 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX, company registration number 09883437.

The HELPFUL card is issued and operated by PayrNet Ltd., pursuant to a license by Mastercard Europe. Mastercard and the Mastercard Brand Mark are registered trademarks of Mastercard.

We will only communicate with you in English regarding any aspect of your HELPFUL account. We'll contact you in via email, using the details you provide whilst applying for your HELPFUL account. We’ll also send you instant notifications when you spend or receive money via the HELPFUL app.

By applying for a HELPFUL account, you agree to these Terms of Use and consent to HELPFUL processing the information you provide. We may change the Terms of Use at our discretion by giving you at least sixty (60) days’ notice by letter or by email to the contact details you provide whilst applying for your HELPFUL account.

We can make changes to these terms for any reason we feel that impacts HELPFUL or your account. We may make specific changes because of changes to:

  • law, regulation, industry standards or Financial Ombudsman, court or regulator decisions

  • the way we run our business

If we make changes that are clearly in your favour, we’ll tell you once we’ve made them. Otherwise, we’ll give you two months’ notice and tell you our reasons via email communication. If you don’t agree with these changes, you can let us know, and we’ll close your account. If we don’t hear from you before the changes come into effect, we’ll assume that you’re happy and accept the changes we’ve made.


Your HELPFUL Card

Your HELPFUL card is a Mastercard Debit Card and can be used wherever the Mastercard logo is displayed. This includes online, at Automated Teller Machines (ATM)s, and at Point Of Sale (POS) devices. Your card may not work in certain merchants, countries or regions, due to restrictions out of the control of HELPFUL.

The HELPFUL card is not a credit card and is limited to the amount you load into your HELPFUL account connected to your HELPFUL card. The balance of your HELPFUL account, showing what can be spent via your card, can be viewed via the HELPFUL app. For a transaction to be authorised you will need enough money in your HELPFUL account to make the payment.

The HELPFUL account may only be loaded via the method provided and approved by HELPFUL. Currently HELPFUL’s preferred load method is via PLAID Ltd. Should you have any questions about loading your card, please contact [email protected]

HELPFUL advise you review PLAID Ltd’s Terms of Use before using their services. They can be found here https://plaid.com/legal/#consumers

HELPFUL Ltd is not a subsidiary or controlling / beneficial owner of PLAID Ltd.. PLAID is a Payment Initiation Service Provider and acts independently outside of HELPFUL’s control. By agreeing to these terms you also agree to the terms of PLAID Ltd..

We may block your load attempt if:

  • your instructions are unclear

  • we suspect criminal activity on your account

  • we're not legally allowed to make the transfer

If we block a payment, we'll let you know as soon as possible via email or notification via the HELPFUL app.

By accepting these terms, you agree to us using your information to make payments to your HELPFUL account from the bank account authorised by PLAID Ltd.

Certain limits apply to your HEPFUL card including a maximum load and spend limit. The limits are set out in the table below;

We reserve the right to refuse to accept any particular load or transaction if we feel it constitutes a fraud or money laundering risk.

When using your HELPFUL card, we’ll offer you cashback when you spend at our supported merchants. The cashback limits can be withdrawn or changed at any time, without letting you know in advance. The timing of cashback rewards can vary depending on the merchant, and will be deposited directly into your HELPFUL account. Cashback rewards are only accessible via your HELPFUL account balance, and can only be redeemed by using your HELPFUL card.

If you have selected to receive a physical card, you must sign on the reverse of the card before it is used. Activation instructions will be available in the packaging that your card is provided in and in the HELPFUL app. If you have any questions about activating your card, please contact [email protected].

A virtual card can be used immediately upon issue and does not need to be activated. Your virtual card details are available in the HELPFUL app.

Card information, including the 16-digit account number, expiry date and security code, is for use by you only and expires on the date shown. Upon expiry a new card will be issued.

Customer Service will not be able to tell you your card details for your own security.

Your HELPFUL card can only be used if your HELPFUL account has a positive balance. If the balance on the HELPFUL account does drop below zero (0), you agree to reimburse the funds to bring the balance back to zero (0) or above. Certain restrictions of the HELPFUL card and connected services may become unavailable if your HELPFUL account balance becomes overdrawn.

The balance of the HELPFUL account remains your property until used by you for a transaction or transferred out the HELPFUL account. Upon termination of this agreement the unspent funds will be returned to you by HELPFUL.

When you use the card, the amount of each transaction will be deducted from the balance of the HELPFUL account. Each transaction will require authorisation and the transaction cannot be stopped once authorised. If there are insufficient funds in the HELPFUL account to pay for a transaction the transaction may be declined.

If a transaction is eligible for a refund, this will be initiated by the merchant. HELPFUL cannot initiate a refund on your behalf.

The HELPFUL card cannot be used for purchasing goods from adult or gambling merchants. The card must not be used for any activity that comes into conflict with the laws and regulations of the country of purchase and/or issuance.

All funds in your HELPFUL account are safeguarded by HELPFUL’s Electronic Money Sponsor, PayrNet Ltd.

In the unlikely event of HELPFUL’s insolvency, your funds are protected and will be returned to you by PayrNet Ltd.

Your financial statements are available to view or download via the HELPFUL app, Account > Statements. Your statement will show:

  • A record of each load/transaction made in relation to your HELPFUL account and any associated merchant details;

  • the value of the load/ transaction shown in the currency in which it was made;

  • any relevant exchange rate applied to the load/transaction by HELPFUL; and

  • the date and time of the load/transaction when it was received by HEPLFUL.

You will receive an email each month reminding you to review your transaction history via the HELPFUL app.

Usage Fees

The HELFUL card is free to use at any UK domestic POS or Online merchant.

However, if you use your HELPFUL card to purchase goods or services or withdraw cash in a currency other than the currency of your HELPFUL account, then such transactions may be converted to the currency of your HELPFUL account when we receive details of it. For foreign currency transactions we will use Mastercard authorised rates with a 5% fee applied by HELPFUL. These can be found via the HELPFUL app and at www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion.

For both domestic and inter-regional ATM Cash Withdrawals, HELPFUL will charge a fixed fee of £3 per transaction.

We advise you review any additional charges the merchant or ATM may charge you before authorising the transaction as this is out of the control of HELPFUL.

Security

You must keep your personal details and account details secret and safe at all times, in particular, but without limitation, by:

  • never allowing anyone else to use the card or to share passwords and/or user names;

  • not carrying or storing the PIN with your HELPFUL card;

  • not revealing the PIN to anyone including the police, HELPFUL Ltd, and/or Mastercard;

  • reporting any suspected compromise of details relating to the card or your HELPFUL account to [email protected] to warn of any potential attempts to commit identity fraud in the you name.

HELPFUL will never ask you or to reveal your PIN.

The PIN may be blocked if an incorrect PIN is entered three (3) times at and ATM or POS device. If the PIN is blocked, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

We reserve the right to suspend your use of the card, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any part of this agreement, or if we believe your card is at risk of misuse and/or fraudulent activity. If you card has been suspended by HELPFUL Ltd. please contact [email protected] for assistance.

If you have temporarily misplaced your card, or you suspect your card may be compromised, your card can be frozen and unfrozen by you via the app. If you notice a transaction on your account that you do not recognise, you must notify HELPFUL without delay.

If your card has been lost or stolen, a replacement card may be able to be obtained by contacting [email protected]. You may be charged a fee of £5 for a replacement card.

You are responsible for monitoring your account activity to confirm that there is no suspicious or fraudulent activity and for reporting any unauthorised activity to HELPFUL.

Provided that you have notified us in an appropriate time, you may be entitled to a reversal of that transaction if the unauthorised transaction arose from the loss, theft or misappropriation of your card details. HELPLFUL may reimburse you for the amount involved, up to a total of £250.

For anything additional a Mastercard Chargeback Dispute will need to be raised to Mastercard by our Mastercard BIN Sponsor, PayrNet Ltd.. In this instance, return of the funds will depend on the time it takes for Mastercard to investigate your claim and establish a Dispute Resolution. But HELPFUL will do all in our power to ensure a swift resolution of any Chargeback Claim.

HELPFUL has no control over the outcome of any Chargeback Claim raised to Mastercard.

If, based on the evidence available to us at the time of the unauthorised transaction, we determine that the transaction was either;

authorised by you;

allowed to happen because of your gross negligence; or

suspected of fraudulent activity on your part,

We will not make any reimbursement and you will be liable for the full amount of all losses incurred.

If we discover or suspect any security issues affecting your account, we’ll contact you via email. We may be required to take the required actions to suspend your account if we feel your security is at risk.

Liability

HELPFUL will not be liable for any loss due to;

  • any events outside our reasonable control;

  • any system outage outside our control;

  • any ATM or merchant refusing to or being unable to accept the HELPFUL card;

  • HELPFUL taking any action required by any government law or regulation;

We do not guarantee that the HELPFUL app, or any product or part of a product provided by HELPFUL, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend, withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of our business for operational reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal.

Open Banking

You may instruct a Third Party Provider (TPP) to access your HELPFUL account in order to provide you with account consolidated information.

We reserve the right to refuse or suspend access to your account by a TPP where, at our reasonable discretion, we believe:

  • the TPP does not have your explicit consent;

  • the TPP doesn’t have the appropriate FCA authorisation; or

  • we believe the TPP is acting fraudulently.

If TPP access to your HELPFUL account has been refused or suspended, please contact [email protected] for details.

Ending this agreement

These Terms of Use shall continue in force until termination of your agreement with HELPFUL.

We may terminate our agreement with you, with immediate effect, if:

  • you are unable or refuse to pay any negative HELPFUL account balance;

  • there is a withdrawal of regulator approval, and HELPFUL is unable to provide the services required;

  • if you are the subject of any criminal investigations or proceedings;

  • you have provided us false information at any time;

  • you have been abusive to any member of the HELPFUL staff;

  • in the event of any termination of any agreement with any third party service provider engaged by or on behalf of us in connection with your HELPFUL account; or

  • in the event of any withdrawal of any membership or approval by the relevant card scheme required to issue your HELPFUL card;

  • you have broken any of the terms of this agreement.

Data Protection

The Information we collect may be disclosed by us to third parties (including PayrNet Ltd. and other third party providers) for anti-money laundering, detection of crime, legal compliance, enforcement and fraud prevention purposes. Where we are required to handle your Personal Data, we will at all times comply with the General Data Protection Legislation (GDPR).

If you’re no longer happy for us to use your information, we’ll have to close your account. But we may keep your personal data and use it where we have lawful grounds to do so. For example, any records we need to keep for regulatory reasons.

In this instance, personal data will only be retained for the purpose it was collected. Details of account application and transaction records will be placed on file and retained for a period of 6 (six) years after the agreement has been terminated in case needed for anti-money laundering (AML) or counter terrorist financing (CTF) investigations. After this period, the information will be deleted unless it has been agreed by you that HELPFUL may retain them.

As per, GDPR, you have the right to be forgotten upon terminating your agreement with HELPFUL. However, HELPFUL’s legal requirements to take appropriate monitoring of potential AML and CTF take precedence over the right to be forgotten should an investigation ever be required by any regulatory body or law enforcement agency. The precedence lasts 5 (five) years after the agreement has been terminated.

Full information on how we handle your personal data is set out in the Privacy Policy.

Closing your account

You can close your account at any time. Upon closure of your account we return all funds making up the remaining balance of your HELPFUL account to the initial load source.

If you’d like to close your account, you can do this within the app. Upon receipt of your closure request, we will action it as soon as we are able. Once the closure request has been accepted by HELPFUL, access to your HELPFUL account will be suspended as soon as the HELPFUL account balance has been reduced to zero (0). Your HELPFUL card will be cancelled upon suspension of your HELPFUL account.

Unfortunately, upon closing your HELPFUL account, you will not be entitled to any cashback still pending on your HELPFUL account.

Please allow at least three months for complete closure to provide an adequate window for unsettled transaction disputes.

If you wish to reopen a HELPFUL account you will need to go through the registration process again.

If you have any questions regarding these terms you can contact us at [email protected]. This agreement will always be available in the app and on our website.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please email us [email protected]