1. About these Terms
These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Vav website at vav.global, the Vav web application at app.vav.money, and any related interfaces, features and communications (together, the “Platform”). The Platform is operated by Sterick Limited, trading as Vav, a company incorporated in Hong Kong (Company Registration No. 80436340; Business Registration No. 80436340-000-05-26-7), whose registered office is at Unit D18, 3/F, Wong King Industrial Building, No. 2 Tai Yau Street, San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong (“Vav”, “we”, “us” and “our”). “You” and “your” refer to the business that holds a Vav account and, where the context requires, the people it authorises to use that account. Vav accounts on vav.global are available to businesses only; we do not offer personal or individual accounts.
By creating an account, joining the waitlist or otherwise using the Platform, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, AML/KYC Policy, Risk Disclosure, Cookie Policy and Complaints Policy, which all form part of your agreement with us. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
Please read these Terms carefully. They explain important things, including that Vav is a technology provider and not a bank, that financial services are provided by our partners under their own terms, and that our liability to you is limited.
2. Who we are and our role
Vav is the trading name of Sterick Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Our company details are set out in section 20.
Vav is a technology layer. We build and operate the software, app and customer experience that let you access financial services in one place. Vav is not a bank, an electronic money institution, a card issuer or a money transmitter, and we do not provide regulated financial services ourselves.
Financial services are provided by our partners. All regulated services that you access through Vav are provided by independent, appropriately authorised third-party providers (our “Partners”) in the jurisdictions in which they operate. Depending on the product and where you are, this includes:
- Account and payment partners, who provide the currency accounts, hold your fiat funds, give you local account details and process incoming and outgoing payments;
- Card issuing partners, who issue Vav virtual cards under licence from a card network and are responsible for card transactions;
- Payout partners, who process withdrawals to bank accounts and mobile-money wallets; and
- Identity and compliance partners, who help verify identity and screen transactions.
When you use a financial service through Vav, you enter into a separate agreement with the Partner that provides it. You will be shown, and asked to accept, the relevant Partner terms in the app before that service is made available to you. If those Partner terms conflict with these Terms on the provision of the financial service itself, the Partner terms apply. These Terms govern your use of the Platform.
Where your money is held. Customer funds are held by Fin, our banking partner, not by Vav. Funds you load onto a virtual card are held by the card issuing Partner. Vav never takes custody of your money. How your funds are held and protected depends on Fin’s regulatory regime and is explained in the Partner terms you accept in the app.
3. Eligibility and your account
Vav accounts are for businesses only. To open an account:
- the account holder must be a business established in a country where Vav and the relevant Partner make the service available;
- the account must be opened and operated by a person authorised to act for the business, who is at least 18 years old and has full legal capacity to bind the business;
- neither the business nor any of its owners, controllers or authorised users may be subject to sanctions, or owned or controlled by a person or entity that is;
- the account must be opened for the business itself, not on behalf of anyone else; and
- the business and the people connected to it must pass our and our Partners’ verification checks.
Some Partners apply additional eligibility criteria (for example an upper age limit for certain payout services); the app will tell you if a service is unavailable to you.
The business is responsible for everyone it allows to use the account, for their actions and instructions, and for removing their access promptly when they are no longer authorised.
Vav is launching in Pakistan first. Availability of products, currencies and features varies by country, account type and verification status. The app shows what is available to you. Nothing on our website is an offer of a service in a country where it is not available.
4. Verification and compliance
We and our Partners are required to verify who our customers are and to monitor activity to prevent financial crime. You agree to provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information and documents when asked, including at onboarding and at any time afterwards, and to tell us promptly if anything changes.
We may share your information with our Partners and with identity verification and screening providers for these purposes, as described in our Privacy Policy and AML/KYC Policy. We or a Partner may refuse an application, limit features or delay a transaction while checks are completed, without giving reasons where the law does not allow us to.
5. The services you can access
Subject to eligibility and availability, the Platform lets you:
- Hold and use currency accounts. Receive, hold and send funds in supported currencies (such as USD, EUR and GBP) through accounts provided by an account Partner.
- Withdraw to a bank account or mobile-money wallet. Send eligible funds to a bank account or mobile-money wallet in the business’s name or, where permitted and subject to checks, to a third party.
- Create and manage virtual cards. Create virtual cards issued by a card issuing Partner and control them in the app, including freezing, spending limits and adding them to supported mobile wallets. Cards are funded by top-ups you make from your own balance and are not credit cards. The billing address for your card is the business address you provided and we verified at registration. You must not give merchants a different billing address.
We may add, change or withdraw features, currencies or countries at any time. Where a change materially affects a service you use, we will try to give you reasonable notice.
6. Instructions and transactions
You are responsible for every instruction given through your account, including the recipient details, amount and currency. Once you confirm a transaction it may not be possible to cancel or reverse it.
Incoming funds are credited once they have been received and cleared by the Partner’s checks. If you send money to the wrong recipient or with the wrong details, we will try to help, but it may not be possible to recover it. Processing and arrival times are estimates and depend on networks, banks and compliance checks outside our control.
7. Fees, limits and exchange rates
Fees, limits and exchange rates that apply to your account are shown in the app and, before you confirm a transaction that carries a fee or conversion, on the confirmation screen. By confirming, you agree to pay them. Intermediary bank charges and card network or merchant charges may also apply and are not always within our control.
Exchange rates move constantly. A quoted rate is valid only for the time shown. Limits may apply per transaction, per day, per month or per account and may change based on verification level, risk and Partner requirements.
Vav does not pay interest on any balance.
8. Your responsibilities
You agree to use the Platform only for lawful purposes and in line with our Acceptable Use Policy. You must not use the Platform for anyone else’s benefit without our permission, give false information, or try to get around our controls or limits.
You are responsible for your own tax affairs, including reporting gains, losses and income connected with your use of the Platform.
9. Keeping your account secure
You must keep your login details, devices, one-time codes and card details secure and not share them with anyone. Enable every security feature the app offers. Vav staff and Partners will never ask for your password or one-time codes.
Tell us immediately at hello@vav.global or through the app if you think your account, device or card has been lost, stolen or used without your permission, and freeze your card in the app. Your rights for unauthorised transactions are set out in the relevant Partner terms, and you may be responsible for losses where you acted fraudulently or failed, intentionally or with gross negligence, to keep your account secure.
10. Suspension, restriction and closure
We or our Partners may suspend, restrict or close your account, a card or a feature, or refuse or delay a transaction, where we reasonably believe it is necessary, including if:
- you breach these Terms or any Partner terms;
- we suspect fraud, unauthorised use, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions breaches or other illegal activity;
- you do not provide information we request;
- a Partner stops providing a service to you or to Vav; or
- we are required to by law, a regulator or a court.
Where we are allowed to, we will tell you and explain what you can do. You can close your account at any time from the app or by contacting us, once any pending transactions are settled. On closure we will help you withdraw any remaining balance to an account in your name, subject to legal and compliance requirements.
11. Third-party services
The Platform connects you to services provided by Partners and may link to other third-party websites. We are not responsible for third-party services we do not control, including merchants and recipient banks. Your use of a Partner’s service is governed by that Partner’s terms.
12. Intellectual property
The Platform, including its software, design, text, graphics and the Vav name and logo, belongs to Vav or its licensors. We give you a limited, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Platform for its intended purpose. You must not copy, modify, reverse engineer, resell or misuse it.
13. Disclaimers
We work hard to keep the Platform available and accurate, but it is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the extent the law allows, we do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted, error-free or free of harmful components. Information on the Platform is general information, not financial, investment, legal or tax advice.
14. Limitation of liability
Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
Subject to that, Vav is not liable for: losses caused by Partners, banks or other third parties; losses from instructions you gave incorrectly, including wrong recipient details; losses from events beyond our reasonable control; or indirect or consequential losses, or loss of profit, revenue, business or data. Where we are liable, our total liability to you in any twelve-month period is limited to the fees you paid to Vav in that period, to the extent the law allows.
15. Indemnity
You agree to compensate Vav for losses, claims and reasonable costs arising from your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Platform, or your violation of any law or third-party right.
16. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes to the Platform, our Partners or the law. We will post the updated Terms here with a new “Last updated” date and, for material changes, notify you by email or in the app before they take effect. If you do not agree to a change, you may close your account before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Platform after that means you accept the updated Terms.
17. Complaints
If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please tell us. Our Complaints Policy explains how to complain, what we will do and, where a Partner provided the service, how it will be handled.
18. Governing law and disputes
These Terms, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or your use of the Platform, are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Before starting any formal proceedings, you agree to raise the matter with us through our complaints process so that we can try to resolve it. If it is not resolved, the courts of Hong Kong have jurisdiction, and you may also be able to use the Small Claims Tribunal of Hong Kong for claims within its limits.
Disputes about a financial service provided by a Partner are governed by the law and dispute resolution arrangements set out in that Partner’s terms.
Nothing in this section takes away any protection you have under mandatory laws that cannot be excluded by agreement.
19. General
If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our not enforcing a right straight away does not mean we have waived it. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms without our consent; we may transfer ours to another company, including as part of a business reorganisation, provided your rights are not reduced. These Terms, together with the policies referred to in them and any Partner terms you accept, are the entire agreement between you and Vav about the Platform.
20. Company details and contact
- Company: Sterick Limited, trading as Vav
- Company Registration No.: 80436340
- Business Registration No.: 80436340-000-05-26-7
- Registered office: Unit D18, 3/F, Wong King Industrial Building, No. 2 Tai Yau Street, San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Email: hello@vav.global