Terms & Conditions
PFSL Prepaid Mastercard® Terms & Conditions
Valid as of April 2025
Important Information:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: These terms and conditions (“Agreement”) govern the use of the Payment Services defined below supplied by Prepaid Financial Services Ltd, 4th Floor, 35 Great St Helen’s, London, EC3A 6AP whose details are in Clause 2 (“we”, “us”, “our”) to any person whose application we approve (“Customer”, “you”, “your”). Words that begin with a capital letter have the meaning given either where they first appear in this Agreement or in Clause 1. This Agreement also includes the terms of our Privacy Policy found at: PFS PFSL Privacy Information Notice.
By activating your Card, you agree that you have read and understood the terms of this Agreement (a copy of which you may download and store at any time).
This Agreement shall commence at that time and continue unless cancelled under Clause 10 or terminated under Clause 12. We reserve the right to change this Agreement by giving 2 months’ notice to you in accordance with Clause 18. If we do this, you may terminate this Agreement immediately and without charge before the proposed changes take effect, otherwise you shall be deemed to have accepted such changes when the 2 months’ notice expires. However, you agree that changes to the Applicable Exchange Rate may be applied immediately and at the rate quoted via the Payment Service at the time of the relevant Transaction. Please also read the conditions of redemption, including any fees relating to redemption, in Clause 11 before activating your Card.
We will communicate with you in English (the language in which this Agreement was agreed with you on registration for your Account). Key information relating to your Transactions will be provided to you at the email address you register with us and/or in your Account. You may access, download and print this information at any time by logging in to your Account. In addition, you agree that we may provide notices or other information to you from time to time by posting in your Account, emailing it to your registered email address, mailing it to your registered physical address, calling you by phone or sending you mobile messages. Notices to you by email or mobile messages shall be deemed given 24 hours after the email is sent, unless the sending party is notified that the email address is invalid. Notices sent by registered mail shall be deemed to have been received three days after the date of mailing. You may contact us as specified in Clause 2.
You may request a copy of any legally required disclosures (including this Agreement) from us via the contact details in Clause 2, and we will provide this to you in a form which enables you to store the information in a way that is accessible for future reference for a period of time adequate for the purposes of the information and which allows the unchanged reproduction of the information stored via, for example, our website, your Account or by email.
1. Definitions & Interpretation
Words that begin with a capital letter have the meaning given either where they first appear in this Agreement or in this Clause 1:
| “Account" or “E Wallet” | a data account in our systems where we record your Available Balance, Transaction Data and other information from time to time; |
| “Account Information Service” | means an online service to provide consolidated information on one or more payment accounts held by the payment service user with another payment service provider or with more than one payment service provider; |
| “Account Information Services Provider” or “AISP” | the supplier of an Account Information Service; |
| “Applicable Exchange Rate” | the exchange rate available on our website https://prepaidfinancialservices.com/en/exchange-rates; |
| “APP Fraud” | a type of fraud where a payer is tricked into willingly authorising a payment to a fraudster’s account through deception, impersonation, or false pretences. The payer believes they are making a legitimate transaction, but the funds are sent to a fraudulent recipient; |
| “Authorised Person” | means any person to whom you authorise us to access your Account; |
| “ATM” | An automated teller machine is an electronic telecommunications device that enables Customers to perform financial transactions, particularly cash withdrawal, without the need for a human cashier, clerk or bank teller; |
| “Available Balance” | the amount of E-money issued by us to you but not yet spent or redeemed |
| “Business Day” | Monday to Friday, 0900hrs to 1800hrs GMT, excluding bank and public holidays in the UK; |
| “Card” | a prepaid Mastercard card issued by us and linked to your Account, which can be used to spend your Available Balance wherever Mastercard cards are accepted; |
| “Card Provider” | refers to a company that receives issued payment cards from Prepaid Financial Services Ltd and distributes them to its clients. The Card Provider is responsible for managing the relationship with the cardholders and may establish additional terms of use; |
| “Card Scheme” | the operator of the payment scheme under which we issue each Card; |
| “Council” | means the local authority; |
| “Credit Transfer” | A facility whereby you instruct us to send funds from your Available Balance to another UK bank account quoting the account number and sort code or IBAN of the intended recipient of the funds; |
| “Customer Due Diligence” | the process we are required to go through to verify the identity of our Customers; |
| “Direct Debit” | an automated payment method set up between you and us to send payments to organisations using the sort code and PFS IBAN we provide, which is authorised by you but managed by the organisation, including the frequency and amount of each payment; |
| “E-money” | monetary value issued by us to your Account on receipt of funds on your behalf in our Customer Funds Account, equal to the amount of funds received; |
| “Fees” | the fees payable by you for the Payment Services as specified in the attached Fees & Limits Schedule; |
| “IBAN” | means an International Bank Account Number used to identify bank accounts for the purposes of international payments; |
| “Load” | a transfer of funds initiated by you or the Council, which results in a credit to your Account; |
| “Loading Card” | means a payment card that you register with us, from which you may instruct us to debit funds for a Load; |
| “Merchant” | a retailer who accepts Payment for the sale of goods or services to you. |
| “Payment” | means a payment for goods or services using a Card. |
| “Payment Initiation Service” | means an online service to initiate a payment order at the request of the payment service user with respect to a payment account held at another payment service provider; |
| “Payment Initiation Service Provider” or (“PISP”) | is a payment service provider who supplies a Payment Initiation Service; |
| “Payment Services” | means the services supplied by us to you under this Agreement, including issuing Cards, Accounts and IBANs; and executing Transactions; |
| “PFS IBAN” | means a virtual IBAN issued by our bank service provider that we allocate to your Card or your Account which can be used by you or others for Direct Debits or for the purpose of making a SEPA Transfer of funds that will result in a credit of the relevant funds to your Account. |
| “Standing Order” | means an automated payment method set up between you and us to send funds from your Available Balance to the bank account of another person or organisation, quoting the account number and sort code or IBAN of the intended recipient of funds, where you are in control of the frequency and amount; |
| “Transaction” | a Direct Debit, Payment, a Transfer or a SEPA Transfer; |
| “Virtual Card” | a Card number issued by us for the purpose of making a single Payment without also issuing any corresponding physical card. |
2. Contact and Regulatory Information
Your Card or Account can be managed online at https://prepaidfinancialservices.com/ or via email to [email protected]. To report your Card lost or stolen please contact us immediately.
| 2.1. | Your Card or Account can be managed online via the Cardholder Portal, if you do not have a URL for this please, contact your Card Provider. |
| 2.2. | At any time during the contractual relationship, you have the right to receive, on request, these terms and conditions free of charge. |
| 2.3. | The issuer for Your Prepaid Mastercard Card and provider of the Payment Services is Prepaid Financial Services Limited (PFS). PFS is registered in England and Wales under Company Registration Number is 6337638. Registered Office: 4th Floor, 35 Great St Helen’s, London, EC3A 6AP. |
| 2.4. | PFS is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the Financial Conduct Authority registration number 900036. |
| 2.5. | Details of the PFS authorisation licence by the Financial Conduct Authority is available on the public register at https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000000m4IX9AAM |
| 2.6. | PFS is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the Financial Conduct Authority registration number 900036. |
| 2.7. | PFS is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the Financial Conduct Authority registration number 900036. |
3. Type of Service, Eligibility and Account Access
| 3.1. | Your Card is not a credit card and is not issued by a bank. Regardless of the type of Card(s) you have, you will have only one Account where your Available Balance is located. |
| 3.2. | Your Payment Services may not be activated unless we have been provided with the required information so that we may identify you and can comply with all applicable Customer Due Diligence requirements. We shall keep records of such information and documents in accordance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. |
| 3.3. | Reference to a currency (e.g. Euros € or Sterling £) shall mean that amount or the local currency equivalent in which your Card is denominated. |
| 3.4. | Any Transaction on your Card in a currency other than the currency in which your Card is denominated, will require a currency conversion using an Applicable Exchange Rate. |
| 3.5. | The Available Balance on your Card and/or Account will not earn any interest. |
| 3.6. | The Payment Services are prepaid payment services and not a credit or bank product, you must therefore ensure that you have a sufficient Available Balance from time to time to pay for your Transactions and applicable Fees. If for any reason a Transaction is processed, and the Transaction amount exceeds the Available Balance, you must repay us the amount of such excess immediately and we shall be entitled to stop any existing or subsequent Transactions from proceeding. |
| 3.7. | This Agreement does not give you any rights against the Card Schemes, its affiliates or any third party. |
| 3.8. | Only persons over 18 years of age are entitled to register for the Payment Services. |
| 3.9. | Each time you seek access to the Account we will asking for your Access Codes (as defined in Clause 8). As long as the correct Access Codes are entered, we will assume that you are the person giving instructions and making Transactions and you will be liable for them, except to the extent provided for in Clause 8. We can refuse to act on any instruction that we believe: i. was unclear; ii. was not given by you; or iii. might cause us to breach a legal or other duty; or if we believe the Payment Service is being used for an illegal purpose. |
4. Service Limits, Credit transfers, Standing Orders & Direct Debits
| 4.1. | Transactions may be restricted by Card or Account type, individual usage patterns and payment risk profiles. For anti-money laundering and anti-fraud reasons we reserve our rights to change particular payment restrictions (including from those published or included herein) without notice and to the extent required to meet our regulatory obligations. |
| 4.2. | Simplified Due Diligence may be restricted to domestic ATM access, along with reduced annual maximum load limits and capped annual withdrawal limits. These limits will be subject to Scheme and regulatory requirements. |
| 4.3. | You can make a Transfer to another Account by signing in to your Account and following the relevant instructions. |
| 4.4. | When sending funds to your Account with us, we recommend that you or other senders make a SEPA Transfer using your PFS IBAN. |
| 4.5. | We cannot be held liable for the payment process or fees associated with bank(s) and or intermediary bank(s) to process payments from you to us. Any fee(s) charged by third parties, not limited to receiving, processing or crediting a payment for you will be deducted by us before crediting the remaining balance to you. |
| 4.6. | You are responsible for checking and confirming payment details and fees before making a payment to us or to your Account. |
| 4.7. | Where enabled, you may be eligible to instruct other organisations to create regular Direct Debits from your Account. You will be responsible for ensuring that the correct details are provided in order for the Direct Debit to be created for you. You must ensure at all times that you have a sufficient Available Balance to allow for the funds to be debited from your Account. You are responsible for checking the terms and conditions that have been provided to you by the organisation receiving the Direct Debit payments. |
| 4.8. | You may incur a charge for unpaid Direct Debits if there are not enough Available Funds to pay an incoming Direct Debit request. |
| 4.9. | You accept responsibility for cancelling any Direct Debit on your Account with the originator directly. PFS will not be able to do this on your behalf and cannot accept liability for any losses due to your failure to cancel any Direct Debit. |
5. Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud Reimbursement
| 5.1. | If you are a victim of APP fraud, you will be reimbursed unless one of the specific exclusions applies.
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| 5.2. | 5.2. To be eligible for consideration, you must notify us of your claim within 13 months from the date of the last scam-related payment. |
| 5.3. | 5.3. We will only issue a refund if the payment meets the following criteria:
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| 5.4. | 5.4. The maximum level of reimbursement available is £85,000 per claim, in line with regulatory limits. |
| 5.5. | 5.5. A claim excess may apply. Currently, the excess is set at £100. This means:
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| 5.6. | 5.6. Reimbursement will typically be provided within 5 working days from the date the fraud is reported, unless further investigation is required |
| 5.7. | 5.7. We will assess your claim and, in most cases, provide reimbursement within 5 working days. |
| 5.8. | 5.8. If further investigation is required, the process may take up to 35 working days, with regular updates provided. |
| 5.9. | 5.9. Where another Payment Service Provider (PSP) is involved (e.g., the recipient bank), we will work with them to determine liability, following a 50:50 cost-sharing model. |
| 5.10. | 5.10. If you believe you have been a victim of APP fraud, contact our fraud team immediately via [email protected] |
| 5.11. | 5.11. For more information on fraud prevention, visit PFS App Fraud and PFS Security Centre. |