This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By using Aqua Vida Payments, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use.
1. Accepting These Terms
This document (the Aqua Vida Payments Policy or the “Policy,” for short) sets out your rights and responsibilities when you use Aqua Vida Payments on Aqua Vida's services (we’ll refer to aquavida.com, Aqua Vida's mobile apps and other services as our “Services”), so please read it carefully. By using Aqua Vida Payments, you’re agreeing to the Policy.
The Policy is a legally binding contract between you and Aqua Vida and all of its subsidiaries collectively known as “ Aqua Vida”.
The Aqua Vida Payments Policy is also a part of our Terms of Use. By using any of our Services, you’re agreeing to the Terms of Use.
2. Overview
Aqua Vida Payments allows sellers to (a) accept payment by authorized credit and debit card transactions, some bank transfers services, PayPal, transactions using Apple Pay, and transactions using Android Pay, (b) have those funds credited to a seller’s payment account with Aqua Vida, and (c) have those funds mailed in a check to a seller’s designated address.
Aqua Vida Payments is only available to sellers who are at least 18 years old who register and are approved for a payment account with Aqua Vida.
Sellers may only use Aqua Vida Payments for the sale of items listed on Aqua Vida's Services, and agree to ship sold items once a payment transaction is complete and reflected in their payment account. Aqua Vida reserves the right to terminate a seller’s access to Aqua Vida Payments if the seller uses Aqua Vida Payments in any other manner.
Buyers may authorize a payment with any major credit or debit card accepted by Aqua Vida, with Aqua Vida Gift Cards and Aqua Vida Credits, by certain bank transfer services, or through PayPal, Apple Pay, or Android Pay.
3. Third-Party Services
Aqua Vida has engaged third-party service providers to perform many of the services related to payment processing, including card processing, currency exchange, identity verification, fraud analysis and regulatory compliance.
Aqua Vida partners with licensed payment processors to facilitate card payments and other payments and the disbursement of funds to sellers. The provider and processing time for your payment will vary based on the country in which you're located. If there are insufficient funds in your bank account when our provider processes the payment for your purchase, Aqua Vida reserves the right to contact you directly and to seek payment.
Aqua Vida may share your personal or transactional information with those third-party service providers when it's necessary to process payments. Such interest is the sole property of Aqua Vida, even if it was earned from monies owed to you, or your monies. In the United States, Aqua Vida may earn interest or other compensation from the balances in our bank accounts that result from the timing difference between our being paid by buyers and our bank account being debited to pay payment account Available Balances to sellers.
Aqua Vida Gift Cards and Aqua Vida Credits are subject to the Gift Cards & Etsy Credits Policy.
By using a third-party service, you may also be subject to an agreement with the third-party. For example, PayPal is a third-party service provided by PayPal Holdings, Inc. and is subject to the PayPal User Agreement. Apple Pay is a third-party service provided by Apple Inc. and is subject to the Apple Pay Terms and Conditions. Android Pay is a third-party service provided by Google Payment Corp. and is subject to the Android Pay Terms and Conditions for US Users and Users outside the US.
If Aqua Vida receives notice that your shop's content or activity violates a third party's service agreement, we may at our sole discretion take action against your account to comply with their policies. Such actions may include canceling a transaction, disabling listings from your shop, suspending your selling privileges, or removing certain payment methods.
4. Aqua Vida's Rights and Responsibilities
Aqua Vida Payments functionality may be made available, modified, or discontinued by us at any time without notice and is subject to the limitations in Aqua Vida's Terms of Use.
As a security measure, we may impose transaction limits on buyers and sellers. For example, we may impose limits relating to the value of any transaction, deposit, or adjustment, or limits relating to the cumulative value of all transactions, deposits, or adjustments during a period of time. We may also impose limits related to the number of transactions per day or other period of time. We will not be liable to a seller: (a) if we do not proceed with a transaction, deposit, or adjustment that would exceed any limit established by us, or (b) if we permit a buyer to withdraw from a transaction.
Aqua Vida may refuse service of Aqua Vida Payments to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
Aqua Vida reserves the right to decline transactions that we believe to be high risk, fraudulent, or in violation of Aqua Vida's Terms of Use.
In the event that a buyer does not make payment for the purchase of a legitimate item sold using Aqua Vida Payments (e.g., where the buyer used a stolen or unauthorized credit card), Aqua Vida may provide limited payment protection to the seller, in the interest of fairness.
Aqua Vida maintains records associated with transactions on Aqua Vida Payments and does not pass any secure data, including credit card numbers or bank account information to any sellers. Sellers will only receive shipping information and limited buyer account information necessary to complete the order. Aqua Vida's Privacy Policy further explains how Aqua Vida handles user information.
Aqua Vida will send you any relevant notices regarding your use of Aqua Vida Payments in accordance with our Electronic Communications Policy.
5. Seller Rights and Responsibilities
A. Use of Aqua Vida Payments. If you live in a country in which Aqua Vida Payments is available, you are automatically enrolled in Aqua Vida Payments, which will result in your shop accepting payment through authorized credit and debit card transactions, some bank transfer services, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Android Pay. For you to sign up for Aqua Vida Payments and receive payment for transactions made through Aqua Vida Payments, you must provide valid account information for a bank account. Without this information, Aqua Vida cannot pay you! If you live in a country in which Aqua Vida Payments is available and you do not provide Aqua Vida with this information, Aqua Vida may refuse you access to the Services until you do so.
B. Payment Accounts. Aqua Vida Payments is only available to sellers who register and are approved for a payment account. A payment account allows sellers to track payment amounts, refunds, and fees related to transactions. Sellers must provide accurate personal information as requested during registration, and are responsible for maintaining and updating that information as necessary. Sellers will not impersonate any person or use a name he or she is not legally authorized to use. Sellers authorize us, and authorized agents, to verify the their information (including any updated information) by accessing public records and obtaining credit reports about the sellers in order to approve a payment account. Sellers also authorize Aqua Vida to verify the sellers’ information from time to time while the sellers are using Aqua Vida Payments. Aqua Vida verifies sellers’ information in order to safeguard the integrity of the marketplace and reduce the risk of fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, and the violation of trade sanctions.
Payment accounts are only available to individuals who are eligible to be sellers on Aqua Vida's services and who have a valid credit or debit card on file with Aqua Vida, unless they are exempt from this requirement.
C. Disputes. In the event that a buyer submits a chargeback, Aqua Vida will respond to the credit card networks on behalf of the seller involved in the transaction; the seller agrees to provide any requested information to us within five calendar days of the request. Aqua Vida reserves the right to recoup funds associated with buyer chargebacks.
D. Communications. We will inform sellers of each transaction, or of other information pertaining to Aqua Vida Payments, using our standard communication procedures (detailed in our Electronic Communications Policy), including by email or through Etsy's Conversations tool.
E. Refunds. Refunds or adjustments paid by Aqua Vida to buyers for payments made through Aqua Vida Payments will be deducted from the seller’s payment account balance to cover the funds. If there are insufficient funds to cover the amount of the refund, the balance will be charged to the seller’s credit card or added to the seller’s Aqua Vida bill.
F. International Trade Laws. You agree that your use of Aqua Vida Payments will not involve any countries, entities, individuals or items prohibited by sanctions, embargoes, regulations or orders administered by the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) or other government agencies.
6. Appointment of Aqua Vida as Limited Collection Agent for Sellers
Each seller appoints Aqua Vida as its agent for the limited purpose of receiving, holding and settling payments to seller. Aqua Vida will settle payments that are actually received by Aqua Vida to each seller, less any amounts owed to Aqua Vida and subject to these Terms. Each seller agrees that a buyer payment received by Aqua Vida, on behalf of seller, satisfies the buyer's obligations to make payment to seller, regardless of whether Aqua Vida actually settles such payment to seller. If Aqua Vida does not settle any such payments as described in these Terms to a seller, such seller will have recourse only against Aqua Vida and not the buyer.
7. Payments
A. Payment Account. All funds resulting from a completed transaction will be reflected as a balance in a seller’s payment account. Transactions are considered complete once the payment is approved by Aqua Vida or our fraud analysis service provider. Any refunds, adjustments, or other amounts paid to buyers in connection with purchases, or for funds received since the last payment day, are also applied to the seller’s payment account balance.
Funds in a payment account balance (the “Available Balance”) are eligible to be paid via a check to be mailed to the seller.
B. Scheduled Payments. Aqua Vida will instruct our payments partners to mail a check with the seller’s Available Balance to the seller’s address on a weekly basis. Sellers can select the frequency of disbursements from their payment account by contacting accounts@aquavida.com. When a seller selects weekly or monthly disbursements, disbursements will be made on every applicable Tuesday. In this policy we'll refer to the date of disbursement as the "Payment Date".
C. Holds and Delays. In some cases, payments to sellers’ could be temporarily delayed by an issue at Aqua Vida, at Aqua Vida's third-party service providers, or at a seller’s bank. We’ll do our best to communicate with the affected sellers as soon as we can.
If we believe that a seller's actions may result in buyer disputes, chargebacks, or other claims, then we may, in our sole discretion, put (1) a hold, (2) a payment delay, or (3) a reserve on the seller’s payment account balance.
A hold may be put on funds associated with a particular transaction if there is a dispute or investigation related to the order, for the shorter of: (a) 180 days after the estimated delivery date; or (b) completion of any investigation regarding the seller’s actions.
Payment delays are defined as the number of days between a sale and the day the net amount from the sale becomes available for payment, provided the payment has been completed. A payment delay may be between 0 and 180 days. A payment delay is applied across all transactions for a seller and the number of days is reflected in each seller’s payment account.
A reserve is defined as a fixed percentage of a seller’s payment account balance delayed prior to being included as part of a seller’s Available Balance for a period of up to 180 days.
If Aqua Vida places a hold, a payment delay or a reserve on a seller’s account, we’ll do our best to communicate with the affected seller as soon as we can.
We always work hard to avoid and minimize any delays. However, please note that Aqua Vida is not obligated to refund any fees or reimburse any expenses due to holds or delayed payments.
D. Escheatment. If the seller does not deposit the check into the seller’s bank account, the funds will remain in the seller’s payment account. It is the seller’s sole responsibility to update his or her account information to receive the funds. If a seller fails to update the information to claim the funds within a certain period of time, Aqua Vida will escheat the funds to the relevant government authority in order to comply with escheatment laws.
8. Recoupment
A. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to seek reimbursement from a seller in any of the following circumstances: (a) we provide a refund to a buyer because a seller did not promptly deliver the goods or we otherwise determine that a refund is warranted in a particular circumstance, (b) we discover erroneous or duplicate transactions related to a seller, (c) we receive a chargeback from a buyer's credit card issuer or reversal of payment for the amount of a buyer's purchase from a seller, or (d) a seller does not act in accordance with Aqua Vida's Terms of Use or any policy thereunder.
B. We may obtain reimbursement of any amounts owed by a seller to Aqua Vida by deducting from future payments owed to the seller, reversing any credits to the seller’s payment account balance, charging the seller's credit card on file, charging the seller’s bill, or seeking reimbursement from the seller by any other lawful means, including by using third-party collections services. You authorize us to use any or all of the foregoing methods to seek reimbursement.
9. Payment Processing Fees
A. Overview. Aqua Vida charges a fee (the “Payment Processing Fee”) for processing each transaction through Aqua Vida Payments. The fee amount will be assessed on the gross order amount, including shipping and tax (if applicable). Payment Processing Fees will be reflected in your payment account. Unlike other fees charged by Aqua Vida, the Payment Processing Fee will be deducted from the total amount of the payment at the time the payment is considered complete. We reserve the right to modify the Payment Processing Fee at any time. In the event of any partial or full refunds credited back to a buyer, the Payment Processing Fee and other applicable fees will be recalculated based on the adjusted sale price. The difference between the original Payment Processing Fee and the adjusted Payment Processing Fee will be applied to the refund amount being credited back to the seller. Other applicable fees will be refunded on the seller’s bill.
B. Interest. In the United States, Aqua Vida may earn interest or other compensation from the balances in our bank accounts that result from the timing difference between our being paid by buyers and our bank account being debited to pay payment account Available Balances to sellers.
10. Reporting Obligations
Internal Revenue Service regulations require that we file a Form 1099-K to report unadjusted annual gross sales information for sellers located in the United States or being paid in USD that meet both of the following thresholds in a calendar year (reporting):
A. More than $20,000 USD in gross sales, and
B. More than 200 transactions.
To comply with these regulations, sellers who approach 150 (one hundred and fifty) transactions in a calendar year, regardless of sales volume and aggregated across his or her Shops, will be required to provide taxpayer-identification information to Aqua Vida.
11. Termination
Sellers may terminate this contract and their acceptance of Aqua Vida Payments at any time by adjusting the Settings in their account with Aqua Vida. Aqua Vida may also terminate or suspend a seller’s use of Aqua Vida Payments at any time.
Upon termination, any non-disputed available balance will be mailed in a check to the seller’s. Aqua Vida reserves the right, upon termination of access to Aqua Vida Payments, to set off against any payments to be made to the seller, an amount determined by us to be adequate to cover any anticipated chargebacks, refunds, adjustments or other amounts that might be paid to buyers in connection with purchases from the seller's payment account for a prospective 180-day period. At the end of the 180-day period following termination, we will disburse to the seller any amount not used to offset chargebacks, refunds, adjustments, or such other amounts paid to buyers, or seek reimbursement from the seller via any of the means authorized in this Policy for any additional amount required to offset chargebacks, refunds, adjustments, or other amounts paid to buyers, as applicable.