Updated Mai 2024 (version 5.10)
GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF BCV TWINT
1. General
1.1. Service/Scope
Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (hereinafter referred to as “BCV”) is a Swiss bank headquartered in Lausanne.
BCV offers private customers (hereinafter referred to as “Customers”) a mobile payment application for the iOS and Android operating systems (hereinafter referred to as the “BCV TWINT app”) under the name BCV TWINT.
BCV has a license from TWINT SA to issue the BCV TWINT app. TWINT SA is a Swiss public limited company headquartered in Zurich.
TWINT SA operates the TWINT system and grants licenses to issue TWINT apps and accept TWINT apps as a cashless payment method at retailers and between individuals.
Financial service providers other than BCV are offering their own TWINT apps. They can be distinguished from the BCV TWINT app by their visual appearance and features.
Customers can use the BCV TWINT app for peer-to-peer payments and for making payments at shops, at vending machines, online, in apps, and at other sales outlets that accept BCV TWINT as a means of payment (these outlets are hereinafter referred to collectively as “Retailers”).
BCV offers added-value services through its BCV TWINT app. These include, in particular, the saving and activation of customer loyalty cards and services in the area of mobile marketing. These added-value services allow Customers to receive and manage coupons, stamp cards, and other campaigns and to collect stamps and redeem loyalty rewards, discounts, and credits via the BCV TWINT app. These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as the “GTCs”) govern the use of all services offered in the BCV TWINT app. These services include all payment functions and added-value services, which are described on the www.bcv.ch/twint website and in the BCV TWINT app itself (hereinafter referred to as “services”).
These GTCs shall be deemed to have been accepted as soon as Customers register via the BCV TWINT app and confirm that they have read and understood the privacy statement and the GTCs.
1.2. Access to BCV TWINT services
Customers must have a smartphone equipped with a compatible version of the iOS or Android operating system. Compatible versions of the iOS and Android operating systems are listed in the BCV TWINT app in the corresponding app stores. TWINT cannot be used on Android devices without access to Google Play or on devices that do not meet Google’s SafetyNet security standards (such as rooted smartphones, for example).
The BCV TWINT app can only be used by private individuals who are generally domiciled in Switzerland and are at least seven years of age, with a smartphone registered in their name and a mobile number provided by a Swiss telecommunications service, access to BCV Mobile, and an account on which they have individual signing authority.
Technical access to the services is obtained via the Internet connection of Customers’ smartphones and the appropriate infrastructure, which could consist of terminals made available by Retailers, for example. Certain services cannot be used in the absence of an Internet connection.
Some or all of the services offered on BCV TWINT can be restricted by BCV when used outside Switzerland, on the basis of regulatory requirements.
1.3. Installing the BCV TWINT app, registering, and reregistering
To install the BCV TWINT app on their smartphones, Customers must download it from the app store compatible with their phones’ operating system.
Customers may then begin the registration process by following the steps directly in the BCV TWINT app. This includes:
- entering their mobile phone number. This number shall be verified for security reasons, by a suitable system selected by TWINT.
- setting up a PIN specifically for the BCV TWINT app. They must keep the PIN secret and not write it down or record it using any non-secure electronic medium. In addition, Customers must select a PIN that is sufficiently complicated; for example, the PIN must not be a telephone number, date of birth, car registration number, or any predictable combination of digits. If their device has the capability, Customers may use biometric authentication instead of a PIN.
- logging in to BCV Mobile to confirm that they are BCV customers eligible to use BCV TWINT.
- selecting the reference account to debit and credit during TWINT transactions.
Once Customers have registered, a BCV TWINT account linked to their mobile number (“BCV TWINT account”) is created. Customers can use the BCV TWINT account for all services related to the BCV TWINT app. Customers can have only one BCV TWINT account.
Customers can later change the reference account for sending and receiving money and making payments. The reference account can be changed directly in the BCV TWINT app. Customers can use a BCV credit card as the reference account to make payments with BCV TWINT.
If Customers change or reset their smartphone, they must reregister in the BCV TWINT app.
If Customers change their mobile number, they must immediately update their BCV TWINT account with the new number, either directly in the BCV TWINT app or by contacting BCV. Once they have updated their account, they can receive money using the new number.
If Customers cancel their mobile number, they must immediately close their BCV TWINT account, either directly in the BCV TWINT app or by contacting BCV.
1.4. Confidentiality
BCV is bound by statutory confidentiality requirements, in particular related to banking secrecy and data protection. Customers agree that their personal data (e.g., their name when payments are made to other TWINT users) and the existence of the business relationship may, where necessary, be disclosed to the payment recipient and other third parties.
Customers agree that BCV can send to TWINT SA (the operator of the TWINT system), to its other partners, and to any of their duly appointed subcontractors any data required to operate the BCV TWINT app and ensure that it runs properly, to the extent required by added-value services (see the privacy statement and particularly section 4, “Data protection”).
Data relating to the content of business relationships (e.g., account balances and transactions) shall in principle be kept confidential. However, Customers acknowledge that the statutory duty of confidentiality may be waived in order to safeguard the legitimate interests of BCV and its contractual partners for the BCV TWINT service. This shall apply, in particular, if BCV is required to meet statutory obligations to provide information, for the collection of receivables, and in the event of legal disputes.
1.5. Assistance
BCV shall provide Customers with technical support for the BCV TWINT app. The contact information for this technical support, along with a link to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, are given in the BCV TWINT app, under “Help and Contact.” Customers can also contact BCV through the BCV-net secure messaging service. BCV may call on third parties for the provision of this support. To enable them to perform this task, they may be granted access to relevant data.
1.6. Customers’ duties of care
When using the BCV TWINT app, Customers must observe the following duties of care:
- Customers must protect their smartphone against unauthorized use or manipulation (e.g., by locking their device).
- The code for the use of the BCV TWINT app and the code for the device-locking function must be kept secret and must not be disclosed to other individuals under any circumstances or stored together with the smartphone.
- The selected code may not be made up of easily ascertainable combinations (mobile number, date of birth, etc.).
- Should damages be suffered, Customers must, to the best of their ability, contribute to clarifying the case in question and mitigating the damage. In the event of criminal acts, customers must file a complaint to the police.
- Upon installing the BCV TWINT app on their smartphone and creating a BCV TWINT account, Customers shall confirm that they are the legitimate and authorized user of the mobile phone number. Customers shall be deemed responsible for the use of their smartphone and shall bear all consequences that arise from the use of the BCV TWINT app on their smartphone.
- When using the peer-to-peer payment function, Customers can add text or a personalized image for the payment recipient. Customers must ensure that such content is compliant with Swiss legislation.
- Should there be reason to assume that unauthorized individuals have gained access to the codes for the device-locking function, these must be changed immediately.
- If a Customer’s smartphone is lost, and especially in the case of theft, BCV must be informed promptly so that the BCV TWINT account can be blocked.
- Before any payment is executed, Customers must check the beneficiary’s details in order to avoid erroneous transactions.
- Jailbreaking (the deactivation of a smartphone’s security structures for the installation of applications that are not officially available) and the setting up of root access (establishment of access at the system level of the smartphone) are forbidden, as is the installation of unauthorized apps, as these make smartphones more prone to viruses and malware.
- Customers shall be required to check executed payments. Should Customers identify discrepancies, they must immediately inform BCV by phone. Customers may be required to provide supporting documentation, within 30 (thirty) days of the telephone call to BCV, so that BCV may open a claim with TWINT SA. Beyond these deadlines, the payments will be considered as accepted.
1.7. Misuse
If the use of the BCV TWINT app deviates significantly from normal usage patterns or if there is any indication of behavior that is illegal, inappropriate, or in breach of the agreement, BCV can demand that Customers use the app in a legally and contractually compliant manner; alter, limit, or suspend the provision of the service; or terminate the agreement without notice and with no compensation.
The BCV TWINT app cannot be used by Retailers to receive peer-to-peer payments from their customers. Where necessary, BCV can demand compensation for damages for BCV and for third parties making valid claims.
The same shall apply in instances in which Customers provide incorrect or incomplete details upon concluding the agreement.
1.8. Liability
BCV shall endeavor to ensure the uninterrupted availability and fault-free usability of the BCV TWINT app. Although it will do everything in its power to ensure that the BCV TWINT system is operational and usable, BCV cannot give any guarantee in that respect. No guarantee can be given that communication and data transmission via the Internet will take place without errors and/or with maximum availability, given the current state of the technology. In particular, BCV cannot guarantee that the BCV TWINT system will run perfectly on Customers' mobile phones or with their network operators. BCV makes no warranty and declines any liability regarding the up-to-date nature, accuracy or content of images or messages, and regarding the completeness of information sent to customers' mobile phones.
Technical access to the services shall be the responsibility of Customers. BCV shall assume no liability in the case of a disruption in the services provided by network operators (providers) and shall not accept any liability, to the extent permitted by law, for the hardware and software required for the use of the BCV TWINT services.
BCV shall likewise, to the extent permitted by law, assume no liability for damages suffered by Customers or to Customers’ smartphones owing to transmission errors, routing errors, force majeure, technical defects, or faults (in particular due to outages suffered by a lack of an Internet connection), illegal interference with telecommunication facilities and networks, network overloads, the deliberate blocking of electronic access by third parties, interruptions, or other deficiencies.
BCV shall reserve the right to interrupt access to the BCV TWINT app and/or the services offered in the app at any time should it identify heightened security risks or faults or for the purposes of performing maintenance work. Provided that BCV exercises the level of care and due diligence customary in the industry, Customers shall bear any losses suffered owing to interruptions of this kind.
Any person who has identified himself/herself using the stipulated validation methods shall be regarded by BCV as authorized, even where that person is not the person who has actually been authorized. Provided that BCV has not shown willful misconduct or gross negligence, Customers shall bear the risk of identification methods being used fraudulently.
Should BCV breach the agreement, it shall assume liability for any demonstrable direct damages suffered by the Customers in question unless it can prove that no fault can be attributed to it. BCV shall assume no liability whatsoever for slight negligence.
To the extent permitted by law, BCV shall not accept any liability for indirect damages, lost profits, and data losses under any circumstances. BCV shall likewise assume no liability for payments that are not processed or that are processed with delay, nor for damages or losses suffered by Customers as a result of the use of added-value services or as a result of acts or omissions by third parties. BCV also declines all liability should the BCV TWINT app be used in a way that is deemed illegal or in breach of the agreement.
1.9. Changes to services
BCV can amend, update, or enhance the services at any time. BCV shall also be authorized to fully or partially discontinue the operation of the BCV TWINT app or the Customers’ access to the BCV TWINT app or to restrict the TWINT app’s availability, without providing prior notification, if necessary for security, technical, legal, or regulatory reasons.
1.10. Reservation of statutory regulations and local restrictions for usage
Any statutory provisions that govern the operation and use of smartphones, the Internet, and other infrastructure used for BCV TWINT services shall remain reserved and shall also be applicable to these services from the time that they enter into force.
The use of the services from outside Switzerland may be subject to local legal restrictions or, under certain circumstances, breach foreign legislation. The payment function shall in principle be limited to Swiss territory and may not be used abroad.
Customers acknowledge that circumstances may arise during the term of the business relationship that may legally require BCV to block assets, report the business relationship to a responsible authority, or terminate the business relationship. Upon request, Customers shall be obligated to provide BCV with information that it requires to meet its statutory clarification or reporting obligations.
1.11. Intellectual property
For the duration of the agreement, customers shall receive the non-transferable, non-exclusive right to use the BCV TWINT app. The content and scope of this right are governed by these GTCs. All intellectual property rights shall remain with BCV or third parties commissioned by BCV. Should a Customer breach third-party intellectual property rights and BCV be held responsible, the Customer shall fully indemnify BCV.