In case of discrepancy, the French version shall prevail.
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Terms and Conditions
Last update: January 1st, 2021
In case of discrepancy, the French version shall prevail.
Bity (owned and operated by Bity SA) offers an online cryptocurrency brokerage platform (hereinafter ‘Bity-broker’). The accessing and use of the website are governed by the Important Legal Information (hereinafter ‘the Terms and Conditions’) set out herein. These Terms and Conditions shall be supplemented by any and all special agreements applying in connection with a service or product offered by Bity where you or your representative (hereinafter ‘you’) act in a capacity as contracting party. Nevertheless, in the event of any conflict, the provisions contained in any such special agreement shall take precedence.
By accessing and using the website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Furthermore, you accept that Bity may, at any time and without any prior notice requirement, alter the Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to the Terms and Conditions, do not access or use the website in any way whatsoever.
Important legal information
By downloading information, data and documents from the websites of Bity you agree to the following general terms and conditions. Cryptocurrency distribution services through distributors are additionally subject to the specific terms and conditions pertaining thereto. In the event of a contradiction / discrepancy, the specific terms for Cryptocurrency ATM terminals will take precedence.
The products and services presented on this website are authorized for sale in Switzerland. They are not intended for any person/s who, based on their nationality, place of business, domicile or for any other reasons, is/are subject to legal provisions which prohibit foreign financial services providers from engaging in business activities in these jurisdictions, or which prohibit or restrict legal entities or natural persons from accessing websites of foreign financial services providers.
Local restrictions - provision of cross-border services
The products and services presented on this website are authorized for sale in Switzerland. They are not intended for persons who, because of their nationality, business location, domicile or other reasons, are subject to a legal order that prohibits foreign financial service providers from carrying on business there or that prohibits or restricts legal and natural persons subject to it from accessing the websites of foreign financial service providers.
In this respect, where Bity does not have a permit from the supervisory authority of a certain country, Bity may in principle not advertise its financial services in that country. This website may however contain information, in particular about the financial services and products offered by Bity, that may be considered by the supervisory authorities of the above mentioned countries as a public offer of financial products or as financial canvassing intended for persons domiciled in these countries. If you are domiciled outside Switzerland, you confirm that you are visiting this website on your own initiative, without any solicitation from Bity. You also confirm that it is your full and sole responsibility to find out whether the legislation applicable to you, such as the legislation of your domicile, prohibits you from using the services offered on this website.
Website ownership
The website is the exclusive property of Bity. Bity proprietary rights shall not be altered in any way by any reproduction or use of the website.
Copyright and trademarks
The content and layout of the website are protected by copyright (all rights reserved) and other intellectual property rights, held by Bity.
Information provided on the website may only be downloaded, printed or otherwise reproduced - for personal, non- commercial purposes - provided that the copyright notes and other statutory proprietary designations are retained. You do not acquire rights by reproducing or copying in any way information available on the website; all rights are retained by Bity. You are strictly prohibited from using anywhere other than on the website and from copying in any way whatsoever software or any other tools available on the website.
Except with Bity’s prior written approval, it is forbidden:
- to set up links, e.g. in the form of hyperlinks or inline links, to this website, to frame it, or to access it through inline links or through a frame, without Bity’s prior written approval; and
- to reproduce, in whole or in part, transmit by electronic or any other means, modify or use copyright elements of this website for public or commercial purposes without Bity’s prior written approval.
- Nothing in the Terms gives you a right to use the Bity name or any of the Bity trademarks, logos, domain names, other distinctive brand features, and other proprietary rights.
No advice
Information provided on the website should in no event be construed as piece of advice or a recommendation to buy or sell a particular cryptocurrency or to engage in any transaction whatsoever; nor should the information provided be construed as advice of any other type, for example of a fiscal or legal nature.
All of the investment decisions you take shall be based exclusively on your own assessment of your financial situation and your investment goals. You are solely responsible for such decisions.
Investments in cryptocurrencies featuring on the website are subject to certain risks. The price of cryptocurrencies may go down as well as up. The future performance of cryptocurrencies cannot be guaranteed by past performance. It is therefore possible that you do not get back the amount you invest. We strongly recommend that you seek professional advice before making investment decisions.
Exclusion of Liability
Bity, their directors, officers, employees, agents or shareholders will not assume any liability for any loss or damages whatsoever, be they direct or indirect, incurred as a result of accessing the website or using the information and services available on the website, or as a result of the inability to access or use any information or services available on the website.
In particular, it is expressly stated that in no event will Bity, its directors, officers, employees, agents or shareholders be liable for any loss or damages incurred as a result of errors, technical or otherwise, transmission failures, system overloads, usage problems, interruptions in services (including but not limited to system maintenance services), any delay in the transmission of information, incompatibility between the website and your files and/or software (in particular your browser) and/or computer, malfunction, interference, the transmission of a virus onto your computer, unauthorized access (as a result of hacking or piracy activities, for example), the willful blocking of telecommunications tools or networks (as a result of mail-bombing, denial of services attacks, for example) or any other failure or inadequacy on the part of telecommunication or network service providers.
You acknowledge and agree that Bity services are provided on an ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ basis. You are aware that Bity is not managing nor responsible of the cryptocurrency associated blockchain. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies you may access, are not under Bity management or responsibility. Bity does not endorse Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency in any way whatsoever. By using Bity’s services, you acknowledge that Bitcoin, Ether, or any other cryptocurrencies, are experimental alternative currencies which are currently under development and that their operation is not predictable.
Links
The activation of certain links on the website may cause you to leave the Bity-broker website. Bity does not review any of these linked websites and does not warrant or guarantee, either expressly or implicitly, the quality, pertinence, accuracy, completeness, update status, availability or legality of the content of these sites, nor shall it be in any way responsible for the products, services, information and other content offered via these linked sites. The same applies to websites offering links to Bity-broker’s website. Furthermore, prior written approval must always be obtained before a link from an external site to Bity-broker’s website can be created.
Confidentiality and encryption
Your attention is drawn to the fact that the data exchanged between yourself and Bity is transmitted via open, public networks (such as the Internet) that are not subject to any controls or reviews. The data transferred may travel beyond Switzerland’s borders, even if both yourself and Bity are located in Switzerland. In addition, even if the data transmitted is encrypted, it may not necessarily stay encrypted for the entire duration of the transmission, nor may it necessarily remain encrypted at your end: it is possible that data may be intercepted. Furthermore, you hereby declare that you have taken note that the legislation applicable in your country may prohibit or restrict the importing, exporting or use of encryption algorithms. In no event shall Bity be responsible for any violations of measures governing the importing, exporting or use of encryption algorithms. You alone shall be responsible in the event of any such violation. Lastly, your attention is drawn to the fact that information transmitted electronically, e.g. by e-mail or SMS, is in principle not encrypted and may be intercepted.
Confidentiality in respect of user IDs and passwords
You are obliged to keep user IDs, passwords and other means of identification secret. To this end, you must not store your user IDs, passwords or other means of identification in your browser and you must delete all temporary files stored in your cache memory as well as your surfing history. You are solely responsible should such means of identification be communicated to, discovered or misused by a third party, and for any and all losses and damages resulting there from. You have taken note of the fact that you are required to disconnect from the identification services proposed by Bity before leaving your Internet station. To do this, you must close all your browser windows showing the site.
Proper use of the website
You undertake to use the website in a proper and reasonable manner, and not to misuse the website in any way or use it in such a way as might occasion, for example, the overloading of the website, any delay in the transmission of information, any interruption of service, blockage of access to the website or any other effect detrimental to Bity or to the users of its website. In particular, it is forbidden:
- to place a purchase order for less than the minimum amount indicated on Bity’s website;
- to effect e-mail-bombing or any denial-of-service attack (in particular flooding) or any similar attempt similar;
- to infect the website with any virus, worm, Trojan horse or other software, or any similar attempt;
- to gain or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the servers administering the website, or to circumvent or attempt to circumvent or to disable or attempt to disable the website’s security features (hacking);
- to update the information provided on the website using automatic updating programs, e.g. such as are provided by other websites;
- to use offline readers or similar software, in particular such as would allow the mass downloading of data from the website onto your hard disk.
Should you undertake any of these actions, Bity reserves the right to deny you access to the website, even if you are a registered customer of Bity-broker.
Registration and use of your activities on the website
Please note that Bity may record and analyze all of your actions on our websites, APIs, applications, and within other direct marketing campaigns for security, system monitoring, management, marketing and compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements to which Bity is subject. Bity will store this information under the appropriate security conditions for a limited period of time.
Bity will not pass on your personal information to third parties, except in the following special circumstances:
- In the framework of the compliance with legal and regulatory obligations to which Bity is subject by Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, its implementing ordinances, as well as by the Regulation of the “Verein zur Qualitätssicherung von Finanzdienstleistungen” (VQF);
- Bity’s Technical Support is an external support. When you use it, personal information - such as your username, first and last names, email address, phone number, IP address and payment information - is stored by this external support;
- The authentication of your identity documents is carried out by a specialized external company. As a result, this company has access to these documents (only).
- Necessary external providers that help us properly maintain or manage our current process, product and service offerings, and user base. In cases where use of an external provider or service is necessary, we will ensure the external provider respects the same degree of vigilance as Bity regarding privacy and data protection.
Your personal and / or contact information will never be sold by Bity in any way.
User registration
Using Bity financial services requires registration to the website. The registration is free and is resulting, after acknowledgment of the current Terms and Conditions, in the creation of a User Profile.
The submission and validation by Bity of various documents, referred to in these Terms and Conditions, is required for the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, as well as for the conversion of cryptocurrencies. There is no pre-existing registration fee. Bity may refuse any registration without having to provide a reason, may exclude any registered user - including in cases of fraud, scams, forged securities or forged certificates - or may refuse to enter into any transaction. Banned users are not allowed to re-register on the Site. By doing so, these users may be subject to criminal prosecution.
To register on the Site, you must be a natural or legal person. You must also be able to exercise your civil rights (be at least 18 years of age and capable of discernment). Persons under the age of 18 may not register on the Site. Every User Profile is unique, personal and non-transferable. The creation and use of multiple accounts by the same person is prohibited.
You have the option to opt-in to receive non-mandatory email messages such as eNewsletters, special offers or other marketing-related messages. Those emails are sent to the email address on your account. If you no longer want to receive such email messages, you may opt-out by clicking the unsubscribe link found within the non-mandatory email messages. Please note that your opt-out and opt-in requests will be processed as soon as possible, but may take time to process for technical reasons. Opting out will prevent you from receiving non-mandatory email messages until you opt-in again. While being opted-out, you will miss the information contained in non-mandatory messages which can, among others, include information about updates, improvements, or special offers.
Identification level
When you register, the information and document you must submit to Bity and the maximum amount you can buy, sell or swap depends on your identification level.
Standard | |
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Daily limit* | 1,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) |
Annual volume limit* | 100,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) |
Restrictions:
- Transfers of cryptocurrencies to an unverified public address will not be accepted.
Required information:
- a telephone number
- an e-mail address
Advanced | |
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Annual volume limit | 100,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) |
Required information:
- a copy of your identity document (identity card or passport), which must be signed, with a legible MRZ code and a photograph;
- a recent photograph of yourself;
- a proof of residence less than three months old (accepted documents: bank statements, credit card statements, internet, fixed-line telephone, electricity, water or gas bills);
- a properly completed Bity registration form;
- a properly completed beneficial owner form; and
- a first payment made with a bank account in your name.
Upon you registering a phone number, a TAN code will be used. This means that you will receive a code by SMS, which you must confirm with Bity.
Bity reserves the right to conduct a video conference to verify your identity, including:
- if Bity believes that the documents provided are incomplete;
- if you are domiciled or have your headquarters in a country at risk; or
- if the first payment you made was made from a country at risk or through a bank account which you do not own.
Here is the list of countries at risk: https://go.bity.com/high-risk-countries
Expert | |
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Limit per transaction | 500,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) |
Annual volume limit | None. |
How to upgrade: When you reach an annual transaction volume of more than 50,000 Swiss Francs (CHF), you can ask Bity, through its technical support, to upgrade from Advanced level to Expert level. Bity will analyze your customer file and will accept or reject your request.
Required information: Additional verification information will be required such as proof of origin of funds from a tax declaration, income statement, bank statements, etc. What additional information Bity requests will depend on the profile of the user and is subject to change. The same procedure for verification, as noted in the advanced level, applies (confirmation by SMS, video-conference).
Any changes to your personal data must be communicated to Bity immediately. The data provided must be complete and valid at all times.
Bity will never share your password with third parties and will never ask you for this information by email or by telephone. Any such request must be disregarded and reported to Bity.
You are not authorized to let anyone else access your account. You are responsible for all activities carried out with your account.
You can delete your account at any time by making a request through Bity’s Technical Support.
Bity is required to keep records of transactions for ten years. This period will start from the end of the execution of the transactions or, if more than one transaction forms a whole, from the end of the last transaction. Therefore, if you have made transactions, your account cannot be deleted. However, it will be disabled.
Registration fee
Registration is free.
Terms of purchase of cryptocurrencies
You can create a purchase order by entering the desired amount and the currency of the payment. Choose the preferred payment method and follow the instructions displayed.
Prices are quoted in euros or Swiss francs or any other currency available for payment and include Swiss Value Added Tax (hereafter : VAT), if applicable. Payment can be made by bank transfer or by any other means of payment available on Bity’s website. The exchange rate for cryptocurrencies is set at the time Bity receives your payment and can therefore vary significantly. We would like to point out that a bank transfer may take between one and five working days before it reaches its recipient.
The transaction costs of the cryptocurrencies which will be transmitted to you are included in the basic price.
If transaction fees have been deducted by your bank or by any other intermediary from the amount you agreed to pay, Bity will pay in cryptocurrency the equivalent of the amount it actually collected.
If transaction fees are charged to Bity for the receipt of the payment order you made, Bity will deduct these fees (including currency exchange fees) from the amount received and will pay the equivalent of the latter amount in cryptocurrency.
Purchase orders will be processed by Bity within five business days of receipt of payment. If the payment order is not processed within the aforementioned period, you are obliged to inform Bity immediately. If you do not meet this obligation, you will not be able to make any claim for the variation in the exchange rate.
Terms of sale of cryptocurrencies
You can create a sale order by entering the desired amount and the desired currency of payment. You must then follow the instructions posted on the site.
Prices are quoted in the cryptocurrency available for payment and include Swiss VAT (if applicable). Payment must be made by transferring cryptocurrency to a single-use address provided by Bity during the process. You will have 10 minutes to transfer your cryptocurrency.
Any bank fees will be charged to you.
Sale orders will be processed by Bity within a period of five working days. This period begins upon receipt of the cryptocurrency into Bity’s single-use account and after your transaction has been cleared and entered in the relevant Blockchain. If the payment order is not processed within the aforementioned period, you are obliged to inform Bity immediately. If you do not meet this obligation, you will not be able to make any claim for the variation in the exchange rate.
Conditions for converting cryptocurrencies
You can convert one type of cryptocurrency (for example, Bitcoin) to another type (for example, Ether). You must then follow the instructions on the site.
Prices are quoted in the cryptocurrency available for conversion and include Swiss VAT (if applicable). The conversion must be done by transferring crypto currency to a single-use address provided by Bity during the conversion process. You will have 10 minutes to complete the transfer.
The fee for converting cryptocurrency is included in the basic price.
Conversion orders will be processed by Bity within a period of five working days. This period begins upon receipt of the order by Bity. If the conversion order is not processed within the aforementioned period, you are obliged to inform Bity immediately. If you do not meet this obligation, you will not be able to make any claim for the variation in the exchange rate.
Your due diligence obligations when you place an order (purchase, sale or conversion):
When you place a purchase order
- Minimum amount
You may not place a purchase order for less than the minimum amount indicated on Bity’s website. - Prerequisites for purchase orders
You must place a purchase order before making a payment. Therefore, if you make a payment without a corresponding purchase order, your funds will be automatically returned. The bank fees will be charged to you. You may also be charged for administrative fees. - Difference between the amount shown on the purchase order and the amount
actually collected by Bity
You must pay Bity the amount you have indicated in your purchase order. If the amount you pay is less or more than the amount shown on your purchase order, the equivalent in cryptocurrency will be automatically adjusted by Bity, within the limit of your quotas and the minimum amounts indicated on Bity’s website. The bank fees will be charged to you. You may also be charged for administrative fees. - Address to be provided
To obtain payment of your cryptocurrency, you must provide Bity with a cryptocurrency address that is valid and freely available to you. If you place a purchase order and provide Bity with an address that is invalid or that does not belong to you - such as an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) address- your funds will be lost. Bity may perform searches to try to recover lost cryptocurrency, but will not be required to do so. These searches remain at Bity’s discretion and may be performed when large amounts of money are involved. You will have to pay for the costs of the search, which will take into account the technical complexity and the time required for the search.
- Reason for payment
When you use fiat currency to pay Bity, you must indicate the reason for your payment, using of the following type of reference: “bity.com XXXX-XXXX,” the “Xs” being capital letters or numbers. If the above-mentioned reference does not appear on the payment order, your funds will be returned.
The bank fees will be charged to you and you may also be charged an
additional administrative fee.
6. Cancellation of purchase orders
Purchase orders may be canceled as long as the currency has not been
received by Bity. If you have sent the currency, but Bity has not yet
received it, your funds will be returned. The bank fees will be charged to
you and you may also be charged an additional administrative fee.
When you place a sell order
- Minimum amount
You may not place a sale order for an amount less than the minimum amount indicated on Bity’s website. - Prerequisites for sale orders
You must place a sale order before making a payment. Therefore, if you make a payment without a corresponding sale order, your funds will usually be lost, unless Bity is able to recover and return them. All requests to recover funds must be made through Bity’s technical support. You may be charged for administrative fees. - Difference between the amount on the sale order and the amount actually
collected by Bity
If the amount you pay is less or more than the amount shown on your sale order, the equivalent in foreign currency will be automatically adjusted by Bity, within the limit of your quotas and the minimum amounts indicated on Bity’s website. The bank fees will be charged to you. You may also be charged for administrative fees. - Address provided by Bity
You must make the payment by transferring cryptocurrency to a single-use address provided by Bity.If you send crypto currency to an address other than the one provided by Bity, your funds will be lost, as Bity does not hold the private keys for these addresses. Bity may perform searches to try to recover lost cryptocurrency, but will not be required to do so. These searches remain at Bity’s discretion and may be performed when large amounts of money are involved. You will have to pay for the costs of the search, which will take into account the technical complexity and the time required for the search. - Bank reference to be provided to Bity
In order to receive your currency, you must provide Bity with the reference of a bank account that is valid and which belongs to you. If you provide Bity with an incorrect bank reference or one that belongs to a third party, your funds will be lost. Bity may perform searches to try to recover lost cryptocurrency, but will not be required to do so. These searches remain at Bity’s discretion and may be performed when large amounts of money are involved. You will have to pay for the costs of the search, which will take into account the technical complexity and the time required for the search. - Time limit for payment of cryptocurrency
You must make the cryptocurrency payment within 10 minutes of placing the sale order. If you do not make the payment within this time limit, the equivalent value of the cryptocurrency will be automatically recalculated and you will not be able to assert any claim for the variation of the exchange rate. Furthermore, the execution of the order and the recovery of funds are not guaranteed. - Network fees
If the network fees chosen by the originator of the cryptocurrency (the customer) are too low or if the transaction is not confirmed on the corresponding Blockchain within one hour of the sale order, Bity reserves the right to recalculate the exchange rate at the time the transaction is confirmed on the Blockchain. - Cancellation of the sale order
Sale orders may be canceled, as long as the cryptocurrency has not been received by Bity.
When you place a conversion order
You can convert one type of cryptocurrency (for example, Bitcoin) to another type (for example, Ether). You must then follow the instructions on the site.
Prices are quoted in the cryptocurrency available for conversion and include Swiss VAT tax (if applicable). The conversion must be done by transferring crypto currency to a single-use address provided by Bity during the conversion process. You will have 10 minutes to complete the transfer.
The fee for converting cryptocurrency is included in the basic price.
Conversion orders will be processed by Bity within a period of five working days. This period begins upon receipt of the order by Bity. If the conversion order is not processed within the aforementioned period, you are obliged to inform Bity immediately. If you do not meet this obligation, you will not be able to make any claim for the variation in the exchange rate.
- Minimum amount
You may not place a conversion order for an amount less than the minimum amount indicated on Bity’s website. - Address provided by Bity
You must perform the conversion by transferring cryptocurrency to a single-use address provided by Bity. If you send cryptocurrency to an address other than the one provided by Bity, your funds will be lost. Bity may perform searches to try to recover lost cryptocurrency, but will not be required to do so. These searches remain at Bity’s discretion and may be performed when large amounts of money are involved. You will have to pay for the costs of the search, which will take into account the technical complexity and the time required for the search. - Address to be provided to Bity
You must provide Bity with a cryptocurrency address that is valid and freely available to you. If you place a conversion order and you provide Bity with an address that is incorrect or that belongs to a third party - including an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) address - your funds will be lost. Bity may perform searches to try to recover lost cryptocurrency, but will not be required to do so. These searches remain at Bity’s discretion and may be performed when large amounts of money are involved. You will have to pay for the costs of the search, which will take into account the technical complexity and the time required for the search. - Time limit for payment of cryptocurrency
You must make the cryptocurrency payment within 10 minutes of placing the conversion order. If you do not make the payment within this time limit, the equivalent value of the cryptocurrency will be automatically recalculated and you will not be able to assert any claim related to the variation of the exchange rate. Furthermore, the execution of the order and the recovery of funds are not guaranteed. - Network fees
If the network fees chosen by the originator of the cryptocurrency (the customer) are too low or if the transaction is not confirmed on the corresponding Blockchain within one hour of the conversion order, Bity reserves the right to recalculate the exchange rate at the time the transaction is confirmed on the Blockchain. - Cancellation of the conversion order
Conversion orders may be canceled, as long as the cryptocurrency has not been received by Bity.
Partial Nullity and Choice of Law
In the event of one of the Terms and Conditions being void, canceled or rendered otherwise invalid, the validity of the remaining Terms and Conditions shall not be affected or impaired.
Applicable law and competent court
The Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland without giving effect to the conflict of laws or legal provisions of Switzerland or your actual state or country of residence. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in relation to the general Terms and Conditions, your relationship with Bity, including any non-contractual obligations, will be exclusively subject to the jurisdiction of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.