Terms and Conditions

Important

Before you use your Card, please read these terms and conditions carefully. By signing on the Card and/or using it you accept the terms and conditions set out below and undertake to be bound by them.

1. Definitions

1.1. "Cardholder" means any individual who has signed the Card Application Form, which is approved by HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc and/or who has signed or used a Card.
1.2. "Bank" means HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc, its successors and assignees.
1.3. "Card" means, as appropriate, the credit or debit card issued by the Bank to a Cardholder.
1.4. "Card Account" means the account opened in the name of the Primary Cardholder for the purpose of use of the Card as per the terms and conditions contained herein.
1.5. "Primary Cardholder" means the Cardholder in whose name the Card Account is opened.
1.6. "Additional Cardholder" means an individual to whom a Card bearing that individual's name is issued at the request of Primary Cardholder.
1.7. "Statement" means a Bank generated monthly statement of the Card Account setting out transaction details, fees and financial liabilities (if any) on that date, of the Primary Cardholder and any Additional Cardholder(s) to the Bank in respect of the Card Account.
1.8. "Transaction" means any instruction given to Bank by a Cardholder using a Card directly or indirectly to effect action on the Card.
1.9. "Merchant establishment" means the establishment wherever located which accepts the Card for payments and may include amongst others stores, shops, restaurants, hotels, airline companies, postal services and companies offering mail order services, companies offering services via Interned and accepting Card as a payment means.
1.10. "You", "Your", "Him", "his", or similar pronouns mean the Cardholder.

2. Card usage

2.1. The Card is the property of the Bank and must be returned to the Bank on request by handing it to an authorised member of staff of the Bank at the registered office of the Bank or mailing to any of the Bank's branch offices.
2.2. You must sign on the reverse side of the Card immediately upon receipt, must not permit any third person to use it by safeguarding the Card and Personal Identity Number (PIN) from misuse by retaining them under your personal control at all times.
2.3. The Card and PIN are issued to You entirely at Your risk, and the Bank shall bear no liability whatsoever for any loss/ damage arising from the issue to You or use of the Card and PIN however caused unless the cause is the result of the Bank's fault.
2.4. You are requested to note that the Card is valid up to the last day of the month of the year indicated on the Card, if such a date is indicated. You hereby undertake to destroy the Card when it expires by cutting it into several pieces through the magnetic strip. Your renewed Card shall be sent to the address agreed between You and the Bank, or in case there is not such an agreed address to Your recently updated statement delivery address. The renewed Card is issued to You solely at the discretion of the Bank, upon evaluation of the history of your Card Account. Your renewed Card will be destroyed after a month period if not collected from recently updated statement delivery address.
2.5. You must sign a sales slip, cash advance slip, or other document whenever the Card is used and should retain your copy. You may receive copies of the sales or cash advance slips from the Bank at an additional charge. Any transaction receipt not personally signed by you but which can be proved as being authorised by you, will be your liability.
2.6. The Card is acceptable at any Merchant establishment that displays Payment System logos available on your Card. The Bank will not accept responsibility for any dealings you may have with the Merchant establishment, but will try to assist you, wherever possible. For this you should notify the Bank of the complaint immediately along with supporting documents. In case if the complaint concerning any Merchant establishment is not resolved, You will not be relieved from any obligations to the Bank.
2.7. The Bank accepts no responsibility for any surcharge levied by any Merchant establishment and debited to your Card Account with the transaction amount.
2.8. All charges for jewelry, electronic goods, cash and transactions incurred through any electronic media (including but not limited to Internet, interactive television) will be approved selectively at the Bank's discretion in the first six months of Card issuance.
2.9. You shall not use the Card for any illegal purposes.
2.10. Use of "secure payment" sites should be ensured when using your Card to pay for goods through any electronic media (including but not limited to the Internet, interactive television).
2.11. You will be responsible for all Card facilities granted by the Bank in respect of the Card and for all related charges hereunder, notwithstanding the termination of your agreement with the Bank.

3. Billing

3.1. The Bank will maintain an account in respect of the Card ("the Card Account") to which the value of all purchases of goods or services, cash advances, fees, charges and payments effected by the use of the Card by the Primary Cardholder and any Additional Cardholder(s) will be posted. For posting a transaction made in a currency other than Card Account currency, the respective exchange rate, as at the posting day, of the Bank shall be used (for USD transactions) and the exchange rate established by MasterCard, Inc. shall be used for transactions in other currencies to convert into USD, while USD shall be converted at the respective exchange rate of the Bank.
3.2. The Bank may assign a credit limit to the Card Account, which should not be exceeded at any time. You may, however, apply for a review of the Card's credit limit at any time after six months of Card operation. In such case any change in the credit limit will be at the sole discretion of the Bank. The Bank has a right to decrease Your credit limit at any time based on the review of the Card usage and your creditworthiness by notifying You in advance.
3.3. In the event of Your exceeding the Card's credit limit, in the result of payment of due charges or any other reason, the Bank will be entitled to apply an overlimit fee, at the rate set in the tariffs.
3.4. When the Card Account has an outstanding balance or where new transactions have been posted to the Card Account the Bank will generate a monthly itemized statement with the following details: a) The Statement Date - the date on which the statement is generated. b) Opening Balance - the amount outstanding on the Card Account at the beginning of the reporting period. c) Date of the Transaction - the day when the Transaction has been effected. d) Posting date of the Transaction - the day when the Transaction has been posted to Your Card Account. e) The Closing Balance - the amount outstanding (if any) on the Card Account as at the Statement Date. f) The Minimum Payment Due - the minimum amount (if any) required to be paid by the Payment Due Date. This amount also includes the Overdue amounts. g) The Payment Due Date - the date by the end of which the Minimum Payment Due must be received by the Bank. h) Overdue Amount - Minimum Payment Due outstanding from previous Statements. This amount is included as part of the current Minimum Payment Due and is payable immediately. i) Other details as required by the law.
g) The Payment Due Date - the date by the end of which the Minimum Payment Due must be received by the Bank.
h) Overdue Amount - Minimum Payment Due outstanding from previous Statements. This amount is included as part of the current Minimum Payment Due and is payable immediately.
i) Other details as required by the law.
3.5. If you do not receive your monthly Statement it is your responsibility to contact the Bank and pay Minimum Payment Due by the Payment Due Date.
3.6. A purchase and a subsequent credit for cancellation of goods/services are two separate Transactions. You must pay for the purchase transaction as it appears on the Statement to avoid the charging of any fee. The refund will only be credited to your Card Account (less cancellation charges) as and when received from the Merchant establishment. If the credit is not posted to your Card Account within 30 days from the date of refund, you must notify the Bank. It is also necessary that a copy of the credit note should be sent along with your notification to the Bank.

4. Payment

4.1. Payments made by draft and/or payment instruction for clearance of Card dues must be drawn payable to the Bank to the favour of your Card Account. Such drafts and payment instructions will be subject to an encashment/ collection charge at the rate set by the tariffs. Payment received by cash/payment instructions/drafts will be credited to the Card Account by the end of next working day following receipt of funds.
4.2. You may repay the Statement Closing Balance fully or partially (at least Minimum Payment Due mentioned on your Statement). If the payment of the whole Statement Closing Balance is received by the Bank on or before the Payment Due Date, no interest will be applied, except for cash advances within the Card limit which will attract an interest at the rate set by the Bank from the date of withdrawal until such cash advances amounts are cleared in full and payment is posted to the Card Account.
4.3. In order to repay the Statement Closing Balance you may credit the required amount directly to your Card Account before or on the Payment Due Date. You may also credit the required amount to your bank account held with Bank and mentioned in your Direct Debit Instruction, in which case, depending on Your Direct Debit Instruction, the Bank will debit either the Closing Balance amount or the amount of Minimum Payment Due from your bank account within two working days following the Payment Due Date.
4.4. If you make a payment to clear the whole of the Statement Closing Balance after the Payment Due Date, or wish to extend the payment and pay the Bank an amount less than the Statement Closing Balance (but at least the Minimum Payment Due) you must pay interest at the rate set by the Bank. Such interest is calculated on all items making up that Statement Closing Balance, from the date such items are posted to the Card Account until full payment for them is applied to your Card Account. The interest will be debited on the next Statement Date.
4.5. If the Minimum Payment Due is not paid by the Payment Due Date, a late payment fee will be debited to the Card Account on the Statement Date. The Bank also reserves the right to levy default interest at a rate set by the Bank in case Minimum Payment Dues are not paid before the Payment Due Date.
4.6. Irrespective of the currency of the Card Account the interest shall be paid in Armenian Drams (AMD). The interest is normally charged from the Card Account. In case of a foreign currency Card Account, the Bank shall be entitled to convert the respective amount in foreign currency to be charged into AMD at the respective rate of the Bank as at the debit date and charge.
4.7. The foreign currency change may effect your Payments in case of foreign currency credit.
4.8. In case you wish to dispute any Transaction indicated in the Statement, please advise the Bank within 30 days of the Statement date on disputing the Transaction. The Bank at its discretion may accept the disputes older than 30 days. The Transactions effected within ArCa payment system shall be disputed in accordance with ArCa regulations. International Transactions shall be disputed in accordance with the regulations of MasterCard International Inc.
4.9. Duplicate statements will only be provided for up to the last six months on the Primary Cardholder's request and payment of the fee as per the Bank's tariffs.
4.10. The Bank, without any specific communication, has the sole discretion to appoint agents for recovery of outstandings or initiate any other actions allowed by law for recovery of all monies owed to the Bank.
4.11. You are liable for all costs and legal expenses associated with collection of dues.
4.12. The Bank reserves the right at its sole discretion to decide the sequence of repayment of any principal, interest, charges, fees and other amounts owed to the Bank.

5. Charges and Fees

5.1. All charges and fees will be debited to your Card Account in accordance with Bank's tariffs.
5.2. All cash advances attract handling fee as per tariffs. The charge will be debited to the Card Account on the next day of posting of the cash advance. Cash advances withdrawn will also be subject to an interest. The interest will be debited to the Card Account on the Statement Date.
5.3. All the fees and charges defined under the tariffs and reflected in the Statement will be levied in Armenian Drams (AMD), The fees and charges defined under the tariffs are normally charged from the Card Account, and in case of foreign currency Card Accounts the Bank shall be entitled to convert the respective amount in foreign currency to be charged into AMD at the respective rate of the Bank as at the debit date and charge.

6. Disclosure of information

6.1. When requested by the Bank, you shall provide any information that the Bank deems necessary. You also authorise the Bank to verify the information furnished by whatever means or from whichever source the Bank deems necessary. If the data is not provided or incorrect data is provided, the Bank, at its discretion, may refuse renewal of the Card or cancel the Card forthwith and demand payment of all outstandings on the Card Account.
6.2. You expressly recognise and accept that the Bank shall be absolutely entitled and have full power and authority to sell, transfer or assign any or all outstandings and dues on your Card Account to any third party at the Bank's choice and written notice by the Bank to you of any such action shall bind you to accept any such third party as the Creditor and to pay over such outstandings and dues to the third party relieving you of any such obligation to the Bank.
6.3. The existence of the Card Account and details of any default that may occur are in accordance with the RA legislation recorded with the CBA loan register as well as may be provided to the credit bureaus operating in RA for the purposes of assessing credit applications for You and members of Your household.
6.4. You hereby also authorize the Bank to provide at its sole discretion and without prior notice to You any information (including a reference) concerning You and the Card, including details of any default, to other banks, credit organizations and similar companies, at the latter's demand or at its own initiative in accordance with the legislation of RA.
6.5. According to Bank's principles, internal regulations and Law of RA on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing the circulation of proceeds of criminal activity through banks is forbidden. In view of the above provisions of the Law and pursuant to requirements of money laundering legislation/regulations and internationally accepted practice, where any suspicions arise the Bank reserves the right to make any inquiry at its sole discretion on the source of any funds credited to, being credited by You or available with the Bank. Respectively, the Bank may request to submit sufficient evidences of the lawful origin of funds. The Bank shall be entitled to restrict or suspend use and/ or possession and/or disposal of the questioned funds until presentation/receipt of sufficient evidence. You agree to indemnify the Bank against any losses due to the claims of any third parties in connection with the above mentioned actions of the Bank. You acknowledge and agree that the Bank, within the scope of the legislation of RA, is obliged to comply with the requirements of the laws, other legal acts of the respective countries and those of law-enforcement bodies which, among other things, refer to the prevention of terrorism and criminal activity financing. Neither the Bank, nor any other company acting as a partner of the Bank, is liable for the loss incurred by any person (irrespective of whether such loss is direct or indirect, including the loss of anticipated income or interest payment) if such loss resulted fully or partially from fulfillment of such requirements.

7. Lost Card

7.1. In the event the Card is lost, you must report the occurrence to the Bank or ArCa Processing Centre. Loss may be reported by any means, but you must confirm to the Bank in writing.
7.2. Your liability for all Transactions incurred on the Card subsequent to providing a written confirmation of loss is restricted to an amount applicable from time to time and as advised in the Bank's tariffs.
7.3. Should the Bank receive Transactions after the Card has been lost but before receipt of your written confirmation, you are liable for such amounts debited to the Card Account. You hereby undertake to indemnify the Bank fully against any liability, loss, cost, expenses or damages that may arise due to loss or misuse of the Card, in the event that it is lost and not reported to the Bank or lost and misused before the Bank is informed.
7.4. Provided you have in all respects complied with these terms, a replacement Card may be issued at the sole discretion of the Bank at the applicable fee.
7.5. Should you subsequently recover the Card, the recovered Card must not be used without approval of the Bank.

8. Additional Cards

8.1. The Primary Cardholder may request the Bank to issue additional Card(s) to Additional Cardholder(s) for operation on the Card Account.
8.2. The Primary Cardholder acknowledges that the credit limit approved on the Card Account is to cover all Transactions whether initiated by himself or any of the additional Cardholder(s).
8.3. The Primary Cardholder is liable for all transactions, fees, costs and any other charges outstanding on the Card Account at any time including Transactions initiated by Additional Cardholder(s).
8.4. The Primary Cardholder acknowledges that renewed Card(s) may be issued to Additional Cardholder(s) upon expiry without prior notice to the Primary Cardholder.
8.5. The Primary Cardholder undertakes to validate Transactions with the Additional Cardholder(s) since no separate Statement is provided to the Additional Cardholder(s).
8.6. The Primary Cardholder may cancel the additional Card by written notice to the Bank.
8.7. The Additional Cardholder(s) undertakes to inform the Bank in the event of death, incapacity, insolvency or bankruptcy (or other analogous event or proceedings) of the Primary Cardholder. The Additional Cardholder(s) further undertakes to stop use of the Card on receiving information of the death of the Primary Cardholder.
8.8. In the event of death, incapacity, insolvency or bankruptcy of the Primary Cardholder the Additional Cardholder(s) are jointly liable for all debit outstandings incurred on the Card Account.

9. Legislation and Disputes

9.1. Any relations with respect to Card not regulated under these terms and conditions will be subject to the legislation of RA and where no respective provisions are stipulated under the legislation - by business practice. The Armenian version of these terms and conditions prevails over its English version.
9.2. The disputes between the Bank and the Cardholder are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of RA. The Cardholder also has a right to submit a claim to the Financial System Mediator in cases stipulated by the law. The Explanatory Bulletin on Dispute Resolution is attached to these terms and conditions and form inseparable part of these terms and conditions.

10. Miscellaneous

10.1. Where no sufficient funds are available on the repayment account which has been selected by the Primary cardholder the Bank shall be entitled to debit the amounts owed to the Bank from other accounts of the Primary Cardholder. If the currency of such amounts is different from Card Account currency, the Bank shall be entitled to conduct a foreign exchange transaction at the Bank's respective rate as of the day of the transaction. The Bank may, without notice, set-off the amounts of any deposits which the Primary Cardholder maintains with the Bank towards the satisfaction of the Primary Cardholder's liability in respect of the Card Account and if necessary conduct a foreign exchange transaction for such purposes at the Bank's respective exchange rate for the respective currencies.
10.2. You will be allowed to transfer funds from your bank accounts held with the Bank to your Card Account by issuing payment instructions through calling the telephone number provided by the Bank. You acknowledge that the Bank will process the payment instructions received in such way after conducting proper identification of the person issuing the instructions by verifying the password mentioned in your Card application. You agree that the Bank will not bear any liability for losses incurred by You as a result of unauthorized use of the password mentioned in your Card application by third parties.
10.3. You will promptly notify the Bank in writing of any changes in your employment and/or residential address and telephone numbers as well as any other information mentioned in the Card Application Form.
10.4. The Bank reserves the right to revise services and benefits offered on the Card, alter these terms, tariffs as well as interest rates from time to time and may notify you of any such alterations in the manner agreed with You. You will be bound by such alterations unless the Card is returned to the Bank for cancellation before the date from which such alteration is to have effect. In case You do not agree with the revised interest rate, You have right to early repay all the outstandings on Your Card without penalties and return the Card for cancellation to the Bank, provided that Minimum Payment Dues are paid in accordance with the Statements until the cancellation of the Card.
10.5. You acknowledge that the Bank is not responsible for any of the services provided by third parties.
10.6. Where any suspicions arise as to the authenticity of documents, including Powers of Attorney (including those certified by the Notary) issued by You in favour of third parties for transacting on Your Card Account, the Bank shall be entitled to send such documents to the respective authorized body for expertise to prove their authenticity and the Bank shall bear no liability for any loss incurred by You due to delays caused by such actions.

11. Termination

11.1. The Primary Cardholder may terminate the agreement with the Bank at any time by written notice to the Bank accompanied by the return of the Card and Card(s) of any Additional Cardholder(s) cut into several pieces and full clearance of all the outstandings without any penalties. In such case the Bank is obliged to pro rata and charges. In case the Primary Cardholder terminates the agreement within seven working days after concluding, only interest (if any) calculated in annual percentage rate will be payable to the Bank for the use of credit. The Primary Cardholder or an Additional Cardholder may terminate the agreement (in so far as it relates to the use of the additional Card) by written notice to the Bank.
11.2. The Bank may terminate the agreement at any time by canceling the Card without assigning any reason. You are obliged to destroy the Card by cutting it into several pieces through the magnetic strip.
11.3. The notices and Card Statements shall be sent to You at Your last address/details advised to the Bank and in the manner agreed with the Bank.
11.4. The whole of the outstanding balance on the Card Account, together with the amount of any outstanding Card transactions effected but not yet charged to the Card Account, will become immediately due and payable in full to the Bank on termination of the agreement for whatever reasons or on death, incapacity, insolvency or bankruptcy of the Cardholder. The Bank will become entitled to recover the outstanding dues together with all expenses, legal fees, charges and interest from the successors of the Cardholder on his death without prejudice to its rights to continue to charge the interests and other charges until the dues are settled.
11.5. Any new Transactions presented to Card Account within 45 days after Card closure will become immediately due and payable in full to the Bank.

12. Additional Provisions

12.1. For MasterCard and ArCa Cardholders 24 hour Hot Line service is available (the respective phone number is displayed on the back side of the Card).
12.2. For prompt activation of the amounts credited to Card Account MasterCard / ArCa Cardholders can call the Hot Line, for which a fee set by the Bank tariffs will be applied. The fee will be debited from Card Account.
12.3. Along with certain card products the Bank may from time to time at its own expense purchase for Cardholders insurance policies and You hereby authorize the Bank for the purpose of acquiring the mentioned insurance policies to provide your personal details (name, surname, date of birth, address, passport details) to insurance companies cooperating with the Bank.

Explanatory bulletin on dispute resolution

In case of filing a claim to the Court the dispute between you and the Bank will be settled by the Mediator through the procedure defined by the Law "On the Financial System Mediator" of the Republic of Armenia. The services of the Mediator are free of charge.

In case of applying to the Financial System Mediator the dispute between you and the Bank will be settled by the Mediator through the procedure defined by the Law "On the Financial System Mediator" of the Republic of Armenia. The services of the Mediator are free of charge.

If you have a compliant, firstly you have to apply to the Bank. The Bank is obliged to reply to your complaint within 10 working days. After the receipt of the response from the Bank you can apply to the Financial System Mediator.

The Financial System Mediator can not examine your complaint, if:

1. the period of 10 working days after the submission of complaint has not expired;
2. you do not claim for any monetary or other property compensation, the amount of compensation claimed by you exceeds AMD 10 million (or its equivalent in other currency);
3. more than six months have passed since the receipt of the response from the Bank; or
4. the action or inaction complained by you has taken place before 02 August, 2008.

* Dear Customer, please kindly be advised that the Bank has waived its right to appeal the decisions of the Financial System Mediator, if the property claim requested by you does not exceed AMD 250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand) or its equivalent in other currency and the amount of the transaction does not exceed AMD 500,000 (five hundred thousand) or its equivalent in other currency. This means that the Bank can not appeal the decisions made by the Financial System Mediator against the Bank through the judicial system if the amount argued does not exceed AMD 250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand) or its equivalent in other currency and the amount of the transaction does not exceed AMD 500,000 (five hundred thousand) or its equivalent in other currency..

Office of the Financial System Mediator
The Mediator: Piruz Sargsyan
Address: 26/1 Vazgen Sargsyan Street,
"Erebuni Plaza" Business Center, 4-th floor,
411 room, Yerevan 0010
Telephone: (37410) 582321, 582322,
Fax: (37410) 582421
E-mail: info@fsm.am
website: www.fsm.am

You can also file a claim to the Central Bank of Armenia
Please be informed that it is not the responsibility of the Central Bank to settle the disputes between You and the Bank, however the Central Bank can impose penalties upon the Bank if it becomes evident that the Bank has breached the law.

Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia Address: 6 Vazgen Sargsyan Street, Yerevan 0010
Telephone: (37410) 592697
Fax: (37410) 565496
E-mail: chairman@cba.am
website: www.cba.am

* Dear Customer, please kindly be advised that if you have signed an arbitration agreement with the Bank, the disputes arising out the contract signed between you and the Bank are subject to settlement by arbitration tribunal. You are banned from the right to appeal disputes arising out of the contract before the court. As a rule, the decisions of arbitration tribunal are not subject to judicial review.

Note: In case of discrepancies between the Armenian and English versions of this page, the Armenian version shall prevail.

Last updated on: 01/04/2011 14:00