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Terms and Conditions

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 Terms and conditions of use of American Express Cards

Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Law

These Terms and Conditions are important and should be read carefully. By signing or using the above-mentioned Cards issued to you ("the Card"), you confirm acceptance of them

  1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION

    1. Amount of Credit Advanced : NIL
    2. Period of Agreement : ON DEMAND
    3. Number of Repayment Instalments : NIL
    4. Amount of each Instalment* : NIL
    5. Total Amount Repayable* : NIL
    6. Cost of this Credit *(5 minus 1) : NIL
    7. Total Annual Percentage Rate of Charge: The total annual percentage rate (A.P.R.), calculated on the assumption that the amount advanced is CP1,000.00, is:
      If the card is Classic/ Gold/ Platinum Visa, Blue, Green or Gold American Express: ________%
      If the card is Blue: ________%
      provided this has not been varied from the date of printing/preparing this agreement. This rate does not take into account any increase or decrease in the interest rate or the handling fees during the life of the loan. The A.P.R may be varied in case of variation of the Interest Rate of the Bank, the Margin, and in case of repayment of the balance by monthly instalments, the period of repayment, the frequency or the amount of the monthly instalments and of any variation and/or the imposition of charges.

    NB. According to the provisions of the law you may withdraw from this agreement. If you wish to withdraw, please sign and send to the Bank the attached letter, or deliver it personally at any time within 10 days of receiving copy of this agreement. IF YOU DECIDE TO DETERMINE THIS AGREEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH 6 HEREINBELOW WILL APPLY AS IF YOU HAVE TERMINATED THE AGREEMENT.

  2. SCOPE

    In these terms and conditions, unless the context otherwise requires:

    "Cardholder" means the persons of whose request the Card is issued (whether to the Cardholder himself or to an Authorized Cardholder) who agrees to be responsible for transactions incurred through its use and includes his personal representatives and heirs.

    "Authorized Cardholder” means the person (other than the Cardholder) identified on any Card issued by the Bank at the Cardholder's request.

    "The Card" means the plastic issued to a person and conferring on such a person the possibility to effect the transactions defined in the terms and conditions upon which the Card is issued and includes the Visa Card, and/or MasterCard and/or American Express and/or ATM cards, all of which can be debit, credit or charge Cards or electronic cards or cash withdrawal cards, issued by the Bank to the Cardholder and/or an authorized Cardholder.

    "The Bank" means the Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd and its successors and assigns and includes any person acting on its or their behalf.

    The "Card Account" means an account maintained by the Bank in relation to Card transactions incurred from usage of both Visa and MasterCard.

    "Card Transaction" means any transaction whereby cash, goods or services are obtained by the use of the Card, the Card Number or in any manner authorized by the Cardholder for debit to the Card Account.

    "PIN" means the Personal Identification Number, issued to the Cardholder.

  3. THE CARD

    1. The Card shall be used by the Cardholder exclusively and always within the limits of the balance available in the account mentioned in your application for the issue of the Card, or the credit limit approved by the Bank and notified to you from time to time.
    2. The Cardholder is not entitled to use the Card in excess of the limit which is mentioned above, if however for any reason you make such unauthorized use of the Card, you undertake to settle the unauthorized overdraft plus interest and/or any other charges immediately upon the Bank's first demand (subject always to the provisions of the Consumer Credit Law), in accordance with the operating terms of the abovementioned account and/or any other terms and conditions included in this document.
    3. As part of the Bank’s decision making process and in an effort to minimize misuse of the Cards, the Bank has set certain internal security limits by fixing maximum amount and/or maximum number for Card Transactions and as a result may refer an authorization request back to the supplier for further information. In such a case the Cardholder may be asked to produce further evidence of his identity. This may be also done on a random basis for fraud prevention purposes.
    4. The Card is the property of the Bank. The Cardholder must return it to the Bank on demand. The Bank may from time to time issue new Cards to replace existing ones.
    5. Unless otherwise notified these Terms and Conditions will apply to any replacement Card issued to you. The Bank has the right in its absolute discretion and without prior notice, at any time to withdraw the right to use the Card for, or to refuse any request for authorization of, any particular Card Transaction or refuse to reissue, renew or replace it and to publish any such withdrawal or refusal.
    6. The Cardholder should use the Card only during the validity period shown on it.
    7. The Cardholder is liable to the Bank for all transactions which are incurred through use of the Card (and accepted by the Bank from Merchants) and for all acts and omissions of any Authorized Cardholder.
    8. Any Authorized Cardholder is jointly and severally liable with the Cardholder for all transactions incurred through use of the Card issued to the Authorized Cardholder and for all Authorized Cardholder's acts and omissions.
    9. In using the Card the Cardholder must comply with all applicable laws.
    10. The Card may not be used for illegal purposes.

  4. STATEMENTS

    1. The Bank may debit the Card Account with the amounts of all Card Transactions, any other liabilities of the Cardholder and any loss incurred by the Bank arising from the use of the Card. The Cardholder will be liable to pay to the Bank all amounts so debited whether or not a Cardholder signs a sales draft or cash draft voucher.
    2. Statements will also include annual subscription fees, service charges and handling fees. Details of all the above costs and charges as per the present paragraph now in force are today given to the Cardholder will appear on webside of the Bank, www.bankofcyprus.com and may be obtained at any time either through the phone which appear in paragraph 5(c) or from any branch of the Bank. Subject always to the provisions of any Law in force from time to time, the Bank has the right to vary the amount of subscription fees and/or the service charges and/or handling fees, the circumstances in which they apply. The procedure for debiting the same to the account and/or introduce any other fees and charges in relation to this agreement. Any such variation and/or imposition will be binding on the Cardholder who will be informed at least 30 days before such variation and/or imposition takes effect. Upon receipt of the notice the Cardholder has a right to terminate the agreement in accordance with paragraph 6.
    3. Any objections regarding entries to the account should be notified to the Bank immediately at the address shown in paragraph 5(c).
      1. In case of cash advances against the Card, the statement will be debited with an amount equal to the cash advance plus handling fees.
      2. Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (d)(i) the statement will also be debited with interest at the variable rate which at the time of preparing/ printing these terms and conditions is ____% p.a. calculated on a daily basis (both before and after any Court judgment) from the date of the cash advance until payment even if the balance is settled during grace period.
    5. The bank will normally send and/or otherwise communicate with any electronic or other means, a monthly statement to the Cardholder, for transactions incurred through use of the Card. Statements must be settled, in accordance with the operating terms of the aforementioned account,
      1. In case the card is a debit card, the relevant current account of the Cardholder is automatically debited with all transactions incurred through use of the Card.
      2. If the card is a credit card the cardholder must pay to the Bank the minimum instalment due, as detailed in the statement, which represents 5%, 8%, 10%, 20% or 100% (as the cardholder may elect) of the amount due with a minimum of CP10 (or such other percentage of the amount due or minimum amount which may be fixed form time to time by the Bank), within 20 days following the date of the statement. The Cardholder may if he/she so wishes, pays a greater amount.
      3. If the card is a charge card the cardholder must pay to the Bank the full amount due, as detailed in the statement, within 20 days following the date of the statement. If the card is a credit or charge card the Cardholder will also pay immediately any arrears of previous payments and the amount of any Card Transactions made in breach of the terms of this Agreement.
      4. If the Card is a Blue card, the debit balance will be repayable in equal monthly instalments which represent 8,8% of the credit limit with a minimum of CP10 (or such other percentage of the credit limit or minimum amount which may be fixed form time to time by the Bank.
    6. Subject to the paragraph (d) above, no interest will be charged if the total outstanding amount appearing on the monthly statement is paid within 20 days of the days of the statement. If any amount is not received by the Bank by the 20th day after the date of the Statement in which it first appears, (the due date), an interest charge equal to a variable rate of interest which at the time of preparing/ printing these terms and conditions is__% p.a., is payable to the Bank on that amount, calculated (both before and after any Court judgement) on a daily basis from the date of the transaction. In addition, the Bank will be entitled to debit the account with a service charge on the unpaid balance for every month that the balance remains unpaid after the due date. Interest will be capitalized in accordance with applicable legislation
    7. The Bank may, at its discretion, vary (either up or down), the interest rate and the handling fees and any such variation shall be binding on the Cardholder, who will be informed through an announcement in the daily press or through a notice by any means the Bank deems proper and will take effect from the date specified in such announcement or notice. Upon receipt of the notice the Cardholder has a right to terminate the agreement in accordance with paragraph 6.
    8. If a statement is not settled promptly the Cardholder will be liable to reimburse the Bank for the collection expenses including and legal costs. Furthermore the Cardholder will be liable for a handling fee if any cheque or other remittance is not honoured on first presentation. Failure to settle Statement promptly may result in revocation to your right to use the Card.
    9. Subject to the provisions of the Consumer Credit Law payments to the Bank are applied to pay interest and other charges and secondly against any other amounts in order in which they are first billed.
    10. Any Card transaction in a currency other than the currency of the Republic of Cyprus will be converted in the the currency of the account which the Bank keeps with Visa International and/or MasterCard International at the exchange rate set by Visa International and/or MasterCard International on the day they process the Transaction. Thereafter when the currency of the above accounts of Bank, are different from the currency of the Cardholder’s account the amounts of the card transactions will be converted into the currency of the Republic of Cyprus at the exchange rate set by the Bank of Cyprus on the day of debiting the account plus a fee calculated on the amount of the transaction and depending on the country of origin of the transaction. Details of the relevant fee are shown on the Table for our fees and charges. For American Express, a charge that is made in a currency other than the currency of the Republic of Cyprus or US Dollars will, when the conversion is done by American Express, be converted into US Dollars before being converted into the currency of the account which the Bank keeps with American Express. For foreign charges converted by American Express, a conversion factor of 2.5% will be added to the converted amount, 1% of which will be retained by American Express (Details of the relevant fee are shown on the Table for our fees and charges).
    11. For most transactions the Cardholder will be asked to sign a voucher or insert his PIN into a secure PIN pad although some such as telephone and mail order transactions can be made without a signed voucher or inserting the PIN. Failure by the Cardholder to sign a voucher does not waive his obligation to pay any amount with which amount with which the account has been debited as a result of the use of the Card.
    12. Any obligation arising out of the use of the Card may at any time and at the absolute discretion of the Bank be set-off against not only the account mentioned in the Cardholder's application, but against any other account/deposit account that you have with the bank.
    13. The Cardholder shall be liable for any loss damage; expense or cost that the Bank determines it has suffered as a result of any breach of the Agreement by the Cardholder.
    14. The Card Account will only be credited with a refund in respect of a Card Transaction if the Bank received a refund voucher or other verification acceptable to the Bank.
    15. The Bank shall not be in any way responsible if the Card is not accepted or honoured by any third party. Further any dispute between you and any third party, concerning any Card Transaction shall not in any way affect your liability to pay to the Bank any debt arising out of and/or connected with such Card Transaction and no claim or counter claim by the Cardholder against a third party shall be a defence or counterclaim against the Bank.
    16. The Card must not be used to obtain goods, tickets or services for resale in the course of a business or return for cash. The paragraphs (d), (f), (g), (h), (i) do not apply for debit cards.

  5. SAFEGUARDING YOUR CARD AND PIN

    1. The Cardholder must sign the Card immediately on receipt with a ballpoint pen.
    2. The Cardholder must take care to ensure the safety of the Card and to prevent the disclosure of the PIN to any unauthorized person and in particular the Cardmember must:
      1. not part with the Card
      2. not disclose the PIN to any person except any authorized Cardmember
      3. destroy the PIN advice slip immediately on receipt
      4. not record the PIN in any way, which allows it to be identified with the Card or your Account and not keep any record with the Card.
        5. >
    3. If the Card is lost, damaged or liable to misuse or is not received when due, or if the PIN has become known to another person, the Cardholder must immediately notify: BANK OF CYPRUS PUBLIC COMPANY LTD, CARD CENTRE, 97, KYRENIA AVE., PLATY AGLANTZIA, P.O.BOX 21472, 1599 NICOSIA-CYPRUS TEL. 22-847700 or 22-847788 (or in case this address changes, to any such address notified to the Cardholder from time to time), or any branch of the Bank or if outside Cyprus any Visa Call Centre / MasterCard Global Service Centre or American Express Travel Service Office. IF SUCH NOTIFICATION IS GIVEN ORALLY IT MUST BE CONFIRMED IN WRITING WITHIN 7 DAYS. Until the Bank is notified the Cardholder and any authorised Cardholder will be liable to for any transactions made from the misuse of the Card but the liability is limited to the total amount of one hundred Cyprus Pounds (CP100) or such other amount as may be fixed by Law. Provided that the Cardholder will be liable to the Bank for any transaction carried out by any other person who acquired possession of the Card or knowledge of the PIN with the Cardholder’s consent and was acting under the express or implied authority of the Cardholder. The Cardholder will also be liable for all transactions without any limit as to the amount, if the Cardholder acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. Gross negligence shall be presumed where the Cardholder acted in breach of the provisions of clause 5b of this agreement.
    4. The Cardholder will give the Bank all the information in the Cardholder's possession as to the circumstances of the loss, theft or misuse of the Card or the disclosure of the PIN and take all steps deemed necessary by the Bank to assist the recovery of a missing Card. In the event of any such loss, theft, misuse or disclosure being suspected, the Bank may provide the police with any information it considers relevant. If a Card is reported as lost, stolen or liable to misuse that Card must not subsequently be used but must be cut in half and returned immediately to the Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd, Card Centre.
    5. The Bank is entitled to debit the Card account with any charges for the reissue/replacement of a Card and/or PIN in case the Card and/or PIN are/is lost or stolen.
    6. All cash deposits through an ATM will be checked by two employees of the Bank. Where the amount verified corresponds the amount entered through the keyboard, the Card Account will be credited with the relevant amount. In case there is a discrepancy, the Card Account will be credited with the amount verified by the Bank's employees and the Cardholder will be informed accordingly.

  6. TERMINATION

    1. The Cardholder may terminate this Agreement at any time if he notifies in writing the Bank and encloses the Card cut in half, or if there are any Authorized Cardholders also enclose an additional Card, all cut in half.
    2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3(d) The Bank may terminate this agreement at its absolute discretion or cancel or suspend the use any Card if the Card account holder dies or is declared bankrupt or due to breach of the terms of the agreement either by the Cardholder or by an authorized Cardholder.
    3. Termination will not affect the Cardholder's liability to the Bank existing at that time and upon termination we may require the immediate repayment of all amount owed. Interest will continue to accrue on the balance outstanding until full repayment.
    4. The Cardholder must keep the aforesaid account open for a period of at least six months from the date of return of the Card to the Bank and maintain adequate funds in the said account during that period in order to meet any claims which may arise by the use of the Card before its return and which claims had not been presented to the Bank for payment on or before the return of the Card. Any amounts paid through the use of the Card at the Cardholders request and or authorization after the termination of the account and or the return of the Card will be charged with interest from the day of the payment and the Cardholder authorizes the Bank to pay the said amounts by debiting any temporary or other account the Cardholder keeps with the Bank.

  7. ALTERATIONS

    The Bank reserves the right at any time to supplement or change the Terms and Conditions for use of the Card to reflect changes in market conditions, good banking practice the products, the products offered, the Bank’s policy and system capabilities, relevant laws or for any other reason as may be communicated to the Cardholder at the time of notification of the change. If the change is to the advantage of the Cardholder it will take immediate effect and the Cardmember will be notified within 30 days. If the change is neither to the Cardholder’s advantage or disadvantage, the Bank will give at least thirty days notice, before making the change. If the change is to the Cardholder’s disadvantage the Bank will give at least thirty days notice before making the change. The Cardholder will thereafter have the right to terminate this agreement within a further period of sixty days subject always to clause 6 of these terms, without having to pay any extra charges or interest.

  8. COMMUNICATIONS

    The Bank must be notified, by telephone or in writing of any change of address of the Cardholder or any Authorized Cardholder.

  9. INSURANCE

    The Cardholder has taken out or proposes to take out and maintain an insurance policy against the risk of _______ and the cost (which may vary from time to time) is____. The obligation to insure is optional for the Cardholder.

  10. PERSONAL GUARANTEES
    11.

  11. GOVERNING LAW

    This agreement will be construed in accordance with and is governed by the laws of the Republic of Cyprus. This shall not prejudice the Bank to issue proceedings for recovery against the Cardholder in any other jurisdiction.

  12. DISCLOSURE

    The Bank may disclose information relating to the account to the Central Bank of Cyprus or to any third party in association with which the Card is issued.

  13. SERVICE AND COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

    1. The Bank may, but shall not be obliged to, record or monitor telephone conversations for security and training purposes and to maintain quality service standards and such recordings or transcripts thereof may be used in evidence in any dispute and shall be conclusive thereof.
    2. The Bank does its best to offer a complete service at all times but cannot guarantee it. The Bank does not accept any liability for the circumstance affecting the use of the Card where these circumstances are not within the direct control of the bank including, but not limited the following:
      1. Machinery failure, strikes or other causes may prevent the Bank from doing so. If the Bank is unable to produce or spend a statement, the Principal Cardholder's liability for interest shall continue and for the purpose of calculating interest and establishing the date on which payment is to be made to the Bank, the Bank may select a date each month as the statement date.
      2. The manner in which the refusal to accept the Card is communicated to the Cardholder.
      3. The failure of any retailer or supplier to accept or honour the Card
    3. Failure by the Bank to deliver the standard of service expected by the Cardholder, or if in the Cardholder’s opinion the Bank has made a mistake, the Cardholder must immediately refer the matter to the Bank’s branch manager or the Card Centre for clarifications and correcting any mistake if necessary. However if the Cardholder is dissatisfied he must ask to be informed of the Bank’s internal complaints procedure. If however the dispute is not resolved the Cardholder can refer the matter to the Department of Competition and Consumer Protection of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism or, if the Cardholder is a legal entity, by the appropriate committee of the central Bank of Cyprus.

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