15.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
15.1
Non-exclusivity
Each party acknowledges and agrees that the rights granted to
the other party in this Agreement are non-exclusive, and that, without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement
shall be deemed or construed to prohibit either party from participating
in similar business arrangements as those described herein.
15.2
Notices
All notices to You shall be given electronically, sent to the
electronic mail address provided by or for You during registration for
the Payment Gateway Services and/or posted in the Merchant Control Panel
of Your Account. Any termination notice to Payment Gateway
shall be given electronically by sending an e-mail to
billing@microtelecom.com
from within the Merchant Control panel of Your account. All
other notices to Payment Gateway shall be given electronically to
billing@microtelecom.com
with a written copy to MicroTelecom Systems LLC Legal Department, 1000 N
West Street, Suite 1200 , Wilmington, DE 19801 or to (fax), Attention:
General Counsel. Such written notice will be deemed given upon personal
delivery, upon confirmation of receipt if sent by fax, or three (3)
days after the date of mailing if sent by certified or registered mail,
postage prepaid.
15.3
Relationship of the Parties
The parties are independent contractors and nothing in this
Agreement shall make them joint venturers, partners, employees, agents
or other representatives of the other party. Neither party shall
make any representation that suggests otherwise. You further
recognize that if you contracted for the Payment Gateway Services with
an Affiliate Partner or Third Party Service Provider, such provider is
an authorized reseller of Payment Gateway only and is not a joint
venturer, partner, or agent of Payment Gateway.
15.4
Assignment
You will not have the right or the power to assign any of Your
rights or delegate the performance of any of Your obligations under this
Agreement without the prior written consent of Payment Gateway,
including in the case of a merger. Payment Gateway will have the
right to assign this Agreement to its successors and/or assigns,
subsidiaries, affiliates, Affiliate Partners and/or Third Party Service
Providers.
15.5
Amendment and/or Modifications
No amendment, modification, or change to any provision of this
Agreement, nor consent to any departure by either party therefrom, will
in any event be effective unless the same will be in writing and signed
by the other party, and then such consent will be effective only in the
specific instance and for the specific purpose for which given.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Payment Gateway may amend this Agreement
at any time upon written or electronic notice or post notice on its Web
site located at
www.mtpos.net/pos/Gateway-Terms
to You of not less than ten (10) days prior to the effective date of
such amendment; provided that the addition or change of service fees,
will become effective upon at least thirty (30) days’ notice.
If You do not agree to such amendments, your sole remedy is to
immediately terminate this Agreement upon written notice to Payment
Gateway.
15.6
Waiver
The failure of any party to insist on or enforce strict
performance of any provision of this Agreement or to exercise any right
or remedy under this Agreement or applicable law will not be construed
as a waiver or relinquishment to any extent of the right to assert or
rely upon any such provision, right or remedy in that or any other
instance; rather, the same will be and remain in full force and effect.
Waiver by either party of a breach of any provision contained
herein must be in writing, and no such waiver will be construed as a
waiver of any other and/or succeeding breach of such provision or a
waiver of the provision itself.
15.7
Dispute Resolution
Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to this
Agreement, except claims involving intellectual property and claims for
indemnification, will be resolved by binding arbitration. The
arbitration of any dispute or claim shall be conducted in accordance
with the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) rules, as modified by
this Agreement, and will take place in Chicago, Illinois, unless the
Parties mutually agree to hold the proceedings elsewhere. This
Agreement evidences a transaction in interstate commerce and this
arbitration provision will be interpreted and enforced in accordance
with the Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law. An
arbitrator may not award relief in excess of or contrary to what this
Agreement provides or order consolidation or arbitration on a class wide
or representative basis, except that the arbitrator may award on an
individual basis damages required by statute and may order injunctive or
declaratory relief pursuant to an applicable consumer protection
statute. Any arbitration shall be confidential, and neither
Party may disclose the existence, content or results of any arbitration,
except as may be required by law or for purposes of enforcement of the
arbitration award. Judgment on any arbitration award may be
entered in any court having proper jurisdiction. All
administrative fees and expenses will be divided equally between the
Parties, but each Party will bear the expense of its own counsel,
experts, witnesses and preparation and presentation of evidence at the
arbitration. IF FOR ANY REASON THIS ARBITRATION CLAUSE IS DEEMED
INAPPLICABLE OR INVALID, THE PARTIES WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT
ALLOWED BY LAW, ANY RIGHT TO PURSUE ANY CLAIMS ON A CLASS OR
CONSOLIDATED BASIS OR IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. No action,
regardless of form, arising out of or in conjunction with the subject
matter of this Agreement, except for claims involving intellectual
property and claims for indemnification, may be brought by either Party
more than one (1) year after the cause of action arose.
15.8
Severability;Headings
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or
unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions will continue in
full force without being impaired or invalidated in any way. The
parties agree to replace any invalid provision with a valid provision,
which most closely approximates the intent and economic effect of the
invalid provision. Headings are used for convenience of
reference only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the
scope or extent of any section, or in any way affect this Agreement.
15.9
Force Majeure
Neither party will be liable for any losses arising out of the
delay or interruption of its performance of obligations under the
Agreement due to any acts of God, acts of civil or military authorities,
civil disturbances, wars, strikes or other labor disputes, fires,
transportation contingencies, interruptions in telecommunications,
utility, Internet services or network provider services or other
catastrophes or any other occurrences which are beyond such parties'
reasonable control (each a “Force Majeure Event”), provided that the
party delayed will provide the other party notice of any such delay or
interruption as soon as reasonably practicable, will use commercially
reasonable efforts to minimize any delays or interruptions resulting
from the Force Majeure Event and in no event will any failure to pay any
monetary sum due under this Agreement be excused for any Force Majeure
Event.
15.10
Governing Law;Jurisdiction
This Agreement and performance under it will be interpreted,
construed and enforced in all respects in accordance with the laws of
the State of Illinois, without reference or giving effect to its
conflicts of law principles. You hereby irrevocably consent to
the personal jurisdiction of and venue in the state and federal courts
located in DuPage County, Illinois with respect to any action, claim or
proceeding arising out of or related to this Agreement and agree not to
commence or prosecute any such action, claim or proceeding other than in
such courts, except as otherwise provided in Section 15.7 above.
15.11
Entire Agreement
This Agreement together with all of Payment Gateway’s policies
referenced herein sets forth the entire understanding and agreement of
the parties, and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous oral or
written agreements or understandings between the parties, as to the
subject matter of this Agreement. You acknowledge that this
Agreement reflects an informed, voluntary allocation between Payment
Gateway and You of all risks (both known and unknown) associated with
Payment Gateway Services.
15.12
Survival
The provisions of this Agreement relating to any fees or other
amounts owed, payment of finance charge on unpaid fees, confidentiality,
warranties, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law,
severability, headings and this paragraph shall survive termination or
expiration of this Agreement.
This Service Level Agreement (“SLA Agreement”) sets forth the SLA
applicable to the various Payment Gateway Services ordered by You and
provided through Payment Gateway. This SLA provides Your sole and
exclusive remedies for any Service interruptions, deficiencies, or
failures of any kind. If such remedies include service credits, the
parties agree that such credits constitute liquidated damages. No
otherwise applicable SLA, including any remedies hereunder, shall apply
with respect to any Excluded Events.
The following Service Level Targets apply to the Services.
For transaction processing services, this SLA provides that the Payment
Gateway Application will be available 99.5% of the time (averaged over
the calendar month). You will be eligible for service credits as set
forth in the following table if this Availability Target is not met due
to Outages.
Cumulative Duration of Outages within a Calendar Month which exceed the Availability Target | Credit |
10 minutes through 60 minutes | 1/30th of MRFC for Affected Service |
Each full hour in excess of 60 minutes | 1/30th of MRFC for Affected Service |
This SLA provides for monthly average response time Latency as set
forth in the following table. If the monthly average Latency through
the Payment Gateway Application exceeds the Targets set forth in the
following table, You will be eligible for a service credit of 3/30th of the applicable MRFC for the Affected Service.
PAYMENT GATEWAY Application Latency | 3 seconds |
Definitions
“MRFC”
Monthly Recurring Fixed Charge means any and all fees You are obligated
to pay to Payment Gateway including Your monthly commitment and fixed
Service charges.
“Affected Service” means only the portion of a Service actually impacted by the relevant Service Level Target.
“Availability” means the percentage of time during a month in which the Payment Gateway application is not subject to an Outage.
“Latency”
means the monthly average time it takes for a transaction to travel
through the relevant portion of the Payment Gateway Application
excluding transaction settlements and any time waiting for a response
from a third party.
“Outage” means any period of at
least one minute during which the Payment Gateway Application is
completely unavailable or inaccessible for reasons other than an
Excluded Event. An Outage begins when Payment Gateway opens the
relevant trouble ticket and ends at the earlier of the restoration of
the Affected Service or when the ticket is closed. All Outage
measurements will be rounded to the nearest one minute increment.
“Payment Gateway Application”
means the components owned and operated by Payment Gateway excluding
any components that are not owned and operated directly by Payment
Gateway.
“Excluded Events” means any event that adversely impacts the Service that is caused by (a) the acts or omissions of You, Your employees, customers, contractors or agents; (b) the failure or malfunction of equipment, applications or systems not owned or controlled by Payment Gateway; (c) Force Majeure events; (d) scheduled maintenance, alteration or implementation; (e) any suspension of Service pursuant to the Merchant Service Agreement; or (f)
the unavailability of Your required personnel, including as a result of
failure to provide Payment Gateway with accurate, current contact
information.
Process
You must request any
credit due hereunder within 30 days of the conclusion of the month in
which it accrues. You waive any right to credits not requested
within this 30 day period. Credits will be issued once validated by
Payment Gateway and applied toward the invoice which You receive no
later than two months following Your credit request. All performance
calculations and applicable service credits are based on Payment
Gateway records and data.
Limitations
This
SLA does not apply to any Excluded Events, as defined in this SLA.
You will not be eligible to accrue any otherwise applicable service
credits: (a) during any period in which You are in violation of
the Payment Gateway Merchant Service Agreement or is past due on any
amounts owed in connection with the Payment Gateway Services; and (b)
before the start of the first full calendar month following the Billing
Commencement Date for the Affected Service. You may not carry over
to subsequent months any service credits subject to the limits or
exclusions of this SLA.
In no event will the credits
accrued in a single month exceed, in the aggregate across all service
levels and events: thirty percent (30%) of the invoice amount for the
Affected Service.
You acknowledge that Payment Gateway
manages its throughput in part on the basis of Your utilization of
Service and that changes in such utilization may impact Payment
Gateway’s ability to manage throughput. Therefore, notwithstanding
anything else to the contrary, if You significantly change Your
utilization of the Service and such change creates a material and
adverse impact on the volume through the Payment Gateway Application, as
determined by Payment Gateway, Payment Gateway may either modify the
applicable charges or terminate the Affected Services.
Appendix B - VALUE-ADDED SERVICES
In the event You enroll in, and Payment Gateway provides You with, Value-Added Service(s), You agree as follows:
1.
Expansion of Services
The terms “Services” and “Payment Gateway Services,” as each is
defined in the Agreement, shall include each of the Value-Added
Services. Each Value-Added Service is described on the Payment
Gateway Web site and in other Services Documentation provided to You
from time to time. All terms of the Agreement applicable to the
Payment Gateway Services shall be applicable to each Value-Added
Service.
In addition to Your obligations set forth in the Agreement, You
agree to pay the Value-Added Service Fees, in accordance with Section 8
and Section 9 of this Agreement, in the amounts provided in the Fee
Schedule provided to You by Payment Gateway and/or, if applicable
Affiliate Partner. The Fee Schedule is hereby incorporated into the
terms of this Agreement by reference and/or in the Value-Added Service
documentation page accessed during enrollment in the applicable
Value-Added Service. By checking the “I ACCEPT” button next to a
Value-Added Service Fee schedule, You acknowledge Your acceptance of
such fees, Your obligation to pay same and the terms and conditions
applicable to the Value-Added Service.
You represent, warrant, and covenant to Payment Gateway that Your
use of the Value-Added Services and any information gathered by You in
connection with use of a Value-Added Service: (a) will be fully compliant with all applicable local, state and federal laws, rules, and regulations; (b) will be in accordance with all applicable Services Documentation; and (c) will not be used for any purpose other than in connection with the Value-Added Service.
You understand, acknowledge, and agree that (a)
You will be solely responsible for ALL transactions processed through
Your payment gateway account(s), regardless of whether such transactions
are monitored by a Value-Added Service; (b) You will be solely
responsible for Your use of the Value-Added Service including, without
limitation (i) configuring, maintaining and updating, as You deem
necessary, the applicable settings for Your Value-Added Service account;
and (ii) with respect to each Transaction processed via your
account(s), and regardless of any data, analysis, or information
generated or not generated by the Value-Added Service, as applicable,
determining the appropriate action for each such Transaction (i.e.,
approve, void, decline, reject); (c) under certain circumstances,
it may be necessary for Payment Gateway to adjust Your Value-Added
Service security settings, with or without notice to You, to guard
against fraudulent activity and that such actions may inadvertently
cause legitimate transactions to expire, be rejected or delayed; and (d)
Payment Gateway shall not be liable under any theory of law, including
negligence, for any loss associated with any of the foregoing.
5.
PAYMENT GATEWAY WARRANTY
IN ADDITION TO ANY LIMITATIONS OR DISCLAIMERS SET FORTH IN THE
AGREEMENT, YOU UNDERSTAND, ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE VALUE-ADDED
SERVICES ARE PROVIDED TO YOU BY PAYMENT GATEWAY “AS IS” AND THAT PAYMENT
GATEWAY DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE VALUE ADDED SERVICES OR
ANY OTHER TECHNOLOGY, CONTENT, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR ANY OTHER
INFORMATION, DATA, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES, WILL BE AVAILABLE, ACCESSIBLE,
UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR ERROR-FREE, AND
THAT YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR ANY ISSUE RELATED TO OR ARISING FROM THE VALUE
ADDED SERVICES, AND PAYMENT GATEWAY'S SOLE LIABILITY FOR SAME, WILL BE
TO TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT AND DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF THE VALUE-ADDED
SERVICES.
6.
Risk, Security and Disclosure
The risk and security suggestions provided to You in the Services
Documentation for any of the Value-Added Services are solely for
illustrative purposes to show best industry practices, and You shall be
solely responsible for choosing the appropriate settings and parameters
for Your account.
If Your Agreement is terminated for any reason, Payment Gateway
shall immediately cancel access to Your Value-Added Service account.
It is Your responsibility to download all reports prior to the
effective date of any such termination as such reports will not be
available following the termination date.
8.
Incorporation by Reference
The Value-Added Services Fee Schedules are incorporated herein by reference.
Payment Gateway makes no warranty, express or implied, with regard to any third party services or software.
All terms and conditions of the Agreement not specifically modified
in this Appendix B shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
Unless separately defined herein, capitalized words used in this
Appendix as defined terms shall have the same meanings herein as in the
Agreement.
Appendix C - Prohibited Activities.
You agree that You will not at any time conduct Your business in
any manner that directly or indirectly offers, sells, leases, licenses
or displays, delivers, advertises, recommends, or promotes any
product(s), service(s), data, information, image(s), text and/or any
content which:
(i) is unlawful or violates any
applicable local, state, federal, national or international law,
statute, ordinance, or regulation including, without limitation, Credit
Card Association rules, consumer protection laws, unfair competition,
antidiscrimination or false advertising;
(ii) is
associated with any illegal form of adult, sexually oriented, or obscene
materials or services, including without limitation, any material
clearly designed to sexually arouse the viewer/reader with images of
children less than 18 years old and/or escort services;
(iii) infringes on any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright,
right of publicity, or other proprietary right of any party, including,
but not limited to, the unauthorized copying and posting of trademarks,
pictures, logos, software, articles, musical works and videos;
(iv) is threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene,
libelous, slanderous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another's
privacy, tortuous, or otherwise violate Payment Gateway’s rules or
policies;
(v) victimizes harasses, degrades, or
intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of
religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or
disability;
(vi) impersonates any person or entity;
(vii) contains harmful content, including, without limitation,
software viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots,
spy-ware, or any other files, software programs, or technology that is
designed or intended to disrupt, damage, surreptitiously intercept or
expropriate the Services or any system, program, data or personal
information or limit the functioning of any software, hardware, or
equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or
other information of any third party;
(viii) violates
any U.S. export or import laws, including, without limitation, the
Export Administration Act and the Export Administration Regulations
maintained by the Department of Commerce;
(ix) offers
or disseminates fraudulent goods, services, schemes, or promotions
(i.e., make money fast schemes, chain letters, pyramid schemes) or
engage in any unfair deceptive act or practice;
(x) is associated with any form of illegal gambling or illegal lottery type services;
(xi) is associated with illegal telecommunications or illegal cable television equipment or illegal satellite equipment;
(xii) is associated with electronic wallets (i.e., “e-wallets”) or any similar payment type; or
(xiii) is associated with the sale of (a) any controlled drug that
requires a prescription from a licensed practitioner unless you are
authorized by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to offer
such products as a Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site and only if
such a prescription has been issued by the practitioner after a bona
fide examination of the patient; or (b) any over-the-counter drug,
unless the sale of such product, without a prescription, has been
approved by the Food & Drug Administration; or (c) nonprescription
drugs that make false or misleading treatment claims or treatment claims
that require FDA approval; or (d) any drug or controlled substance that
Payment Gateway believes to be or may become harmful, unlawful, or
prohibited. Payment Gateway requires sellers of prescription drugs to
abide by all laws applicable to both the buyer and seller and may
require you to provide evidence of compliance with these requirements.
In addition, due to the complexities of current laws regulating the
importation of controlled drugs into the United States, you may not use
the Services to sell prescription drugs that are imported into the
United States from an international location. The foregoing list is a
non-exhaustive list of prohibited goods and services.