End User Terms

Welcome to Akahu. These terms are an agreement between us and you. By using our services, or any app that integrates with our services, you agree to these terms. You may have also agreed to be bound by these terms by accepting them in our various web or mobile apps, or within a third party application that integrates with our services.

In these terms, 'Akahu', 'we', 'us' and 'our' is Akahu Technologies Limited, and 'you' and 'your' is you - the person using an app that integrates with our services, or using our services directly.

These terms do not apply to software developers when they are integrating our services with their apps - please see our Developer Terms that apply in those circumstances. Our Developer Terms can be found in the footer on akahu.nz.

You should also read our Privacy Notices, as they include important information about how we collect, use, store, disclose, and otherwise process your personal information. We have separate Privacy Notices that apply depending on whether you grant one-off or ongoing consent for Akahu to access your account(s). Our Privacy Notices can be found in the footer on akahu.nz.

We may update these terms from time to time, and the updated terms will apply to your use of our services from the time they are posted to our website. You may view an up-to-date copy of these terms at any time at akahu.nz/end-user-terms. If you do not agree to any updates, you must stop using our services.

Akahu is an open finance platform. We make it simple to connect your financial account to trusted third parties of your choice.

For example, you could choose to connect your bank account to Akahu in order to exchange financial data with a new lending service that you're applying to ('Third Party App').

For Third Party Apps: Akahu includes software and tools that app developers use to enable functionality within their Third Party Apps, such as:

• Retrieving transaction data, account balances, personal information, or other data from your connected bank account ('Payment Account') or accounts with other service providers such as telecommunications providers, utilities providers, and public transport providers ('Other Accounts') .(together, 'Account Information Service').
• Initiating payments from your Payment Account ('Payment Initiation Service').

For you: Akahu provides an interface for you to connect your financial accounts and consent to exchanging specified data with Third Party Apps:

• One-off consent: If you are providing a Third Party App with one-off consent to deal with your data, you will connect the relevant account(s) to Akahu, then Akahu will retrieve or send the specified data on behalf of the Third Party App. For example, you might consent to sharing your name and address from an existing bank account in order to verify your identity with a Third Party App.
• Ongoing consent: If you are providing a Third Party App with ongoing consent to deal with your data, you will connect the relevant account(s) to Akahu, then Akahu will repeatedly retrieve or send the specified data on behalf of the Third Party App. For example, you might consent to sharing your bank transaction data on a daily basis with a Third Party App that enriches and categorises your spending data. Akahu provides you with a dashboard (available at my.akahu.nz) to help you manage any ongoing consent that you have granted. You can use the dashboard to revoke any ongoing consent that you have granted to Akahu or Third Party Apps, or request Akahu to delete your data that we store.
  

Third Party Apps will have a separate agreement that governs the relationship between you and the Third Party App ("Application Terms"). We have no responsibility for the products and services provided to you by or through any Third Party App and, to the extent permitted by law, we will not be liable to you for any harm, damage or loss arising from your use of a Third Party App or any products and services provided by or through a Third Party App.

There are other terms (in addition to these terms and the Application Terms) that are relevant to your use of Akahu, including agreements with your bank and other data sources you connect to Akahu ("Account Terms"). These terms do not affect those Account Terms.

We will not charge you to use Akahu. Third Party Apps or other third parties may charge you for products and services provided to you that make use of Akahu. Third Party Apps and other third parties may pay us fees and other amounts in connection with the services we provide to them.

You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for your use of Akahu and that:

• any use of Akahu or any Third Party App is at your own risk;
• we will process all personal information in accordance with these terms and the relevant Privacy Notice; and
• you will immediately notify us if you are aware of any actual or suspected unauthorised access to or use of Akahu or any other breach of security in relation to Akahu.

Akahu interacts with Third Party Apps, but we do not have any way of telling who is actually using a Third Party App. We treat any instruction issued via a Third Party App to which you have connected an account via Akahu as having been given by you. Accordingly, it is very important that you ensure the security of your hardware and access to your Third Party App accounts (e.g. by not allowing biometric access to an app if anyone else's biometric information is stored on your mobile device). It is also very important the you trust any Third Party App that you are granting access to.

Account Information Service

When you provide consent, our Account Information Service allows us to access your data from your selected Payment Accounts and any Other Accounts, and provide the specified data to the relevant Third Party App. In the Akahu dashboard (available at my.akahu.nz) you can see a list of Third Party Apps that you have granted ongoing consent to provide instructions to Akahu regarding your Other Accounts and Payment Accounts. The Account Information Service may also allow you to verify your identity, for example to help you satisfy a provider's customer due diligence obligations.

If we or a Third Party App make digital identity verification services available to you, you agree that you will:

• not use or attempt to use any verified identity for a purpose for which it was not intended, including any unlawful purpose; and
• notify us as soon as possible if you become aware of or believe there has been any fraudulent or otherwise unlawful use of your verified identity.

To access Akahu services, you need to create an account with us. Any information you provide to us must be accurate, complete, and up-to-date at all times. You are responsible for your account and must do your best to keep it secure. If you learn of any unauthorised access to or use of your account you must notify us as soon as possible.

With your consent, we will provide Third Party Apps with specified data retrieved from your selected Payment Account(s) and Other Account(s) ('Account Information'). Such information may include financial information such as transaction data and balances, and account information such as the account holder and account metadata.

To use our Account Information Service, you must give a Third Party App (and us) permission to retrieve your specified Account Information using Akahu. You do this by connecting an account (such as your bank account or electricity account) to a Third Party App. If you have granted ongoing consent, you can then control the Third Party App's access to your connected account through my.akahu.nz.

The first time you give a Third Party App permission to access data in a Payment Account or Other Account, you will be required to select the Payment Account provider or Other Account provider, as applicable, ('Account Provider') you would like us to access Account Information from, accept these terms, and log in to your relevant account. When you connect your account to Akahu in this way, you give your express consent to us: (i) accessing your Account Information from the Account Provider you have selected; (ii) providing it to Third Party Apps you have permitted to access that Account Information; and (iii) processing the Account Information in accordance with our Privacy Notices. After you have connected an account to Akahu and granted ongoing consent to a Third Party App, we and that Third Party App you have permitted to access the relevant Account Information will be able to access it until your consent expires or is revoked (which you can do via my.akahu.nz).

You may be redirected to your Account Provider's website or mobile application, or that provider’s multi-factor authentication process, in order to authenticate yourself before connecting an account to Akahu.

Often we will need you to provide us with the login details for your Payment Account or Other Account in order to connect it to Akahu. By providing us with your Payment Account or Other Account login details, you grant us express consent to use your login details to access your Payment Account or Other Account to obtain the necessary Account Information on your behalf (as your agent) in order to provide you with our services and enable the provision of Account Information to Third Party Apps.

Once we have accessed your Account Information we may: a. share your Account Information with all Third Party Apps you permit to access that Account Information; b. share your Account Information with third parties as directed by the Third Party App; c. display your Account Information for you at my.akahu.nz; and d. otherwise process that information in accordance with our Privacy Notices.

Please note that the Application Terms may give the Third Party App (and other parties) additional permissions in respect of your Account Information - you should carefully read those terms as we do not control what is in them.

We do not check the accuracy of the Account Information retrieved from your Account Provider and we rely on your Account Provider to ensure that your Account Information is up to date, complete, accurate, and not misleading or deceptive.

We may standardise, enrich, categorise, merge, and otherwise process your Account Information before displaying your Account Information to you at my.akahu.nz, sharing it with Third Party Apps, or sharing it with third parties as directed by a Third Party App.

If you grant ongoing consent to our Account Information Service, you may revoke that consent through my.akahu.nz.

Payment Initiation Service

Our Payment Initiation Service allows a Third Party App to initiate one-off or recurring payments from your Payment Account(s). Akahu is responsible for communicating a payment initiation instruction from a Third Party App to the relevant Account Provider. We do not control whether the Account Provider will accept and execute that payment instruction.

The process for connecting a Payment Account to Akahu is the same as connecting an account for our Account Information Service described above. Please read the terms in the section above regarding our Account Information Service to understand this process. With your consent, we may provide both our Payment Initiation Service and Account Information Service to a Third Party App.

It is your responsibility to ensure that all of the payment details are correct before you initiate a payment (even if we or the Third Party App has pre-populated payment details). You may not be able to recover payments made in error.

When you initiate a payment, you provide express consent for Akahu (as your agent) to: a. communicate instructions to your Account Provider to initiate the payment from your Payment Account; b. receive information from your Account Provider on the initiation and execution of the payment order; and c. pass this information on to the Third Party App.

You must have sufficient available funds in your Payment Account to cover the amount of each payment in order to ensure that each payment can be completed and to avoid being charged any overdraft, dishonour, or other fees as imposed by your Payment Account provider.

You may be redirected to your Account Provider's website or application, or multi-factor authentication process, in order to authenticate yourself and provide consent to a transaction.  

Any payment instruction received by Akahu and communicated to an Account Provider will be processed in accordance with the standard process and timelines for mobile banking-initiated electronic transactions.

If you grant ongoing consent to our Payment Initiation Service, you may revoke that consent through my.akahu.nz.

You can only use our services, and functionality in Third Party Apps that rely on Akahu, if: a. you provide us with accurate, complete, and up-to-date information, and do not misrepresent your identity or any other information about you; b. you agree to these terms and the relevant Privacy Notice; and c. you comply with all laws and regulations applicable to your use of Akahu.

The services that are available via Akahu, and the manner in which those services are delivered, may vary depending on the type of device you are using, the type of Payment Account(s) or Other Account(s) you have, the Account Terms, and the Application Terms.

Title to and ownership of intellectual property rights:

• in and to any content displayed throughout Akahu, or accessed through Akahu, are the property of the applicable content owner and may be protected by applicable copyright or other law. These terms give you no rights to such content; and
• in Akahu and any modifications to it remain the property of Akahu and its successors and permitted assigns.

You grant us the irrevocable, perpetual, sublicensable right to use, modify, display, manipulate, and create derivative works using any information, data or other materials which you provide to Akahu:

• in order to provide all services described in these terms;
• for the purposes described in the relevant Privacy Notice; and
• otherwise for our legitimate business purposes, including to improve Akahu.
  

We may communicate with you electronically, including by sending messages to your email address or mobile number, or within a Third Party App.

You are responsible for keeping your contact details up to date, and maintaining and regularly checking your device or email inbox for information and notifications from Akahu.

You can contact us by emailing hello@akahu.nz.

Once a payment instruction has been delivered to an Account Provider using our Payment Initiation Service, we are unable to cancel or stop that payment transaction.

You should regularly check the record of your transactions initiated through the Payment Initiation Service, including by checking the transactions shown on your Payment Account statement. If you identify a mistake or an unexpected or unauthorised transaction, or if you see anything that you’re not sure about, you should contact your bank, any relevant Third Party App, and us immediately.

If you believe that your Payment Account has been charged in error, it's possible that you may be able to get a refund of the transaction from your bank. You should see your bank account terms and conditions for details. In some cases, to claim a refund, you will need to report your concerns immediately or within a certain time period.

You must provide all reasonable cooperation to us and any other relevant person to ensure the repayment or refund of any money you have received in error as a result of a payment initiated through the Payment Initiation Service.

You should be aware that your Account Provider may contact you directly (and not through Akahu or the Third Party App). For example if there is an issue with a payment order submitted through Akahu for whatever reason, including issues relating to consent and sufficiency of funds. You may need to resolve such matters directly with your Account Provider.

We use your information in accordance with the relevant Privacy Notice. If you are not comfortable with how we manage your data as explained in the relevant Privacy Notice, you may not use Akahu or any functionality within a Third Party App that relies on Akahu.

You must not, and you must not support or enable any other person to:

• use Akahu in any manner that is illegal or violates any applicable law or regulation or in breach of these terms;
• attempt to circumvent or disable Akahu or any technology features or measures in Akahu by any means or in any manner;
• attempt to modify, copy, adapt, or reproduce any part of Akahu;
• attempt to decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for Akahu;
• distribute, encumber, sell, rent, lease, sublicense, or otherwise transfer, publish, or disclose Akahu to any third party (except as expressly permitted under these terms);
• use Akahu in any manner to aid in the violation of any third party intellectual property, including but not limited to another’s copyrights, trade secrets, and patents;
• take any action that interferes in any manner with Akahu’s rights;
• attempt to undermine the security or integrity of Akahu, or where any and all parts of Akahu is hosted by a third party, that third party’s computing systems and networks;
• use Akahu in any way which may impair the functionality of Akahu or other systems used to deliver Akahu, or impair the ability of any other user to use Akahu;
• attempt to gain access to any systems or materials, other than those to which you have been given express permission to access;
• transmit, input into, or otherwise use with Akahu any files that may damage any other person's device or software, content that may be offensive, or material or in violation of any law;
• access or use Akahu for any purpose other than for which it is provided by us, including for competitive evaluation, spying, creating a substitute or similar service to Akahu, or other nefarious purpose;
• scan or test the vulnerability of any Akahu infrastructure without express prior written permission from Akahu;
• overload, flood, or spam any part of Akahu; or
• use Akahu to attempt to access any data you are not authorised to access, or initiate payments except from your Payment Account.
  

Nothing in these terms is intended to limit or exclude any liability that cannot by law be limited or excluded. In particular, you may have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (or other applicable law) that cannot be excluded. To the extent permitted by law, our liability for breach of any non-excludable guarantees or conditions is limited to the statutory remedy we are required to provide for breach of the relevant guarantee or condition.  

We will not be liable to refund you for any losses caused by circumstances beyond our control, for example, due to extreme weather, pandemic, terrorist activity, telecommunications network failure, failure of Third Party Apps or other applications, Account Providers, or industrial action.  

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall we be liable to you for any indirect, extraordinary, exemplary, punitive, special, incidental, or consequential damages (including loss of data, revenue, profits, use, or other economic advantage) however arising, even if we are aware of the possibility of such damage.

Akahu is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties and conditions, express or implied, in respect of Akahu and your use of Akahu, including, without limitation, implied warranties and conditions of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. We do not make any warranty that Akahu will be uninterrupted or error-free. Without limiting the foregoing, you acknowledge and agree that the reliability and availability of Akahu is dependent upon factors including but not limited to: Third Party Apps; your operating system; internet connection; and the availability of third party products as well as changes in third party mobile/web apps, and you should consider the potential for disruption or other difficulties that may affect your use of Akahu and functionality in Third Party Apps that rely on Akahu.

We are not liable to you for any harm, damage, or loss to you arising from the acts or omissions of any third parties, in particular your Account Provider(s) and the provider of any Third Party App that you use.

If you have any feedback about Akahu, please email us at hello@akahu.nz. We aim to respond to any feedback quickly, and in accordance with our obligations under applicable law. However, in some cases we may direct you to: a. your Account Provider, if your complaint relates to the services provided under the Account Terms or involves an incorrect or unauthorised payment; or b. the relevant Third Party App, if your complaint relates to the products and/or services provided by the Third Party App or subject to the Application Terms.

We are not responsible for any complaints or disputes about purchases made using our Payment Initiation Service. Any complaints or disputes about purchases should be settled with the person from whom you bought the goods or services.

We are also not responsible for any complaints or disputes about products and/or services provided by Third Party Apps, other third parties, or your Account Provider. You should settle these with the Third Party App, third party, or Account Provider directly.

Akahu may suspend your account and access immediately if:

• you breach any provision of these terms;
• Akahu reasonably suspects that you are attempting to decipher, decompile, or reverse engineer Akahu or any part of it;
• Akahu considers that your use of Akahu is inappropriate, improper, or unlawful;
• we consider it necessary to protect our, your, or any other person's or network's security, or the security of Akahu, including if we believe there is a risk of unauthorised or fraudulent activity on your account;
• anything outside Akahu’s control occurs which has the effect of compromising Akahu’s ability to provide you with Akahu’s services.

You may terminate these terms at any time by contacting us at hello@akahu.nz.

We may terminate these terms at any time by contacting you.

If these terms are terminated or your access to Akahu is suspended, you may not access Akahu, and any functionality within Third Party Apps that rely on Akahu may not be available to you.

Notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement, any provision which, by its nature or express terms, is intended to survive termination, shall remain in full force and effect.

Such provisions include, but are not limited to, obligations regarding confidentiality, liability, governing law, dispute resolution, intellectual property rights, and prohibited use.

These terms are governed by New Zealand law and are subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of New Zealand.

These terms are in English and all communications with you will be in English.