Terms of Service

The Services are business software for regulated professional firms, principally UK accountancy practices and law firms subject to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 ("MLR 2017"). The Services are provided for business use only, not to consumers.

If you use the Services on behalf of a firm, you confirm you have authority to bind that firm to these Terms, and "you" means that firm. Enterprise customers may have a signed agreement with us; where a signed agreement conflicts with these Terms, the signed agreement prevails.

Certivus provides AML compliance workflow software, including:

• Client identity verification and document collection
• PEP (politically exposed persons) and sanctions screening
• Client risk assessment and scoring workflows
• Audit-ready compliance records and reports
• Integrations with third-party software
• Secure storage of compliance evidence

Workflow support only.The Services support your firm's AML processes; they do not discharge them. Verification results, screening matches, and risk scores are inputs to your firm's own judgement. Final compliance decisions, including whether to accept a client, apply enhanced due diligence, or file a suspicious activity report, remain with your firm and its MLRO. Certivus does not provide legal, compliance, or regulated advice.

We may improve or modify the Services, and will give reasonable notice of any change that materially reduces core functionality.

You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current information when registering and keep it up to date
• Keep credentials confidential and use the multi-factor authentication controls we provide
• Ensure your users comply with these Terms and the Acceptable Use Policy
• Notify us promptly at support@certivus.com of any unauthorised account access

You are responsible for all activity under your account.

For personal data about your firm's own clients that you process through the Services, your firm is the data controller and Certivus processes that data on your behalf and on your documented instructions, as described in our Privacy Policy. A data processing addendum incorporating UK GDPR Article 28 terms forms part of your subscription and is available from support@certivus.com.

You warrant that, for every individual you run a check on, your firm:

• Has a lawful basis under UK GDPR for the check (typically your MLR 2017 obligations)
• Has told the individual, through your privacy notice, that identity verification will be carried out and that credit reference agency and other database sources may be used
• Obtains any consent the check requires, including explicit consent for biometric verification, captured in the verification journey
• Only runs checks on individuals with whom you have, or are forming, a genuine client relationship

Identity verification and screening results are produced using data supplied by regulated third-party data partners, which may include UK credit reference agencies. In respect of that data, you agree that you will:

• Use checks and results solely for anti-money-laundering, client due diligence, and identity verification purposes relating to your own clients, and for no other purpose
• Not use results for credit decisions, employment screening, tenant vetting, tracing, or marketing
• Not resell, sublicense, or disclose results or underlying data to any third party, except to your regulator, supervisor, or professional advisers, or as required by law
• Retain results only in accordance with MLR 2017 record-keeping requirements and your own retention policy
• Comply with any additional partner terms we notify to you, which our data partner agreements require us to pass on

Credit reference agency searches run through the Services are soft searches: visible to the individual on their credit file, not visible to lenders, and with no effect on credit scores.

Subscriptions: paid plans are billed in advance, monthly or annually, and renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date. Usage-based charges (for example, per-check fees) are billed as incurred or in arrears.

Payment: by card through our payment processor, or by bank transfer for annual and enterprise plans.

Price changes: with at least 30 days' notice, effective from your next billing cycle.

Refunds: new subscriptions include a 14-day money-back period. Contact us within 14 days of your first payment and we'll aim to refund your subscription fee. Fees for checks already performed are non-refundable, as third-party data costs are incurred when a check runs. Otherwise fees are non-refundable except as required by law.

Taxes: prices exclude VAT, which is added where applicable.

Late payment: we may suspend access for accounts more than 14 days overdue, after notice.

Our IP: the platform, software, and content are owned by Certivus Compliance Ltd or its licensors. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Services for your firm's internal business purposes during your subscription.

Your data: you retain all rights to the data you and your clients submit. You grant us a licence to process it solely to provide the Services, prevent fraud and misuse, and comply with law.

Restrictions: you may not copy, modify, resell, or lease the Services, reverse engineer them except as permitted by law, or use them to build a competing product.

Feedback: we may use suggestions you give us without obligation.

Each party will keep the other's confidential information confidential and use it only to perform under these Terms, except where disclosure is required by law or a regulator. This clause survives termination.

Service warranty: we will provide the Services with reasonable skill and care. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, or that any verification result is complete or error-free; data partner records can contain errors, and screening lists change constantly.

Compliance responsibility: you remain solely responsible for your firm's regulatory obligations. Use of the Services does not constitute or guarantee compliance with MLR 2017 or any other law.

Exclusions: to the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits, or loss of business opportunities.

Cap: each party's total aggregate liability arising out of these Terms is limited to the fees you paid to us in the 12 months before the claim arose.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

By you: cancel at any time in your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

By us: we may suspend or terminate access for material breach of these Terms or the Acceptable Use Policy, non-payment, or misuse of verification data (section 5). We may do so immediately where our data partner obligations or the law require it, otherwise after notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy.

Your data on exit: you may export your compliance records at any time during your subscription and for 30 days after termination. After that, we delete or anonymise your data in line with the retention periods in our Privacy Policy, except where law requires longer retention.

Survival: sections on permitted use, confidentiality, intellectual property, liability, and disputes survive termination.

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will post the updated Terms here, update the date at the top, and email account holders at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance; if you do not agree, cancel before the changes take effect.

Governing law: these Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

Talk to us first: before formal proceedings, contact support@certivus.com. Most issues are resolved quickly and informally.