REMITTANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT
(updated November 14th, 2022)
THIS REMITTANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT") IS EFFECTIVE AS OF NOVEMBER 14TH, 2022, AND SETS FORTH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH SOWE INTERNATIONAL & ASSOCIATES LLC D/B/A SOWE INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS (“SOWE INTERNATIONAL”) WILL PROVIDE REMITTANCE AND RELATED SERVICES (THE “SERVICES”) TO YOU. THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS AND YOU SHOULD READ THEM CAREFULLY. BY DOWNLOADING, ACCESSING AND USING THE SOWE INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION OR WEBSITE, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT. DO NOT USE THE SERVICES IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS.
Definitions in this Agreement
The words "you" and "your" refer to the person who downloads the Application and/or uses the Services as Senders or Beneficiary.
The words "Sowe International", "we" and "us" and "our" refer to Sowe International & Associates LLC d/b/a Sowe International Solutions, a Texas (USA) corporation and licensed money transmitter, which provides the Services under the trade name Sowe International. Sowe International is also the name of the Application.
The word "Application" or "app" means the technology made available by Sowe International to you on your mobile phone or other electronic device by which you may access and use the Services.
The word "Beneficiary" means the person to whom you send money.
The word "E-Wallet" means the stored value account into which your Remittance may be paid to your Beneficiary, generally accessible on your Beneficiary's mobile phone.
The word "Payment Account" means the debit or prepaid card account or bank account (or such other source of funds that Sowe International agrees to accept from time to time for use hereunder and that you authorize Sowe International to charge) that you provide to Sowe International for Sowe International to charge for payment for your use of the Application and/or website. The Payment Account must be issued or held in your name at a depository institution in your country.
The word "Remittance" means the transfer of funds that you request and authorize Sowe International to process through the Application and/or website for payment to your Beneficiary.
Scope of Agreement
This Agreement applies only to the Remittances that you request through the Application or through the website.
Eligibility for the Service
In order to utilize the Services, you must be at least 18 years old, be a resident of the United States or another origination country approved by Sowe International, have a Payment Account in your name in the approved origination country, and be registered with Sowe International. In order to register, you must download the Application or log into the website and provide Sowe International with information about yourself, such as your name, address, date of birth, telephone number, email address and other information or documentation that will allow us to verify your identity. The home address that you provide when registering must be the same as the billing address for your debit card or prepaid card. You agree to provide complete and accurate information and/or documentation in connection with the registration process. You further agree to update this information as reasonable or necessary to keep it complete and accurate at all times.
Your use of the Application is subject to our ability to verify your identity. You authorize Sowe International to obtain information about you from third parties (including financial institutions and credit reporting agencies), although Sowe International has no obligation to do so. If you do not provide accurate and complete information during registration or when requesting a Remittance, we have the right to prohibit you from using the Service, Application, or website, or to stop your requested Remittance. Inaccurate and/or incomplete information provided by you during registration or when requesting a Remittance may cause errors in your requested Remittance or may delay or restrict your access to the Application or the Service.
Each time you access the Sowe International Remittance Facility Application, you shall be deemed to have confirmed the accuracy and completeness of all of your registration information.
Your registration is personal to you. You should not allow your registration details to be used by anyone else. Registration with Sowe International allows your Payment Account to be accessed through the Application. If you lose your phone or believe your access to the Application has been compromised, you should contact Sowe International immediately at contat@soweinternational.com to change your password or disable your access to the Application.
You may only have one active account. If we determine that a Sender is using multiple accounts, we reserve the right to merge or terminate one or more of the accounts, limit the Sender’s use of the Services, or refuse their continued use of the Services.
Description of the Service
You may use the Application only to send a Remittance to a Beneficiary located in a country where Sowe International provides payment service, as designated on the Application from time to time. Sowe International and Sowe International-designated service providers will process the Remittance and make funds available for receipt by the Beneficiary as described below.
Your use of the Application or the Service does not constitute or create a fiduciary or escrow capacity between you and Sowe International. Sowe International provides a remittance service only; the funds that you direct Sowe International to pay to your Beneficiary are not held by Sowe International as a deposit or in escrow, and Sowe International is not holding or processing your Remittance as a fiduciary. Sowe International's only obligation is to pay your Remittance to your Beneficiary or to return the principal amount of the Remittance to you.
The Services are generally available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, although there may be times when the Services are unavailable to you or to your Beneficiary. Periods of unavailability may be caused by Sowe International's own acts (such as temporary periods when the Services are taken off-line to make upgrades or improvements), or by events beyond Sowe International's control, such as power outages, telecommunications failures, war or civil unrest, natural disasters or other acts of God. Sowe International may, from time to time, set limits on the value of Remittances you may send (both individually and over a period of time), as well as the value of Remittances any Beneficiary may receive. Sowe International may delay payment of your Remittance to allow Sowe International to determine that your Remittance complies with applicable law, regulation or Sowe International policies. Sowe International has the right, without notice to you, to refuse to accept or pay any Remittance that Sowe International determines in our sole discretion may violate applicable law, regulation or our policies, including laws, regulations and policies intended to help detect and prevent money-laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other abuses of financial services; if we accept a Remittance and then determine that it may violate any such law, regulation or policy, we may hold the Remittance until such time that the matter is resolved.
You must only use the Service to send a Remittance to people that you know personally, and not to pay for goods or services from third parties you do not know and trust. If you choose to pay third parties for goods and services using the Services, please note that Sowe International has no control over, and is not responsible for, the quality, safety, legality, or delivery of such third party goods or services, and that any such use of the Services are entirely at your own risk.
Authority to Charge Payment Account; Fees and Expenses
In order to use the Services, you must use the Application to direct Sowe International to withdraw the principal value of the Remittance from your Payment Account, plus any applicable fees and charges; by requesting a Remittance, you authorize Sowe International to charge your Payment Account for the principal amount of the requested Remittance and applicable fees and charges, if any. You acknowledge that Sowe International has no obligation to process or complete a requested Remittance if Sowe International is unable for any reason to obtain authorization or settlement of the funds from your Payment Account for the principal amount of the requested Remittance and all applicable fees and charges.
Sowe International will disclose its fees and charges for providing the Service to you before you initiate a Remittance. Sowe International's fees and charges may change from time to time and may depend, among other factors, on the principal amount of your Remittance, your type of Payment Account, your location, and the location of your Beneficiary. In addition to the fees and charges, Sowe International will also show you the foreign exchange rate (that is, the rate at which your funds will be converted into the currency to be paid to your Beneficiary) applicable to your Remittance before you send it. Sowe International's foreign exchange rates change from time to time. In addition to the fees and charges you pay when sending a Remittance, Sowe International makes money when we convert the currency you send into the currency we pay to your Beneficiary.
If the charge to your Payment Account is returned, charged back or canceled for any reason after Sowe International has processed your Remittance request, you will be responsible to Sowe International for the principal amount of the Remittance and all associated fees and charges. You agree to pay such amounts, plus any applicable additional service fee and/or a non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee of USD 20 as a result of the return to Sowe International immediately upon demand. You authorize us to debit your Payment Account for the amount of any of the foregoing amounts.
You may be subject to fees (including a cash advance fee) under your agreement with the bank or other financial institution that issues your debit card when you use such a card for a Remittance. You should review your card agreement regarding such potential fees.
Although Sowe International will pay the full principal amount of your Remittance to your Beneficiary in the currency Sowe International specifies to you when you initiate your Remittance, your Beneficiary may incur costs, fees or charges from their bank, mobile phone company, E-Wallet issuer or other parties to maintain or withdraw the funds. Furthermore, your Beneficiary's ability to use or withdraw the funds you send may be limited by the terms of your Beneficiary's E-Wallet issuer.
Reliance by Sowe International
Use care when inputting information about your Beneficiary; spell your Beneficiary’s name correctly and provide it in full, and verify that you have provided us with the Beneficiary’s correct phone number. You represent and warrant to us that all information you enter into the Application or otherwise provide to Sowe International is true and complete, including information about you, your Payment Account, and your Beneficiary. When processing a Remittance Payment, Sowe International may rely on the registration information and Remittance information that you provide, including information about your Beneficiary. You acknowledge that any errors in the information you provide, including misidentification of Beneficiary(s), incorrect or inconsistent account names and numbers, or misspellings, are your responsibility.
Execution of a Remittance
The Sowe International Remittance Facility Application is generally available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In most cases, your Beneficiary is paid without delay through the Sowe International mobile application or website; accordingly, once you originate a Remittance, you may be unable to stop or to change it.
While most transactions are paid or made available to your Beneficiary within minutes, if Sowe International becomes aware that delivery to your Beneficiary is delayed, Sowe International will contact you as soon as practicable and keep you informed about the delay.
Payment of Funds to Beneficiary
Sowe International and/or Sowe International designated service providers will arrange for the payment of the Remittance to your Beneficiary. Sowe International reserves the right to select the form of payment to the Beneficiary. Sowe International and/or Sowe International designated service providers will use reasonable efforts to provide payment in a form requested, but the Sowe International Application is not obligated to provide payment options for a specific Payment. Depending on the situation and the availability of various payment options, payment may be made by means of a credit to a mobile wallet, currency (cash), by check, by stored value card, credit to a bank account or credit card account or by some other payment instrument. Not all payment methods are available in all countries, and Sowe International reserves the right to change payment method options. If a Beneficiary cannot be located and identified, the Remittance Payment funds may be returned to you either by a credit to your Payment Account or by check, at Sowe International's option.
Sowe International reserves the right to establish identification and verification requirements for a Beneficiary to receive a Remittance. Sowe International may rely, without further investigation, upon identification information or documentation provided by you or a Beneficiary, including any code or identifier number of the Remittance, when paying the Beneficiary. Sowe International has the right to decline to pay the Beneficiary if Sowe International cannot verify the identity of the Beneficiary or if Sowe International believes that you or your Beneficiary may be in violation of this Agreement or any applicable law, regulation or Sowe International policy. Although Sowe International has the right to establish identification and verification requirements, and the Beneficiary's failure to comply with them is a basis for declining payment of the Remittance, Sowe International has no obligation to establish any such requirements.
Foreign Exchange
Payments to Beneficiaries are generally made in the currency of the Beneficiary's country. If permitted by applicable law and the Application, you may request your Remittance to be paid in another currency approved and made available by Sowe International from time to time.
If a currency conversion is required, Sowe International and/or Sowe International-designated service providers will convert the currency in which you initiate your Remittance into the local currency at the Sowe International exchange rate for your Remittance in effect at the time you initiate your Remittance. Sowe International will disclose the exchange rate to you before you authorize the Remittance. Sowe International's exchange rates vary from time to time, and may also differ depending on the principal value of your Remittance and other factors. In addition to the fees and charges applicable to your Remittance, Sowe International makes money when your currency is converted into the currency in which your Remittance is paid.
Permissible Remittance Payments
The Application and website are not intended for use by any person in any jurisdiction or country where such use would be contrary to law or regulation. Specifically and without limitation, you may not use the Services for any Remittance (a) induced by or involving the proceeds of crime, fraud or other improper activity; (b) exceeding Sowe International's transaction limits (whether in amount, frequency or otherwise); (c) sent for the purpose of gambling, including placing bets or paying winnings; (d) intended to be used as an escrow or similar capacity for delayed payment; (e) which Sowe International determines is suspicious or may violate applicable law or regulation, including laws intended to detect and prevent money- laundering, terrorist financing, human trafficking, fraud, or to enforce currency or exchange rate controls. You agree that you will only request a Remittance that complies with this Agreement, applicable origination country laws and applicable laws in the country of the Beneficiary. You may only use the Application to send Remittances on your own behalf. You may not resell the Application or use the Application to make Remittances on behalf of, or as an agent for, another person. You will provide information and/or documentation that Sowe International may request from time to time in order for Sowe International to comply with any applicable laws, including anti-money laundering laws. Sowe International may refuse payment of any Remittance which Sowe International determines in its sole discretion does not comply with applicable law, Sowe International policy or the terms of this Agreement.
Rejection of Remittance Payment Request
Limitation of Liability
Sowe International is not responsible for any delay, failure to execute, or an error in the execution of your Remittance request due to circumstances beyond Sowe International's reasonable control, whether caused by strikes, power failures, equipment malfunctions, war, riots, governmental or court orders, work stoppages or similar occurrences or circumstances, or incorrect or incomplete information provided by you. You further agree that Sowe International may refuse to process or delay processing any request if it would violate any guideline, rule, policy or regulation of any government authority or funds transfer system.
Under no circumstances will Sowe International be liable for damages, whether caused by the negligence of Sowe International's employees, contractors, agents or others, beyond the sum of ONE THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD 1,000.00), in addition to refunding the principal amount of the Remittance and any fees and costs you may have paid to Sowe International to send it.
Notwithstanding the prior paragraph, you may contact Sowe International before you send your Remittance to request our written agreement to a higher limit on liability for a Remittance, which we may provide at our sole and absolute discretion. Sowe International may charge you for any such higher limit on liability.
Under no circumstances will Sowe International be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages or the like.
THE APPLICATION, WEBSITE, AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. SOWE INTERNATIONAL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OR THE SERVICE. SOWE INTERNATIONAL DOES NOT WARRANT THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE APPLICATION OR THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION RELATED THERETO AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR NON- FUNCTIONALITY OF THE APPLICATION AND THE SERVICE, OR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY INFORMATION. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, IMPLIED, EXPRESSED OR STATUTORY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF NON INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM COMPUTER VIRUS, IS GIVEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE APPLICATION OR THE SERVICE.
Error Resolution and Cancellation Policy
For error resolution, transaction cancellation, questions, complaints or a written explanation of your rights, contact us at contact@soweinternational.com.
Because Sowe International credits Remittances to Beneficiaries immediately, your Remittance is typically not cancellable or refundable. If you believe that you sent a Remittance in error, you must contact us within thirty (30) minutes after you initiated it at contact@soweinternational.com or call us at +1 (734) 717-1930, and we will attempt to recall it. If your Remittance has not yet been credited to your Beneficiary’s account, we will refund it to you (including all fees, if any) within three (3) business days. However, if the Remittance has already been credited to your Beneficiary's account we will make reasonable efforts to reverse or retrieve it, but we may be unable to do so.
If you notify us that the account number, telephone number, Beneficiary name or other information that you provided to us when you initiated your Remittance was incorrect, we will promptly use reasonable efforts to recover the amount of your Remittance, but we may be unable to do so if your Remittance has already been paid or credited in accordance with the information you provided.
You have a right to dispute errors in your transaction. There is no charge for this service. If you think there is an error, contact us at contat@soweinternational.com within 180 days after you sent your Remittance, and provide your name, contact information, the Beneficiary's name, the date of your transfer, as well as the reason you believe there has been an error. Sowe International will investigate and determine whether an error occurred, and we will complete the investigation within ninety (90) days. We will inform you of the investigation results within three (3) business days after the investigation is completed. You may request copies of any documents we used in our investigation. If Sowe International was at fault, we will refund the total amount you paid, including fees, if any, within one business day, or as soon as reasonably practicable.
Sowe International will pay all refunds (whether resulting from a canceled or disputed Remittance) either by a credit to your Payment Account or by check payment, at Sowe International's option. Alternatively, you can choose to have Sowe International process the Remittance again for no additional charge. However, if Sowe International has not charged your Payment Account, but an authorization hold for the amount to be charged by Sowe International has been placed on the funds at your bank, Sowe International will cancel the transaction and request that the authorization hold at your bank is released. This process can take several days; that timing depends on the relationship between your bank and our payment processor, over which we have no control.
Except for our obligation to investigate and refund described above, Sowe International is not liable to you for any loss resulting from Sowe International's inability to cancel or refund a Remittance.
Arbitration of Disputes
Where allowed, any dispute or claim arising from or relating to this Agreement, any Remittance or the Services, including disputes involving this provision about the resolution of disputes, will be settled by binding arbitration.
For Remittances originated in the United States, all disputes will be settled by binding arbitration administered by the National Arbitration Forum ("NAF") or the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), in Sowe International’s sole and absolute discretion, unless agreed otherwise. The dispute shall be arbitrated in Atlanta, Georgia. Each party will pay for its own attorneys, experts and witnesses. Neither party shall have the right to participate in any class of claimants pertaining to any claim. Third parties' claims shall not be joined in any arbitration between Sowe International and you.
This Agreement is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce, and shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 USC Sections 1016. Except as expressly provided in this paragraph, you waive all rights to a court or jury trial to resolve disputes or claims arising from or relating to this Agreement, any Remittance, or the Service.
All claims you bring against Sowe International must be resolved in accordance with Section 14 of this Agreement. All claims filed or brought contrary to Section 14 shall be considered improperly filed, and a breach of this Agreement.
Should you file a claim contrary to Section 14, Sowe International may recover attorneys' fees and costs (including in-house attorneys and paralegals) up to $1,000.00 USD, provided that Sowe International has notified you in writing of the improperly filed claim, and you have failed to promptly withdraw the claim.
Electronic Communications
In order to use the Application and/or website, you consent to receive and accept this Agreement, any amendment to this Agreement, and all notices relating to the Application and Service by means of electronic (SMS-text message or email) communications. If any change to this Agreement requires prior notice to you, Sowe International will notify you by SMS-text message or email, at the telephone number or email address that you provided when registering for the Application, or Sowe International will provide you with a link in such SMS-text message or email to where you may view the revised or amended Agreement. Sowe International will make available to you a record of each of your Remittances electronically on the Application. In order to use the Application, you must have an Android device or iPhone or any other device approved by Sowe International. You agree that if you remove your consent to receive electronic communications, Sowe International will terminate your use of the Application and Service.
Sowe International’s Intellectual Property
You acknowledge that the Services, including the content of this Application and website, text, graphics, logos, and images, as well as all other Sowe International copyrights, trademarks, logos, and product and service names are owned exclusively by Sowe International (the “Sowe International Intellectual Property”).
You agree not to display, use, copy, or modify the Sowe International Intellectual Property in any manner. You are authorized solely to view and retain a copy of the pages of this website for your own personal, non-commercial use. You further agree not to: (i) use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated device to access the Service; (ii) remove or alter any author, trademark or other proprietary notice or legend displayed on this website (or printed pages thereof); or (iii) infringe Sowe International’s or any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy.
If you provide us with any suggestions, feedback, reviews or input (“Customer Input”) related to our Services, we (and our corporate group entities) will own all right, title and interest in and to the Customer Input, even if you have designated the Customer Input as confidential. We and our corporate group entities will be entitled to use the Customer Input without restriction, including for marketing or business purposes. You assign to us all right, title and interest in and to the Customer Input and agree to provide us with any assistance we may require to document, perfect and maintain our rights in the Customer Input. For this purpose the word: “assign” is legal term which means legally transferring the benefit, such as you legally transferring the benefit of the Customer Input to us.
Indemnity.
Except to the extent otherwise provided by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Remittance Transfer Rule thereunder, 12 C.F.R. § 1005.30 et seq., you agree to indemnify and hold Sowe International and its respective subsidiaries, officers, agents, partners, and employees harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Services, your connection to the Services, your violation of the Agreement, or your violation of any rights of another.
General Terms
This Agreement, along with all the material incorporated into it by reference, constitutes the entire understanding between you and Sowe International concerning the Application and the Service. It supersedes all prior agreements and may not be modified orally. Sowe International may modify, supplement, alter and amend this Agreement at any time, and you will be deemed to have agreed to any such changes if you continue to use the Application after you have been notified of any such changes. If any portion of this Agreement is determined to be invalid, the remaining provisions will nevertheless be enforceable.
Governing Law
If you are sending money from the United States, this Agreement is governed by federal law the United States of America and, where not in conflict with or preempted by such federal law, the laws of the State of Georgia, as applicable, without regard to conflict of law principles.
Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy describes the way Sowe International, and its affiliates (collectively, "Sowe International" or "us") obtains, uses, stores, manages and disposes of certain information that you, as a user of our services, provide to us. You have certain rights to know what information we collect, how we use it, and how you may obtain and correct it. You consent that you have read and agree with the Privacy Policy.
Sowe International's privacy policy may change in the future. If that happens, the revised version will be posted on our website, and will be sent to current users via the email addresses associated with their Sowe International App registrations.