Risk Disclosure Statement
Read this before you use ALT.VU. It describes what can go wrong. It is not a complete list of every risk, and it is not advice. If anything here is unclear, do not use the service until you understand it.
This Statement forms part of the ALT.VU Terms of Service at https://alt.vu/legal/terms/.
1. The most important thing on this page
Blockchain transactions cannot be undone. If you send funds to the wrong address, or on the wrong network, or send an asset we do not support, the funds are gone. We cannot reverse the transaction, we cannot recall it, we cannot ask anyone to return it, and we do not reimburse you. This is not a limitation we have chosen; no one can reverse a confirmed blockchain transaction.
The same is true of a transfer to another ALT.VU user. It is immediate and final. Check the recipient before you confirm.
2. Your balance is a claim on us, not a protected deposit
2.1 Your United States dollar balance is a record of an amount we owe you. It is a claim against ATLAS PAY LIMITED.
2.2 It is not a bank deposit. It is not covered by any deposit protection scheme, in Hong Kong, in Singapore or anywhere else. There is no investor compensation scheme behind it. It pays no interest and no yield.
2.3 Funds corresponding to balances are held in an account we maintain with our card issuing partner. They are not segregated in a statutory client-money account and are not held on trust for you.
2.4 If ATLAS PAY LIMITED becomes insolvent, you would be an unsecured creditor. You might recover part of your balance, or none of it. Do not keep more on ALT.VU than you are prepared to lose on that basis.
3. We are not licensed as a financial institution
3.1 ATLAS PAY LIMITED holds no licence for virtual asset services and is not authorised as a bank, an e-money institution, a money services operator or a securities firm in any jurisdiction.
3.2 The service is made available only in countries where it may lawfully be provided without such a licence. Because we are not licensed, the protections that come with a licensed provider do not apply to you — there is no regulator supervising our conduct towards you, no statutory complaints scheme, no ombudsman and no compensation fund.
3.3 Regulation of stablecoins and of services like ours is changing quickly. A change in the law of your country may require us to suspend the service there, to restrict your account, or to ask you to withdraw your balance, at short notice or none.
4. Stablecoin risk
4.1 USDT and USDC are issued by third parties. We do not issue them, do not control them, and do not guarantee them.
4.2 We credit your balance at one dollar per unit. That is our internal accounting rate. It is not a promise that a stablecoin will always be worth one dollar on the open market. A stablecoin can lose its peg, temporarily or permanently, and has done so in the past.
4.3 An issuer can freeze or blacklist an address, including one holding funds connected to your account, and can do so without notice and without our involvement. An issuer can become insolvent, can be subject to enforcement action, or can cease to redeem.
4.4 If a stablecoin we support loses its peg or is frozen, we may suspend deposits, withdrawals or both in that asset, and your ability to convert your balance may be delayed or impaired.
5. Blockchain network risk
5.1 Networks fail, congest, halt, fork and reorganise. When that happens, a transaction may be delayed for hours or days, may be dropped, or may need to be resubmitted. None of this is under our control.
5.2 Network fees rise sharply when a network is congested. A withdrawal may become expensive relative to a small balance.
5.3 A network may undergo a change — a hard fork, a contract migration, an upgrade — after which an address or token contract behaves differently. We may suspend support for a network or asset at any time, including without notice where continuing would risk loss.
5.4 Deposits are credited only after the number of confirmations we require. Until then the funds are not yours to spend.
6. Card risk
6.1 The Card is issued by our licensed card issuing partner, not by us. We depend on that partner and on the payment scheme. If either suspends service, becomes insolvent, or changes its rules, your Card may stop working, in some cases without notice.
6.2 The amount finally debited may differ from the amount you saw at the point of sale, for the reasons set out in the Fees and Limits schedule — authorisation holds, later settlement, currency conversion by the payment scheme, and merchant surcharges.
6.3 A merchant may decline the Card. Some merchants and merchant categories are blocked. We do not undertake that the Card will be accepted anywhere in particular.
6.4 Chargeback and dispute rights are set by the payment scheme, have strict time limits, and frequently fail. We cannot guarantee that a disputed transaction will be refunded.
7. Security risk
7.1 If someone obtains your device together with your PIN or biometric unlock, they can operate your account. Protect your device, your PIN and your email account.
7.2 We will never ask you for your PIN, for a one-time code, or for your card security code. Anyone who does is attempting fraud. Treat unexpected messages, calls and links as hostile.
7.3 We do not refund losses caused by fraud you were persuaded to authorise, or by your failure to keep credentials and devices secure. A transaction you authorise looks identical to us whether or not you were deceived into authorising it.
7.4 No system is perfectly secure. A successful attack on us, on a provider we use, or on your device could result in loss of funds or of data.
8. Availability and account restrictions
8.1 The service can be interrupted — by maintenance, by a fault, or by the failure of a provider we depend on. During an interruption you may be unable to access your balance or use your Card.
8.2 We may freeze a balance, block a Card or close an account where the law, a court, a regulator, sanctions rules or our card issuing partner requires it, or where we suspect fraud or misuse. This can happen without notice, and in some cases we are legally prohibited from telling you why. See clause 13 of the Terms of Service.
8.3 A freeze can last as long as the underlying investigation or order lasts, which may be months.
9. Country and residence risk
9.1 We make the service available only in certain countries, and that list changes.
9.2 If your country is removed from the list, or if you move to a country we do not serve, we may close your account and require you to withdraw your balance.
9.3 Do not attempt to conceal your country of residence. Using a VPN or giving false residence information to obtain the service is a breach of the Terms of Service, and will result in closure and may result in funds being frozen while we resolve the position.
10. Tax
You are responsible for determining, reporting and paying any tax arising from your use of the service. We do not give tax advice, we do not calculate your tax, and in most cases we do not report to tax authorities on your behalf — but we may be required to do so in future. Keep your own records.
11. No advice
Nothing in the application, on the website, in our communications or in our support messages is financial, investment, legal or tax advice, and nothing is a recommendation to acquire or dispose of any asset. We offer no product that generates income, interest, yield or return. Any claim to the contrary, from any source, is false.
12. Acknowledgement
By using ALT.VU you confirm that you have read this Statement, that you understand that blockchain transactions are irreversible, that your balance is an unsecured claim against ATLAS PAY LIMITED and is not protected by any compensation scheme, and that you accept these risks.
Questions: legal@alt.vu.