Terms of Use

About this version. This is version 3.2 of the Wlbr Terms of Use. It is the same as version 2.1 except for this clause, the clauses about Wlbr's fee, which describe the escrow fee being paid by the Buyer when a payment is funded, the paragraphs in "Disputes between Users" about return requests and the periods after which a disputed escrow amount is returned to the Buyer, and corrections that make these Terms describe how Wlbr operates: how a Buyer can pay by manual bank transfer, what happens if the Buyer does not respond, the first paragraph of "Disputes between Users", a cross-reference to complaints, which notification emails can be turned off, and what we may do on suspension or termination. An escrow payment accepted under version 2.1, under version 2.2-staff-review, under version 3.0 or under version 3.1 continues to be governed by the version shown at its checkout when it was accepted, permanently; this version does not change the terms of that payment. This version applies from when you accept it, and to every escrow payment whose checkout shows this version.

These Terms of Use ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and Financial Technologies Limited, a company registered in New Zealand and trading as Wlbr ("Wlbr", "we", "us", "our"). They govern your access to and use of the Wlbr website, applications and services (together, the "Platform").

Wlbr is an online escrow payments service. We let a business or person who is owed money (the "Seller") create an escrow payment, and the person paying (the "Buyer") fund it. We hold that money on trust and release it to the Seller when the Buyer confirms, or refund it, strictly in line with these Terms. Buyers and Sellers are together referred to as "Users".

Wlbr is a neutral stakeholder and escrow agent. We are not a party to the underlying contract between the Buyer and the Seller, we do not supply the goods or services being paid for, and we do not introduce Buyers to Sellers, host listings, or arrange the deal. Our role is limited to holding and moving the money.

By creating an account, ticking the acceptance box, or otherwise accessing or using the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform. Acceptance of these Terms forms a contract in electronic form under the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.

To use the Platform you must:

• be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a legally binding contract;
• if acting for a business or other entity, be authorised to bind that entity, which will also be bound by these Terms;
• provide accurate, current and complete information and keep it up to date; and
• be ordinarily resident in, or carrying on business in, New Zealand unless we agree otherwise in writing.

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify us promptly at support@wlbr.app if you suspect any unauthorised use of your account.

We may verify your identity at sign-up or at any later time. Because Wlbr holds and transfers funds, a Buyer may be required to complete identity verification before they can fund a payment, and a Seller may be required to verify their identity and nominated bank account before they can receive a payout.

The contract for whatever is being paid for (the goods, services or other arrangement) is formed directly between the Buyer and the Seller. Wlbr simply provides the escrow and payments tools to hold and release the agreed funds. We are not the supplier, buyer, agent, broker or guarantor of the underlying deal.

We do not verify, endorse or guarantee the underlying transaction - including the quality, safety, legality, description or delivery of any goods or services, the truthfulness of anything a User tells the other, or either party's ability to perform. Decisions about whether to transact, and with whom, are yours.

Where Wlbr supplies its own services to you (the escrow-holding, payment-processing and complaint-handling services), we will do so with reasonable care and skill consistent with the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, to the extent that Act applies.

Wlbr holds the Buyer's funds in escrow to give both sides confidence. The Seller creates an escrow payment for the agreed amount (the "escrow amount"). The Buyer funds the full escrow amount, together with Wlbr's escrow fee (see "Fees" below), and we hold the escrow amount on trust until the Buyer releases it to the Seller, it is refunded to the Buyer, or it is otherwise dealt with strictly in accordance with these Terms.

How the Buyer pays into escrow. You fund escrow by a bank-to-bank transfer from your own New Zealand bank account, initiated through Akahu, a New Zealand open-banking payment-initiation provider, or by a manual bank transfer from your own New Zealand bank account to Wlbr's client trust account for the exact amount shown, quoting the reference the Platform gives you. A manual bank transfer is treated as received only once Wlbr has confirmed that it has arrived in that account. Your money is paid directly into Wlbr's client trust account; it does not pass through Wlbr's own operating accounts, and Wlbr does not collect, see or store your card or internet-banking login details. Because payments are funded directly from your bank, they are not card payments and are not subject to card chargebacks. By initiating a payment through the provider you authorise the provider to debit your nominated account for the amount shown before you confirm.

How escrow funds are held. Money paid into escrow is received and held on trust by Wlbr in a dedicated client trust account with Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) (the "Trust Account"). The Trust Account:

• holds customer money on trust, separately from, and is never co-mingled with, Wlbr's own operating funds;
• is acknowledged by the bank to be a trust account holding client money (not Wlbr's money);
• holds each escrow balance for the relevant payment until it is released to the Seller, refunded to the Buyer, or otherwise dealt with strictly in accordance with these Terms;
• is not used by Wlbr to meet its own general business expenses, is not available to Wlbr's general creditors, and is not used to cover any shortfall on another User's payment; and
• is reconciled regularly against Wlbr's records, with any difference investigated and resolved promptly.

One mechanical exception to the list above. An escrow fee received with a Buyer's payment (see "Fees" below) is Wlbr's own money, not customer money. It is in the Trust Account only until it is moved out in the daily sweep, and the statements above about customer money do not describe it.

Funds held in escrow represent the principal the Buyer funded, are held on trust for the relevant payment, and are released or refunded strictly in accordance with these Terms and any dispute outcome. You are always entitled to the full principal escrow amounts due to you; that principal is never reduced by the interest arrangement described below, and Wlbr's escrow fee is not deducted from it (the Buyer pays the escrow fee in addition to the principal).

Interest on trust funds - disclosure of Wlbr's margin. Customer money in the Trust Account may earn interest. The way trust-account interest is dealt with is a fee you pay Wlbr, disclosed to you here so you can give an informed direction before you fund:

• Amount and basis: the fee equals all interest (if any) that the Trust Account earns attributable to your held balance over the period it is held - that is, your held principal multiplied by the bank's applicable interest rate for the number of days it is held. The rate varies with the bank's rates and your balance may earn no interest at all.
• Purpose: Wlbr retains this interest as a margin to help meet the cost of operating the Trust Account and providing the escrow, security and complaint-handling services. It is not a separate charge added to your principal.
• Your express direction: by funding escrow you expressly direct and authorise Wlbr to deduct and keep that interest as its fee, and you agree no User has any claim to interest earned on trust funds. Your principal is never reduced - only the interest earned on top of it is retained by Wlbr.
• You can ask us at any time, before or after funding, for the current interest rate and an estimate of the interest on your specific balance.

Releasing funds. The Buyer releases the funds to the Seller when they are satisfied the deal has been met. Wlbr does not release escrowed funds automatically, and silence is not treated as approval: if the Buyer does not respond, the funds stay held in the Trust Account. You should only release funds for a deal you are satisfied with.

If the Buyer does not respond. The Platform shows a response date by which the Buyer is asked to release the payment, request changes, or raise a concern. That date is not a deadline after which the money moves on its own. Once it passes, we continue to remind the Buyer, and the Seller may raise a concern, which puts the payment on hold as a dispute under "Disputes between Users" below. Wlbr does not decide the outcome. Escrowed funds are released only by the Buyer's instruction, including the Buyer's release of a milestone, by a documented dispute outcome, or by an order of a court or the Disputes Tribunal.

Releases, refunds of the escrow amount and payouts are made by bank transfer from the Trust Account to the relevant User's nominated New Zealand bank account. On a release, the Seller is paid the full escrow amount; Wlbr's escrow fee (see "Fees" below) is not deducted from it. Payment initiation for Buyer funding is provided by Akahu, a New Zealand open-banking payment-initiation provider, and by transacting you also agree to that provider's terms. Wlbr's authorised operators separately check and arrange outgoing payouts and refunds through the bank. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of the payment provider or your bank, but we will pass on refunds and releases from trust as required by these Terms.

Our financial services are designed to comply with New Zealand law, including the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008.

Financial Service Providers Register. Wlbr is registered as a financial service provider on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR), which is administered by the Registrar of Financial Service Providers at the Companies Office. Our FSP registration number is FSP1012829, and our current registration details can be searched on the FSPR.

Dispute resolution scheme. As a provider of financial services to retail clients, Wlbr is a member of an approved external dispute resolution scheme: FSCL - Registration 9690. That scheme can independently consider unresolved complaints about Wlbr's financial services at no cost to you (see the last paragraph of "Disputes between Users" below). Approved schemes operate under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008.

Wlbr charges a flat 1.9% of the escrow amount, plus GST on each escrow payment (the "escrow fee"). The Buyer pays the escrow fee. It is shown clearly before a payment is funded, with its GST and the total to pay, and is paid at funding in addition to the escrow amount, in one payment of the escrow amount plus the escrow fee. The escrow fee is not deducted from the escrow amount, so the Seller receives the full escrow amount when funds are released. Part payments are not offered: a payment is funded by one payment of the full total. There are no monthly or subscription fees. We may change our fee on reasonable notice; a change does not affect payments already funded.

The escrow fee is Wlbr's own money. It is paid to Wlbr for the escrow service and is Wlbr's own money from the moment it is received. It is not part of the escrow amount and is not held on trust for the Buyer or the Seller. It arrives in the Trust Account only because the Buyer makes one payment to one account, and Wlbr moves the escrow fees it has received out of the Trust Account to its own operating account in a daily sweep. The sweep never reduces the escrow amount held for any payment. No escrow fee is charged on a payment that does not fund the escrow payment in full, or that the bank reverses.

The escrow fee is not returned automatically with a refund. If the escrow amount is refunded to the Buyer, in full or in part, the refund is of the escrow amount only. Any refund of the escrow fee is at Wlbr's discretion and, if made, is paid separately from Wlbr's own account and not from the Trust Account. This does not limit your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986, or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded (see "Consumer rights and our liability" below).

Wlbr task marketplace fee. Where a payment is for a job arranged through Wlbr task, the separate marketplace fee is not paid by the Buyer at funding. It is deducted from the amount released to the operator, who is the Seller for that job.

All fees are stated in New Zealand dollars (NZD). Our fee is quoted exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST); GST at the applicable rate under the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 is added to the fee and shown separately, and a tax invoice for our fee, showing the GST, is available to the Buyer.

Wlbr's fee applies only to our own escrow and payment service. We do not collect or account for GST on the underlying transaction between the Buyer and the Seller - that is a matter between those parties. You are responsible for your own tax obligations arising from your use of the Platform, including any income tax and GST on the goods or services you supply or receive.

As a Buyer you agree to:

• only fund payments for genuine, lawful transactions, and not use escrow for anything illegal, fraudulent or that breaches a third party's rights;
• make sure the payment details and amount are correct before you fund;
• complete any identity verification we reasonably require before funding;
• release funds promptly once the deal has been met, or raise a dispute within a reasonable time if it has not; and
• deal honestly with the Seller and with Wlbr.

As a Seller you agree to:

• only request escrow payments for genuine, lawful transactions that you are able and entitled to fulfil;
• describe what the payment is for accurately, and not use escrow to mislead a Buyer or evade fees or chargeback protections;
• provide accurate identity information and a correct New Zealand bank account for payouts, and complete any verification we reasonably require before receiving funds;
• meet your obligations to the Buyer under your own contract, including any guarantees that apply under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or Fair Trading Act 1986 to what you supply; and
• deal honestly with the Buyer and with Wlbr.

You are solely responsible for your dealings with the Buyer. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment, partnership, agency or joint-venture relationship between you and Wlbr.

You must not, and must not allow anyone else to:

• use the Platform for any unlawful, fraudulent, misleading or deceptive purpose, including conduct that breaches the Fair Trading Act 1986;
• use escrow to disguise the true nature, source or purpose of funds, or to make a payment unrelated to a genuine transaction;
• use the Platform to launder money, finance terrorism, or evade sanctions or tax;
• circumvent escrow, our fee, or our security or verification measures;
• harvest data, introduce malware, or interfere with the operation or security of the Platform; or
• send unsolicited commercial electronic messages in breach of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.

We may investigate suspected breaches and cooperate with law enforcement and regulators where appropriate.

Because Wlbr holds and transfers funds, Wlbr is a reporting entity with obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 ("AML/CFT Act"). Wlbr's AML/CFT supervisor is the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), which from 1 July 2026 is the single AML/CFT regulator for businesses in New Zealand.

To meet our AML/CFT obligations we may:

• require you to verify your identity and, for businesses, your beneficial owners and controllers;
• request information about the source and purpose of funds;
• monitor, delay, decline or report transactions; and
• freeze funds or suspend accounts where we reasonably suspect unlawful activity or are required to do so by law.

You agree to provide the information we reasonably request for these purposes. We may be unable to tell you when a report has been made to the relevant authorities.

If a Buyer and Seller disagree about whether funds should be released or refunded, either can raise a dispute through the Platform. While a dispute is open, the affected escrow funds are paused and will not be released or refunded until the dispute is resolved under this section, including by a return of the escrow amount to the Buyer after the periods described below.

Wlbr is a neutral stakeholder. We do not adjudicate the merits of your underlying contract. Where a dispute is raised, we may hold the funds and ask both parties for instructions or evidence, and we will release or refund the funds in accordance with: the parties' joint written instruction; a clear entitlement under these Terms; or a binding decision of a court, the Disputes Tribunal, or our external dispute resolution scheme. You agree that the way we move the held funds in response to such an instruction or decision is administratively final for the purpose of dealing with the money.

In this section a Business Day is a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday in Auckland. A notice we send by email is received on the Business Day on which our email provider records it as delivered to the recipient's email server, if that is before 5pm New Zealand time, and otherwise on the next Business Day. If our email provider does not record a notice as delivered, or records that it bounced, failed or was rejected, the notice has not been received and no period in this section starts to run from it.

Either the Buyer or the Seller can ask through the Platform for the escrow amount to be returned to the Buyer (a return request). We send notice of the request to the other party. The other party has until the end of the fifth Business Day after the day they receive that notice to confirm or reject the request through the Platform. If they confirm it, the escrow amount is returned to the Buyer. If they reject it, the request ends and the escrow amount stays held. While we have no record that the notice was delivered, the request stays open and can still be confirmed or rejected.

If, by the end of that fifth Business Day, the other party has neither confirmed nor rejected the request and the request has not been withdrawn, a dispute is deemed to have been raised on the payment. No money moves because of this. The escrow amount stays held, as for any other dispute, until the dispute is resolved under these Terms.

The next two paragraphs apply to a dispute raised by the Buyer, and to a dispute deemed to have been raised under the paragraph above on a return request made by the Buyer. They do not apply to a dispute raised by the Seller or deemed raised on the Seller's return request: the escrow amount then stays held until the dispute is resolved in another way under these Terms. They do not apply to a payment we are holding for a legal or compliance reason. When a dispute is raised we send notice of it to the Buyer and to the Seller.

If, at the end of the twentieth Business Day after the day the later of those two notices is received, the dispute is still open and we have not been notified of (a) court or Disputes Tribunal proceedings about the payment having been filed, (b) an outcome for the payment agreed or proposed by the parties through the Platform, or (c) a court or Tribunal order about the payment, we check the payment again and, if no legal or compliance hold applies to it and the Buyer has a refund account on file, we send the Buyer and the Seller notice that we intend to return the escrow amount to the Buyer.

We will not return the escrow amount until at least five Business Days after the day the later of those two notices of intended return is received. When that period has ended we check again. If the dispute is still open, we have still not been notified of any of the things in (a) to (c), and no legal or compliance hold applies to the payment, we return the escrow amount to the Buyer's refund account. If we are notified of any of those things before we decide to return the escrow amount, we do not return it under this paragraph, and it stays held until the dispute is resolved in another way under these Terms. Our decision is made after the check described above, not at a set time. Something notified to us after that decision does not undo it.

If the Buyer or the Seller has no email address on the payment, no notice can be sent and the periods in the three paragraphs above do not run.

If a notice under this section cannot be delivered we may send it again to the address we hold for you. Keep your email address up to date. If we cannot deliver a notice to both parties, the periods in this section do not run and the escrow amount stays held until the dispute is resolved in another way under these Terms.

To notify us that proceedings have been filed, send a copy of the filed claim or application to support@wlbr.app, quoting the payment reference.

These are two separate periods. A dispute does not cause money to be returned just because a number of days has passed: the escrow amount is returned under this section only after both periods have run and the checks above are met. The escrow fee is not returned when the escrow amount is returned under this section.

This section's periods apply only to payments accepted under this version of the Terms. A payment accepted under an earlier version keeps that version's dispute terms, and none of these periods applies to it.

Our handling of the held funds does not extinguish your legal rights. Users remain free to pursue remedies between themselves, including through the Disputes Tribunal (for claims within its jurisdiction) or the courts of New Zealand.

If you have a complaint about Wlbr's own financial services, you can first raise it with us at support@wlbr.app so we can try to resolve it through our internal complaints process. If your complaint is not resolved, you can refer it, free of charge, to our approved external dispute resolution scheme, FSCL - Registration 9690, which is independent of Wlbr. Full contact details for the scheme are available on the Platform.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986, or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded. Where you acquire Wlbr's services for the purposes of a business, you agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 does not apply to the extent it can be contracted out of under that Act, and that this is fair and reasonable.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Wlbr is not liable for: the conduct, goods, services or content of any User; loss arising from the underlying transaction between Users; or indirect, consequential, or loss-of-profit damages. Where Wlbr is liable and liability can be limited by law, our total liability to you is limited to the greater of the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim, or NZ$200.

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted or error-free, though we work hard to keep it secure and available.

We collect, use, store and disclose your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and our Privacy Policy. This includes information needed to operate the escrow service, process payments, verify identity, meet AML/CFT obligations, and keep the Platform safe.

You have the right to access and request correction of your personal information. To do so, or to ask a privacy question, contact us at support@wlbr.app.

Electronic communications and notifications. By using the Platform you agree to receive communications from us electronically. You can manage your notification preferences in your account settings and turn off non-essential notification emails (for example, updates about offers, messages and reviews, and product updates). Some messages are essential to the service or are required for your security and will still be sent regardless of your preferences. These include email verification, password resets, two-factor authentication and login codes, payment and escrow confirmations, dispute notices, and legal, regulatory or account-security notifications.

Wlbr and its licensors own all intellectual property in the Platform. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Platform in accordance with these Terms.

You retain ownership of content you submit (such as payment descriptions, references and messages), but you grant Wlbr a worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, use and display that content for the purpose of operating the Platform. You are responsible for ensuring you have the rights to the content you submit.

You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access, remove content, or keep a payment held if we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms or the law, or to protect Users, Wlbr, or third parties.

On termination, we will deal with any escrow funds in accordance with these Terms and applicable law, completing or refunding open payments only as these Terms provide. Clauses that by their nature should survive termination (including fees owed, liability, and dispute provisions) will continue to apply.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will give you reasonable notice and may ask you to accept the updated Terms before continuing to use the Platform. The version and effective date are shown at the top of these Terms.

Continuing to use the Platform after updated Terms take effect means you accept them. If you do not accept the updated Terms, you must stop using the Platform.

These Terms, and any dispute relating to them or to your use of the Platform, are governed by the laws of New Zealand, and you submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in force. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms without our consent; we may transfer ours as part of a sale or reorganisation of our business.

Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@wlbr.app.