Special Terms and Conditions Blocked Account (“STCBA”) for the Expatrio Mangopay Blocked Account
This English Special Terms and Conditions are binding in all respects.
1 PREAMBLE
Expatrio is a brand of Expatrio Global Services GmbH, Linienstraße 156-157, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Expatrio is a digital relocation platform for internationals that provides necessary products such as health insurance, blocked account and other related products to individuals (hereafter referred to as “User“ or “you”).
2 SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following Special Terms and Conditions Blocked Account (“STCBA”) shall serve as an agreement that sets forth the General Terms and Conditions (“GTC”) of Expatrio which can be viewed on https://www.expatrio.com.
2.1 THE BLOCKED ACCOUNT
The blocked account can be opened and administrated on www.expatrio.com
2.2 BLOCKED ACCONT APPLICATION
In order to open a blocked account, every User is required to apply through the Expatrio website (“www.expatrio.com”).
2.3 BLOCKED ACCOUNT OPENING AND TRANSFER OF FUNDS
Upon completed application and successful identification and verification by Expatrio and Mangopay, the User is obliged to transfer the sum of the blocked amount plus any additional basic sum, both as specified by the German Foreign Affairs Authorities, plus the Buffer and plus the blocked account fees (altogether hereafter “Total Blocked Amount”) to the blocked account which account details the User will receive from Expatrio's online log-in portal (the"Expatrio User Portal"). The transfer has to be performed in EURO. Any transfer performed in another currency may be rejected from Mangopay at its full discretion.
The amount transferred to the blocked account shall not exceed the Total Blocked Amount. Due to the German Prevention of Money Laundering Act (GWG), any User transferring any amount exceeding the Total Blocked Amount (the “Additional Balance”) might be subject to additional identification and verification procedures which require the proof of origin of funds. Any Additional Balance will be disbursed in full with the first disbursement to the User’s current bank account. Expatrio reserves the right to charge the user a handling fee of 0.25% of the Additional Balance or transfer back any Additional Balance to the source bank account. Any applicable transaction cost will be charged to the User.
As an international money transfer usually takes 3-5 business days and, in some cases, up to 14 days, Expatrio reserves the right to initiate investigations on the transfer chain of the User's funds only after 14 days have passed since the money transfer has been initiated by the User.
Any amount transferred to the blocked account is non interest-bearing.
2.4 BLOCKED ACCOUNT FEE
A "Set-up Fee" of €49.00 will be charged for the opening of the blocked account. Furthermore, a monthly service fee of €5.00 multiplied with the Blocking Period (the "Service Fee") will be charged for the account administration. The monthly service fee is always applicable in full also for partial months of blocking and is due from the moment of opening the blocked account (i.e. the moment where the User received the blocked account details). The Set-up Fee and the Service Fee combined constitute the "Blocked Account Fees";
In case of the Blocked Account Fees not being transferred in full to the blocked account, Expatrio is entitled to deduct remaining parts or the full Blocked Account Fees from the Buffer and/or any disbursement. All other entitlements originating from the blocked account are subordinated to the Blocked Account Fees till they are paid in full.
2.5 BUFFER
A "Buffer" of €100.00 has to be transferred as part of the Total Blocked Amount. This is to avoid that potential currency exchange rate fluctuations and/or applicable banking fees affect the Total Blocked Amount being reached. The Buffer will be disbursed automatically with the last disbursement to the User's current bank account.
2.6 FAIR-USE-GUARANTEE
The monthly Service Fee will be refunded in case of visa rejection. A visa rejection is defined as the refusal or rejection of the visa application by a German Mission Abroad (embassy, consulate) or the German Foreigner's Authorities. Any applicable transaction cost will be charged to the User.
In case of a cancelled visa application procedure, Expatrio reserves the right to charge the Blocked Account Fees in full.
2.7 . BLOCKED ACCOUNT ACTIVATION
In order to activate the blocked account, every User is required to provide an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) of a German or European current bank account, which will be utilized to receive the monthly disbursements specified by the German Foreign Affairs Authorities.
The User is then obliged to activate the blocked account disbursements after arrival in Germany via the Expatrio User Portal and to provide the relevant documents (e.g. a "Meldebescheinigung" from the User’s local Registration Office or Immigration Office or Aliens’ Registration Office proving the German address of the User, a Certificate of Enrollment from the User’s University or University of Applied Sciences (“Immatrikulationsbescheinigung”), a visa acceptance certificate, a bank account opening statement, etc.).
2.8 BLOCKED ACCOUNT DISBURSEMENTS
After activation, the disbursements from your Blocked Account will be done on a monthly basis on the first bank business day of the respective month. For the avoidance of doubt (example): for the month October, the disbursement will be done on the 1st of October if that is a bank business day; if the 2nd is the first bank business day, the disbursement will be done on that day latest. Please keep in mind that the disbursement is not instantly credited on your current account as it might take 1-3 business days. This is depending on your bank and falls out of Expatrio's power. It is to Expatrio's full discretion to perform the disbursements earlier, e.g. the end of the previous month.
2.9 CHANGES TO THE BLOCKED ACCOUNT
In case of any changes to the blocked account, e.g. the blocked amount or duration as stated in the initial application documents, the User will be required to submit an amendment request together with further supporting documents of the German Foreign Affairs Authorities if needed.
2.10 BLOCKED ACCOUNT EXTENSION
In case of an extension of the duration of the blocked account (“Blocking Period”), the User will be required to submit an extension request via the Expatrio User Portal together with further supporting documents of the German Foreign Affairs Authorities if needed.
For the extension of the blocked account, additional and renewed verification of the User is required and applicable Blocked Account Fees will be charged equally to a blocked account opening.
2.11 BLOCKED ACCOUNT CLOSING
In case of termination of the blocked account, the User is required to submit the document “09 Closing Order” (downloadable via the Expatrio User Portal) together with an official document from the local German Immigration Office responsible for issuing the residence permit, which contents the unblocking of the account or the original notice of rejection for the visa application with the stamp of the German Embassy/Consulate and written instructions to close the Blocked Account. Also, in case the User did not at all apply for a visa but paid in the Blocked Amount, an official document of evidence with the stamp of the German Embassy/Consulate needs to be provided to release the funds.
Only after Expatrio verified the completeness of the supporting documents, and under the full discretion to verify the account closing with the German Authorites, Expatrio will release any remainder of the Total blocked account, respectively the Remaining Balance, and transfer it back to the bank account of origin or any bank account held under the User’s name. Any applicable transaction costs will be charged to the User.
The User acknowledges that the verification and transfer of funds might, after receiving the complete documents, might take up to four weeks.
3 TERMINATION AND WITHDRAWAL
The User can withdraw from the contractual relation with Expatrio within two weeks after submitting the declaration in writing to:
Expatrio Global Services GmbH
Linienstraße 156-157
10115 Germany
4 COURT OF JURISDICTION AND APPLICABLE LAW
This contract shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany excluding the conflict rules of the German International Private Law (“Introductory Act to the German Civil Code”) (“Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuche, EGBGB”). Jurisdiction for all mutual obligations from this contract is Berlin. If any provision of this agreement is held to be contrary to law, then such provision shall be construed, as nearly as possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties and the other provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by Expatrio in writing.
5 CHANGES TO THE POLICY
We keep our STCBA under regular review and hence Expatrio reserves the right to change this Policy. If Expatrio changes this Policy, you will find the changes and the current version of the STCBA on our website. The present STCBA are the 1st version, having been introduced on August 27th, 2019:
Version | Updated | Updates |
1.0 |
27.08.2019 |
n/a |