Payment Policy

1. Introduction

This Payments Policy sets out the terms and conditions governing payment transactions conducted through the Snus Down Under website (www.snusdownunder.com). Snus Down Under is operated by Snus Down Under from the United Kingdom and is committed to providing a secure, transparent, and reliable payment experience for all customers. By placing an order on our Website, you agree to the terms outlined in this policy.

2. Accepted Payment Methods

We currently accept payments via Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards. Transactions are processed in your local currency where supported (see Section 9 for a full list of supported currencies). We do not accept payments by cash, cheque, bank transfer, or cryptocurrency at this time. We reserve the right to add or remove payment methods at our discretion, and any changes will be reflected on our Website.

3. Payment Processing

All card payments are processed through our third-party payment service provider, which is authorised as an Electronic Money Institution by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our payment provider operates a cloud-based payments infrastructure built on a microservices architecture, ensuring high availability, scalability, and resilience across all transaction processing.

When you submit a payment on our Website, the transaction is routed through our provider’s secure gateway, which communicates directly with the relevant card network (Visa or Mastercard) and the issuing bank to authorise and settle the funds. Our provider holds the status of a licensed Visa and Mastercard acquirer, enabling direct processing relationships that support high authorisation rates and reliable settlement.

Payments are typically authorised in real time at the point of checkout. Settlement of funds from the card networks to our merchant account is handled by our payment provider in accordance with their standard settlement schedules. You will see the charge on your card statement under the descriptor “Snus Down Under” or a similar recognisable reference.

4. Payment Security

The security of your payment information is of the utmost importance to us. Our payment infrastructure incorporates multiple layers of protection to safeguard your card data throughout every transaction.

PCI DSS Level 1 Compliance: Our payment provider maintains Level 1 PCI DSS certification, which is the highest level of compliance established by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. This standard enforces rigorous controls around the storage, transmission, and processing of cardholder data.

Tokenisation: Sensitive card details are replaced with a randomly generated token that holds no meaningful value outside of the secure token vault. This means your actual card number is never stored on our servers or within our systems, significantly reducing the risk of data exposure in the event of a breach.

Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our payment systems is protected using SSL and TLS encryption protocols. Data at rest within the payment infrastructure is secured using strong encryption standards and hardware security modules (HSMs), ensuring end-to-end protection of your information.

3D Secure 2.0 (3DS2) Authentication: To comply with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (as applicable in the UK), all eligible transactions are subject to 3D Secure 2.0 verification. This protocol enables your issuing bank to verify your identity during checkout using methods such as biometric authentication, one-time passcodes, or app-based confirmation. This additional layer of authentication helps prevent unauthorised use of your card.

AI-Powered Fraud Monitoring: Our payment provider employs artificial intelligence-driven fraud detection technology that monitors transactions in real time. This system evaluates risk signals across multiple data points to identify and flag potentially fraudulent activity before it is completed. We may also apply custom transaction rules that trigger additional verification steps for transactions deemed to be of higher risk.

5. Data Privacy and Cardholder Information

Snus Down Under does not directly collect, store, or have access to your full card details at any stage of the transaction process. All payment data is captured and processed exclusively within our payment provider’s PCI-compliant environment.

Our payment provider’s privacy programme is aligned with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. For further information on how we handle your personal data, please refer to our separate Privacy Policy.

6. Subscriptions and Recurring Billing

Snus Down Under offers subscription plans that allow you to receive your preferred products on a recurring basis at a frequency of your choosing. We currently offer the following subscription intervals:

Weekly: Your card is billed once every 7 days from the date of your initial subscription order.
Monthly: Your card is billed once every 30 days from the date of your initial subscription order.

6.1 How Subscriptions Work

When you subscribe to a product, you authorise Snus Down Under and our payment provider to charge your designated Visa or Mastercard at the selected billing interval. Your card details are securely tokenised and stored within our payment provider’s PCI-compliant vault, enabling seamless recurring charges without requiring you to re-enter your payment information for each billing cycle.

Each recurring charge will be for the amount displayed at the time of your subscription enrolment, unless you are notified of a price change in advance (see Section 6.4 below). A confirmation email will be sent to you each time a recurring payment is successfully processed.

6.2 Managing Your Subscription

You may view, pause, modify, or cancel your subscription at any time by logging into your account on our Website and navigating to the subscription management section. Changes to your billing frequency or product selection will take effect from the next billing cycle. If you wish to cancel, you must do so before the next scheduled billing date to avoid being charged for the upcoming cycle. Once a subscription has been billed, it is unfortunately not possible to issue a refund as this falls under our change of mind policy. It is prudent that if you do not want your next subscription order, you must cancel prior to being billed.

6.3 Failed Subscription Payments

If a recurring payment fails due to insufficient funds, an expired card, or any other reason, we will attempt to re-process the payment. If the payment continues to fail after reasonable retry attempts, your subscription may be paused or cancelled, and we will notify you by email. It is your responsibility to ensure that your payment method remains valid and has sufficient funds to cover each scheduled charge.

6.4 Price Changes

We reserve the right to adjust the pricing of subscription products. In the event of a price increase, we will notify you by email at least 14 days before the new price takes effect. If you do not wish to continue your subscription at the revised price, you may cancel before the next billing date at no additional cost.

7. Authorisation and Declined Payments

All payments are subject to authorisation by your card-issuing bank. We reserve the right to decline or cancel any order where payment authorisation is not obtained, or where we reasonably suspect the transaction to be fraudulent or in breach of our Terms and Conditions.

If your payment is declined, please verify that your card details are correct, that your card has not expired, and that sufficient funds are available. You may also wish to contact your issuing bank to confirm that no restrictions have been placed on your card for online or international transactions.

8. Refunds and Chargebacks

Refunds, where applicable and in accordance with our Returns Policy, will be processed back to the original payment method used at the time of purchase. Refund processing times may vary depending on your card issuer but typically take between 5 and 10 business days to appear on your statement.

If you believe a charge on your account is unauthorised or incorrect, we encourage you to contact us directly at admin@snusdownunder.com before initiating a chargeback with your bank. We are committed to resolving payment disputes promptly and fairly.

9. Currency and Foreign Exchange

Snus Down Under processes payments in local currency to provide a seamless checkout experience for our international customer base. We currently support the following currencies: Great British Pounds (GBP), Australian Dollars (AUD), New Zealand Dollars (NZD), United States Dollars (USD), and Euros (EUR). The currency presented at checkout is determined automatically based on your location, though you may be given the option to select an alternative supported currency where available.

Prices displayed on our Website are inclusive of any applicable currency conversion and reflect the amount that will be charged to your card. If your card is denominated in a currency other than the one selected at checkout, your issuing bank or card network may apply a foreign exchange conversion fee at their prevailing rate. Snus Down Under has no control over and accepts no responsibility for any additional foreign exchange rates or fees applied by your bank or card provider.

10. Age Verification

In compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing the sale of nicotine products in the United Kingdom, we may require age verification as part of the checkout and payment process. We reserve the right to cancel any order and reverse any payment where satisfactory age verification cannot be completed.

11. Limitation of Liability

While we take all reasonable steps to ensure that our payment systems are secure and operational, Snus Down Under shall not be held liable for any loss, damage, or inconvenience arising from payment processing failures, delays, or errors caused by our third-party payment provider, card networks, issuing banks, or circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

12. Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to update or amend this Payments Policy at any time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our Website and payment services following any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

13. Contact Us

For queries or concerns regarding payments or this Payments Policy, contact:

Email: admin@snusdownunder.com