By signing and submitting this Business Bank Account Application, the Applicant(s) acknowledge(s), confirm(s), and irrevocably agree(s) to the following:
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Bank-only closure: Account closure is exclusively governed by the Bank’s internal Administration and Compliance departments and may only be executed following internal review (including risk, AML/KYC, sanctions screening, security controls, and/or legal considerations).
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No client-initiated closure: Client-initiated account closures are strictly prohibited. By opening an account, the Applicant(s) expressly waive(s) any right to unilaterally close or terminate the account under conventional civil banking frameworks. Any request to “close the account” will not be processed as a closure instruction.
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ETMO framework: Account relationships are conducted under the sovereign diplomatic framework of the Ecclesiastical and Temporal Missionary Order (ETMO), with reference to protections under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and relevant bilateral and multilateral treaties.
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Disengagement option (no closure): If the Applicant(s) no longer wish(es) to use the account, the Applicant(s) may instruct an outbound transfer to a bank account of their choice, subject to verification and compliance checks, and provided the account continues to meet the Bank’s minimum balance requirements at all times (including after the transfer). A transfer instruction does not constitute account closure.
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Bank discretion: The Bank reserves the exclusive right to restrict, suspend, terminate, or close accounts only under internal risk analysis, compliance reviews, security requirements, and/or legal or contractual breach.
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Administrative closure standard: Accounts maintaining a zero or negative balance with no activity for ninety (90) consecutive days may be reviewed and closed in accordance with compliance and AML standards.
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Binding acceptance: This clause forms part of the Account Application and becomes binding upon signature/submission.
The Applicant(s) further acknowledge(s), accept(s), and agree(s) to the following standard banking provisions, which form part of the binding service agreement with the Bank:
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Bank discretion and service availability: The Bank may, at its sole discretion, decline, delay, restrict, suspend, or refuse any application, account service, instruction, transaction, or product feature where required for compliance, security, operational integrity, or risk management, or where information is incomplete or unsatisfactory.
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Transaction controls, holds, and third parties: The Bank may apply manual review, verification holds, enhanced due diligence, and temporary restrictions when necessary for AML/KYC, sanctions, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, or operational risk. The Applicant(s) acknowledge(s) that payment routing may involve intermediaries/correspondents and other third parties, and the Bank is not liable for acts/omissions of such third parties.
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Fees, charges, and third-party costs: The Applicant(s) agree(s) that Bank fees, service charges, intermediary/correspondent charges, network fees, FX conversion costs/spreads (where applicable), and third-party costs may be debited in accordance with the Bank’s fee schedule and policies, and such charges may reduce the net amount received by the beneficiary.
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Foreign exchange: Where conversion is required, the Applicant(s) authorize(s) the Bank to apply the Bank’s prevailing exchange rate at the time of processing (including any applicable spread or conversion costs).
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Statements, records, and reporting deadlines: The Bank’s records (including electronic logs) constitute evidence of account activity unless proven otherwise. The Applicant(s) agree(s) to review statements/notifications promptly and to report unauthorized transactions or errors within the timeframes required by the Bank’s policies; failure to report promptly may result in the records being treated as correct and final.
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Instructions and authentication: The Applicant(s) authorize(s) the Bank to act on instructions received through approved channels and subject to authentication requirements. The Bank may refuse any instruction that fails verification, appears inconsistent, high-risk, or non-compliant.
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Online banking and security responsibility: The Applicant(s) are responsible for safeguarding credentials, devices, and authentication methods and for notifying the Bank immediately of suspected compromise or unauthorized access.
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Electronic communications and notices: The Applicant(s) consent(s) to receive notices and communications electronically using the contact details provided. Notices are deemed delivered when sent to the last contact information on file. The Applicant(s) are responsible for keeping contact details current.
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Ongoing disclosure duty: The Applicant(s) must promptly notify the Bank of material changes (including company name, registered address, beneficial ownership, control persons, directors/officers, authorized signatories, tax status, source of funds, expected activity, or risk profile). Failure to update may result in restrictions or enhanced due diligence.
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Prohibited use: The account must not be used for unlawful purposes, sanctions evasion, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, or any activity that may expose the Bank to legal, regulatory, reputational, or security risk.
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Set-off and recovery: To the maximum extent permitted under the Bank’s policies and applicable framework, the Bank may debit or set-off amounts owed to the Bank (fees, charges, negative balances, costs, and liabilities) from balances held with the Bank and may restrict services until settled.
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Indemnity: The Applicant(s) agree(s) to indemnify and hold harmless the Bank, its officers, agents, and service providers from losses, claims, costs, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal and investigation costs) arising from breach of these terms/policies, inaccurate information, prohibited use, or third-party claims arising from the Applicant’s instructions, except to the extent directly caused by the Bank’s proven gross negligence or willful misconduct under the Bank’s applicable framework.
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Limitation of liability: To the maximum extent permitted, the Bank shall not be liable for indirect, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for losses caused by third parties, market conditions, outages, system interruptions, or events beyond the Bank’s reasonable control. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to direct damages only and subject to the Bank’s applicable framework.
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Force majeure: The Bank is not responsible for delay or non-performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including war, civil disturbance, strikes, outages, cyber incidents, telecom disruption, sanctions changes, regulatory action, correspondent interruptions, or network failures.
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Severability; no waiver; entire agreement; updates: If any provision is invalid, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. This Application, together with the Bank’s Terms & Conditions, fee schedule, and policies accepted at onboarding, constitutes the entire agreement. The Bank may update policies and operational requirements from time to time; continued use constitutes acceptance, subject to the Bank’s notice procedures.
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Waiver of claims based on misunderstanding; waiver of civil proceedings: The Applicant(s) confirm(s) that they have read and understood this Application and had the opportunity to ask questions and seek independent advice before signing. The Applicant(s) expressly waive(s) any right to pursue claims or civil/commercial court proceedings on the basis of alleged misunderstanding, inadequate explanation, or failure to read the terms, and agree(s) that disputes must be addressed exclusively through the mechanisms applicable to the Bank’s sovereign diplomatic framework and internal governance processes.