Terms of service

Paybackly is operated by Paybackly Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17068698), with its registered office at 4 Utopia Court, Station Road, Harrow, HA2 6BT, United Kingdom.

Paybackly is a technology platform that lets individuals create, accept, and manage interest-free personal loan agreements between themselves. We provide the tools to record the agreement, schedule repayments, collect those repayments via Direct Debit, and produce evidence in the event of a dispute.

Paybackly is not a lender, bank, or credit provider, and is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. We do not lend money, hold deposits, or set lending criteria. Every loan on Paybackly is a private agreement between two individual users. Our payment partners (Stripe Payments UK Limited and our open banking provider, where applicable) are FCA-authorised in their own right and operate within their own regulatory permissions.

By creating an account or using the platform you agree to these terms in full.

To use Paybackly you must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Be a UK resident with a valid UK personal bank account in your own name.
• Successfully complete identity verification through Stripe Identity.
• Provide accurate and truthful personal information.
• Not be subject to a bankruptcy order, debt relief order, or individual voluntary arrangement.
• Not be on any UK or international sanctions list.

Each person may hold only one Paybackly account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent borrowing limits, sanctions, or restrictions is prohibited and will result in permanent suspension of all accounts involved.

All users must verify their identity using a valid government-issued photo ID (UK passport, UK driving licence, or another supported document) and a live selfie. The verification is performed by our partner Stripe Identity. We reserve the right to reject or suspend any account where verification fails, where the information provided does not match the verified identity, or where we have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud.

Once verified, your legal name and date of birth are locked on your profile. To correct them you must contact support@paybackly.online.

Paybackly charges borrowers a one-time service fee of 3% of the loan amount plus £0.50. This fee is divided equally across the repayment installments. Lenders pay nothing — they receive back exactly the principal they lent.

Where a referral or promotional discount applies (for example, joining via the founders waitlist), the discount is shown to the borrower at the point of accepting the loan and remains fixed for the life of that loan.

No interest is charged on any loan, ever. We do not earn from late fees.

Borrowing limits grow with successful repayment history:

• New — up to £500 (after identity verification).
• Bronze — up to £1,000 (after 1 loan repaid on time).
• Silver — up to £2,000 (after 3 loans repaid on time).
• Gold — up to £5,000 (after 6 loans repaid on time).

Late or missed payments may reduce your tier. We may also adjust limits at our discretion based on overall payment behaviour, suspected fraud, or risk indicators.

When a loan is created and accepted on Paybackly, both users enter into a legally binding contract governed by the laws of England and Wales. By accepting a loan:

• The lender agrees to transfer the principal amount to the borrower and authorises Paybackly to share the borrower's bank details (sort code and account number) for the purpose of that transfer.
• The borrower commits to repaying the principal plus the service fee on the agreed schedule via Direct Debit, and acknowledges they have read and understood the repayment plan shown at acceptance.
• Both parties acknowledge the terms displayed at the moment of acceptance.

Loan terms (amount, duration, installments, fee) cannot be modified once the loan is accepted. To change terms you must complete or withdraw the existing loan and create a new one.

The signed loan agreement, the verified identities of both parties, and the recorded payment history together constitute written evidence of the debt for the purposes of legal proceedings. Either party can request a downloadable copy at any time.

After a loan is accepted, the lender is responsible for transferring the principal amount to the borrower. The transfer happens directly between the two parties' bank accounts — Paybackly never holds, custodies, or routes the funds.

Two transfer methods may be available depending on the loan and the lender:

• Manual bank transfer (default): the lender sends the funds from their bank app using the borrower's sort code and account number, which Paybackly displays after acceptance. The lender then marks the transfer complete to activate the loan.
• Open banking transfer (selected users): the lender authorises a single immediate payment through their bank app. Funds move bank-to-bank and the loan activates automatically. This option is currently in restricted release.

The lender must complete the transfer promptly after acceptance. If the lender fails to transfer the funds, the loan may be cancelled and any associated Direct Debit mandate cancelled. Paybackly is not liable for delays or errors caused by the lender's or borrower's bank.

To borrow, you must set up a Bacs Direct Debit mandate through our payment provider, Stripe Payments UK Limited. Once set up, Paybackly will collect each scheduled installment automatically on the agreed date. You authorise these collections at the point of mandate setup.

Direct Debits collected through Paybackly are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee, which entitles you to a full and immediate refund from your bank if an error is made by Paybackly or your bank.

You may cancel the mandate with your bank at any time. If you cancel an active mandate, the outstanding balance becomes immediately payable and you must arrange repayment by another method. Cancelling a mandate does not cancel the loan agreement.

If a scheduled Direct Debit fails (insufficient funds, cancelled mandate, technical error):

• Both the borrower and lender are notified by email and in-app immediately.
• Paybackly will retry the collection automatically up to three times over nine days. After the third failure, automatic retries stop.
• The borrower's tier may be reduced.
• Persistent non-payment may result in account suspension and referral to a third-party debt recovery service or to legal action by the lender.

Paybackly is not a debt collector and does not guarantee recovery of unpaid amounts. Lenders should only lend amounts they are willing to lose.

Paybackly is built so lenders have a clear, documented legal basis to recover funds in the event of default:

• Verified identity: every borrower has passed government-issued photo ID + live selfie verification before they can borrow. The borrower's legal name on the loan agreement is the verified one.
• Binding agreement: the loan agreement is a contract under English law. It records the principal, the schedule, and both verified identities. It is admissible as written evidence of the debt.
• Direct Debit logs: every collection attempt — successful or failed — is timestamped and recorded. Failed collections serve as evidence of non-payment.
• Downloadable record: the lender can download the agreement and full payment history at any time.
• Small Claims Court: defaults up to £10,000 may be pursued through the UK Small Claims Court. The process is designed to be navigable without a solicitor. Paybackly's records can be used as evidence.

Paybackly cannot bring or fund a claim on the lender's behalf. We will provide records and evidence on reasonable request.

Borrowers may repay a loan early at any time without penalty. The total amount repayable does not change — there is no interest to save by paying early, but the loan closes sooner and your tier benefits arrive sooner.

Early repayments are processed via open banking (Stripe Pay by Bank): you authorise the payment in your bank app and the funds are received in seconds. You may pay off any whole number of remaining installments — for example, three of five remaining — but cannot pay an arbitrary partial amount.

If a dispute arises between the borrower and lender about a loan, either party may raise it through the in-app dispute system. Our team will review the agreement, the payment history, and the messages between the parties, and provide a written assessment.

Paybackly's assessment is non-binding and is provided as a neutral observation of the platform record — it does not waive either party's legal rights and is not a substitute for independent legal advice.

You must not use Paybackly to:

• Launder money, finance terrorism, or facilitate any illegal activity.
• Create fictitious loans between accounts you control or co-control.
• Provide false identity, residency, or bank-account information.
• Use someone else's bank account, ID, or device without their explicit consent.
• Operate as a commercial lender — Paybackly is for occasional, personal lending between individuals, not for a lending business.
• Circumvent borrowing limits, suspensions, or sanctions through multiple accounts or third-party arrangements.
• Use bots, scrapers, or any automated means to interact with the platform.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, probe, or interfere with the security of the platform.
• Harass, threaten, defame, or discriminate against any other user or member of our staff.

We may suspend or permanently close any account that breaches these terms, provides false information, fails identity verification, is used in suspected fraud, or poses a risk to other users or the platform. We will tell you the reason where we lawfully can.

You may close your own account at any time from Settings. Outstanding loans and Direct Debit obligations remain enforceable regardless of whether your account is open or closed. See our Privacy Policy for what happens to your data on closure.

Paybackly provides a technology platform only and does not guarantee any outcome of any loan. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• Losses arising from non-payment, default, or insolvency of any borrower.
• Disagreements between users about loan terms agreed outside the platform.
• Failures of third-party services, including banking systems, Direct Debit infrastructure, identity verification, or our payment partners.
• Loss of access caused by lost credentials, lost devices, or your failure to keep your contact details up to date.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under UK law.

Subject to the above, our total liability to any user in any 12-month period is capped at the greater of (a) the service fees paid by you to Paybackly in that period, or (b) £100.

We are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations where caused by events outside our reasonable control, including network failures, supplier outages, regulatory action against a payment partner, acts of government, or natural disasters. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you and to resume service as soon as possible.

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from your use of Paybackly are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

We may update these terms from time to time. For material changes (anything affecting your rights, fees, or obligations) we will notify you by email or in-app at least 14 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of Paybackly after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not accept the changes, you may close your account before they take effect.

For questions about these terms, billing, account issues, or support, contact us at support@paybackly.online. For privacy questions, see our Privacy Policy.