Terms and Conditions

Contact Us

Terms and Conditions

1. What these Terms and Conditions are about:

1.1       These Terms and Conditions set out the terms of the contract between the TDB and a Customer that is made when the Customer purchases an Ave Pa’anga Pau Voucher (an “APP Voucher”) on the TDB website.
1.2       In particular these Terms and Conditions -

1.3       In doing those things, these Terms and Conditions use some words which have defined meanings. Definitions of terms are provided in clause 6 below, under the heading “Definitions.”.
1.4       By registering as an APP Voucher Customer on TDB’s website www.avepaanga.co.nz, the Customer agrees that the Voucher Terms and Conditions which are in force at the time the Customer purchases a APP Voucher from TDB, will form part of the contract between TDB and the Customer in respect of that APP Voucher.

2. When and by Whom Ave Pa’anga Pau Vouchers can be obtained

2.1       Ave Pa’anga Pau Vouchers may be obtained from TDB on this website are a means by which a Customer can, by paying an NZ Dollar Amount to TDB, arrange for TDB to pay the corresponding Pa’anga Amount to a person in Tonga.
2.2      Ave Pa’anga Pau Vouchers are only able to be purchased with New Zealand Dollars, and cannot be purchased using any other currency.
2.3     1.1       Ave Pa’anga Pau Vouchers are also only able to be purchased where–

2.4       Ave Pa’anga Pau Vouchers are only able to be purchased by a Customer once TDB has verified the identity of the Customer and the Beneficiary to its satisfaction and in a manner that complies with TDB’s obligations under AML Laws.
2.5       Even if TDB has previously verified the identity of a Customer in that way, TDB may at any later time request further information about the Customer, such as for the purposes of AML Laws. If TDB makes such a request, the Customer must comply with it without delay.
2.6       In addition, TDB is not obliged to –
a)       sell APP Vouchers to any person or in any circumstances, if in either case doing so would be contrary to any laws that apply to TDB; or
b)       accept any person as a Customer or as a Beneficiary; those matters being in each case in TDB’s absolute discretion, and TDB is not obliged to give reasons for its decisions about such matters.

3. How Vouchers Purchases are made and TDB’s obligations:

3.1       A Customer wishing to purchase an APP Voucher must first register on TDB’s website as a Customer and must provide TDB with the mandatory information TDB needs to comply with the AML Laws. To do this, Customers should complete the information required on the ”Sign Up” pages of this website.
3.2       When TDB has received a Customer’s registration and considered it, if it meets TDB’s requirements TDB will then let the Customer know by email that they have been registered as a Customer, and can now purchase APP Vouchers from time to time.
3.3       On each occasion a Customer wishes to purchase a Voucher, they must sign in on the log in page of this website and enter the required information on that page. That will include –
a)     For a new Beneficiary, specifying –                             
i.         the name of the Beneficiary of the APP Voucher, including where required the address, any email address or mobile phone number for the Beneficiary;                            
ii.         and details of  the Beneficiary’s bank account in Tonga, if they have one;
b)     Where the Customer has previously sent an APP Voucher to the same Beneficiary, selecting that Beneficiary’s name from the Customer’s Beneficiary name list on the site; and
c)     Specifying either –                             
i.         the NZ Dollar Amount in respect of which the Customer wants TDB to pay the corresponding Pa’anga Amount to the Beneficiary; or                            
ii.         the Pa’anga Amount which the Customer wants the Beneficiary to receive from TDB.
3.4    On entering the required information on that page of the TDB website, the TDB website will then inform the Customer of either- a)     The Pa’anga Amount that corresponds to the NZ Dollar Amount specified by the Customer; or
b)     The NZ Dollar Amount that corresponds to the Pa’anga Amount specified by the Customer;
as appropriate in either case.
3.5      Unless TDB agrees otherwise in particular cases, any NZ Dollar Amount of the kinds referred to in clause 3.4 above must be within New Zealand Dollar limits determined by TDB from time to time and which may apply to the amount of each APP Voucher and / or to the maximum aggregate amount of APP Vouchers that may be purchased by a Customer in any 12 month period.
3.6      If the amount advised by TDB under clause 3.4 above is satisfactory to the Customer, the Customer must confirm that by – a)     Clicking on “Accept” in the voucher details that will then be shown on the new transfer confirmation page of the website; and b)     Then immediately paying the applicable NZ Dollar Amount advised by the Customer or TDB under clause 3.4, as appropriate, in immediately available cleared New Zealand Dollar funds by on line banking to TDB’s NZ Dollar account, number  38-9018-0246931-00.
Doing so gives rise to a contract between the Customer and TDB on these Terms and Conditions, by which in return for the Customer’s payment of the NZ Dollar Amount, TDB will pay the Pa’anga Amount to the Beneficiary as set out below.
3.7       By paying the NZ Dollar Amount in that way, the Customer is taken also to acknowledge that –
a)     The New Zealand Dollars thus paid immediately become the property of TDB;
b)     While any Pa’anga Amount or NZ Dollar Amount advised by TDB to the Customer under clause 3.4 above is based on market exchange rates at the time as explained in clause 6.2 below, that amount is in either case fixed by TDB in its discretion; and
c)     The amounts thus advised by TDB are in each case also calculated net of TDB’s Commission, which is a fee charged by TDB as payment for its services.
3.8     When the Customer has paid the NZ Dollar Amount to TDB as above, TDB will then pay the Pa’anga Amount to the Beneficiary, either –
a)    Where the Customer has provided TDB with details of the Beneficiary’s bank account in Tonga, by paying the Pa’anga Amount to that bank account, which TDB will endeavour to do within one Business Day of receiving the NZ Dollar Amount from the Customer; or b)     In any other case, by informing the Beneficiary (by email where possible) that the Pa’anga Amount will be paid to them in Pa’anga cash if they go to the closest TDB Branch prior to the Voucher Expiry Date and provide proof of their identity to the satisfaction of TDB.
3.9    When TDB has paid the Pa’anga Amount to the Beneficiary in either of those ways, TDB may then (but not prior to that time) pay the NZ Dollar Amount to itself from the TDB NZ Dollar bank account mentioned above.
3.10  If for any reason TDB is not able to redeem the APP Voucher prior to the Voucher Expiry Date by paying the Pa’anga Amount to the Beneficiary in either of the above ways, then TDB –
a)       May then pay to itself a New Zealand Dollar amount representing TDB’s Commission;
b)       Must without delay also refund the Net NZ Dollar Amount to the New Zealand bank account of the Customer from which that amount was paid to TDB; and
c)       Is not responsible to the Customer in any other way.

4. Privacy and Confidentiality

4.1       TDB’s Privacy Policy can be accessed on this website http://avepaanga.co.nz/privacy-policy, and Customers are encouraged to read it. By registering as a Voucher Customer, the Customer agrees that the terms of TDB’s Privacy Policy will apply to Voucher Customers as if they were set out in full in these Terms and Conditions (apart from any parts of the Privacy Policy that are expressed to relate only to other TDB products).
4.2       TDB will keep confidential all information it holds about the Customer and will deal with it only in accordance with the Privacy Laws and TDB’s Privacy Policy, except where TDB is required or permitted to disclose that information by the AML Laws, by other laws or by these Terms and Conditions.
4.3       The Customer agrees that TDB may use the information that it holds about the Customer –
a)       For the purposes for which is it was provided by the Customer, namely to facilitate and in future improve TDB’s Ave Pa’anga Pau Voucher service to the Customer, and for that purpose TDB may disclose it to third parties where TDB considers that necessary or desirable; and
b)       To inform the Customer about other TDB products and services which TDB believes in good faith may be of interest to the Customer. 
4.4      In order for TDB to provide services to the Customer, TDB may consider it necessary for data which includes information about the Customer that is in electronic form to be held on the TDB’s behalf by providers of data storage services.  The Customer agrees that TDB may allow this data to be held by third parties in this way, but that they must keep the Customer’s information confidential.
4.5  Under New Zealand Privacy Laws, the Customer may also have the right to access and to correct any information that TDB holds about them.

5. Other Legal Matters

5.1       TDB may change these Terms and Conditions from time to time, by uploading a new set of the Terms and Conditions to its website. The changed Terms and Conditions will automatically apply to any Voucher purchased after new Terms and Conditions are uploaded in that way.
5.2       Each Voucher Contract is a contract between TDB and the Customer, and TDB’s obligations to do so are enforceable only by the Customer, but are not also enforceable by any Beneficiary.  
5.3       TDB’s liability under each Voucher Contract is limited to –
a)     Paying the Pa’anga Amount of a Voucher to the Beneficiary of that Voucher, in the manner required by these Terms and Conditions; or
b)     Where the Voucher has expired, repaying the NZ Dollar amount to the Customer, in the manner required by these Terms and Conditions, and TDB is not liable to the Customer or to any other person in any other way.
5.4       If the Customer does not comply with any of their obligations under a Voucher Contract, these Terms and Conditions or any relevant law and TDB suffers loss as a result, the Customer must indemnify TDB against any such loss.
5.5       TDB is registered in New Zealand on the Financial Service Providers Register and as an “overseas company” under the Companies Act 1993 of New Zealand. However while TDB is a bank licensed in Tonga under the Financial Institutions Act 2004 of the Kingdom of Tonga, TDB is not a registered bank in New Zealand and is not subject to supervision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989.      
5.6       If the Customer has any complaint or asserts any other claim against TDB -
a)     The Customer may Initially complain to TDB:                              
i.         By calling TDB’s 24 hour helpline on +676 24465; or                            
ii.         By email to TDB’s New Zealand representative in New Zealand at nzrep@tdb.to.                           
iii.         By email to TDB at complaints@tdb.to,  or in writing  to TDB’s address as given at that time on the “Contact Us” page of this website http://avepaanga.co.nz/contact-us; or
b)     If that does not result in the complaint being resolved, the Customer may then complain to the dispute resolution service to which TDB belongs pursuant to the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 of New Zealand, namely the Financial Dispute Resolution Service operated by Fairway Resolution Limited, whose website is at www.fairwayresolution.com.)
5.7       Each Voucher Contract is governed by Tongan law. If any issues between TDB and a Customer are not resolved in the ways envisaged by clause 5.6, the courts of Tonga will accordingly have jurisdiction in respect of each Voucher Contract.

6. Definitions

6.1      1.1       In these Terms and Conditions the defined terms shown bold below have the meanings stated after them:
AML Laws refers to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 of New Zealand, the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act 2000 of the Kingdom of Tonga, and in each case also includes legislation of the kind referred to in clause 6.2;
Ave Pa’anga Pau Voucher and APP Voucher each refer to a promise by TDB to pay a Pa’anga Amount to a Beneficiary in return for New Zealand dollars paid to TDB by a Customer;
Beneficiary means the person specified by a Customer as being the person in Tonga to whom the Customer wants the relevant amount of Pa’anga to be paid;
Business Day means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or any day that is a public holiday in the Kingdom of Tonga, and which is also a day on which banks in Tonga are open for normal banking business;
Customer means an individual person who purchases an Ave Pa’anga Pau Voucher from TDB;
Net NZ Dollar Amount means an amount in New Zealand Dollars which is equivalent to the New Zealand Dollar Amount paid by a Customer, less TDB’s commission;
New Zealand Dollar means the currency of New Zealand; NZ Dollar Amount refers to the New Zealand Dollars paid by a Customer under clause 3.6;
Pa’anga means the currency of the Kingdom of Tonga;
Pa’anga Amount means the amount in Pa’anga which TDB advises to the Customer under clause 3.4, and which the Customer accepts under clause 3.6;
Privacy Laws refers to the Privacy Act 1993 of New Zealand and to any corresponding laws of the Kingdom of Tonga, and in each case also includes legislation of the kind referred to in clause 6.2;
TDB means Tonga Development Bank, a statutory corporation governed by the Tonga Development Bank Act 2014 of the Kingdom of Tonga;
TDB’s Commission is an amount equivalent to 6% of the New Zealand Dollar Amount paid by a Customer. This assumes the use of exchange rates as explained in clause 6.2 below. Use of differently sourced exchange rates could produce deviations above or below 6%;
Terms and Conditions refers to the Terms and Conditions in this document, as they may be changed (under clause 5.1) and be in force from time to time;
Voucher Contract refers to each contract for an APP Voucher between TDB and a Customer that is formed pursuant to these Terms and Conditions;
Voucher Expiry Date means the day 30 days after the Customer pays the NZ Dollar Amount to TDB.
6.2       In advising a Pa’anga Amount or an NZ Dollar Amount pursuant to clause 3.4 of these Terms and Conditions, and thus also in determining TDB’s Commission, TDB uses market exchange rates. As at the date of these Terms and Conditions TDB applies a New Zealand Dollar / Pa’anga cross rate which is derived from – a)       a New Zealand Dollar / United States Dollar exchange rate sourced in real time from www.xignite.com/product/forex; and b)       the Pa’anga / United States Dollar exchange rate published daily by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga.
6.3       Reference in these Terms and Conditions to any legislation, whether of New Zealand or of the Kingdom of Tonga, includes- a)      Any legislation of either country which amends or replaces that legislation; and
b)      All regulations, Codes of Practice or other similar Governmental actions that are at the relevant time in force in the relevant country under any such legislation. 
6.4       Reference to a numbered “clause” is to that clause of these Terms and Conditions.
6.5      In these Terms and Conditions any singular word also includes the plural of that word, and vice versa.

Effective Date of Adoption of these Terms and Conditions by TDB: The 14th day of February 2017

Start Benefiting Now

Register online and start sending money to Tonga.