Merchant Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction

These Merchant Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern the relationship between AppEatByte Ltd ("AppEatByte", "we", "us", or "our") and any restaurant, food business, or other food and beverage operator ("Merchant", "you") that registers to use the AppEatByte platform ("Platform").

By completing the merchant registration process, accessing the Merchant Portal, or using any AppEatByte services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

These Terms form a legally binding agreement between AppEatByte Ltd (registered in England and Wales) and the Merchant.

2. Definitions

In these Terms, the following words have the meanings set out below:

• "Merchant Portal" means the owner-facing application and web dashboard provided by AppEatByte for managing listings, orders, and account settings.
• "Customer App" means the AppEatByte consumer-facing mobile application through which end-users discover and place orders.
• "Services" means all products and services offered by AppEatByte to Merchants, including Discover listing, Signature experience, and Bespoke integrations.
• "Listing" means the Merchant's profile, menu, and associated content published on the Platform.
• "Order" means a request placed by a Customer for goods from a Merchant via the Platform.
• "Subscription Plan" means the pricing tier selected by the Merchant (Discover, Signature, or Bespoke).
• "Fee Schedule" means the document setting out the Merchant's fees, which AppEatByte provides to the Merchant before they join and which forms part of these Terms.

3. Eligibility

To use the AppEatByte Platform as a Merchant you must:

• be a registered business (sole trader, partnership, limited company, or equivalent) operating lawfully in the United Kingdom;
• hold all licences required to prepare and sell food and/or beverages, including a food business registration with your local authority under the Food Safety Act 1990;
• hold a food hygiene rating issued by your local authority, or be awaiting your first inspection;
• be authorised to enter into binding agreements on behalf of the business; and
• not be subject to any prohibition or restriction that would prevent you from using the Platform.

AppEatByte reserves the right to verify your eligibility at any time and to suspend or terminate your account if eligibility requirements are not met.

4. Merchant Account

To access the Platform you must create a Merchant account. You agree to:

• provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration;
• keep your account credentials secure and not share them with unauthorised third parties;
• notify AppEatByte immediately at partners@appeatbyte.com if you suspect unauthorised access to your account; and
• maintain accurate and up-to-date account information at all times.

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. AppEatByte is not liable for any loss arising from unauthorised use of your account where you have failed to take reasonable steps to keep your credentials secure.

5. Platform Access & Permitted Use

Subject to these Terms, AppEatByte grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the Platform solely for the purpose of operating your Listing and managing Orders.

You must not:

• use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of applicable laws or regulations;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform or its related systems;
• use automated tools, scrapers, or bots to access Platform data without prior written consent;
• reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any Platform software;
• sub-license, sell, or otherwise transfer your access rights to a third party; or
• take any action that could damage, disable, or impair the performance of the Platform.

AppEatByte may update, modify, or discontinue features of the Platform at any time and will endeavour to provide reasonable notice of material changes.

6. Fees & Payment Terms

AppEatByte's fee structure is transparent and designed to be fair to Merchants:

• Discover Plan: No setup fee, no monthly subscription, and zero commission on orders. Each online Order carries a card processing fee, which is a percentage of the amount the Customer pays, and a fixed admin fee. For UK personal cards and Revolut Pay these are 2.5% plus £0.50. Other payment methods, including business and commercial cards, cards issued outside the UK, and Klarna where you choose to offer it, are charged at the rates in your Fee Schedule. Apple Pay, Google Pay and other card wallets are charged at the rate for the card behind them. The card type is identified by our payment provider at the time of payment. If you add a web service charge under clause 8, the fees on your Orders are as set out in your Fee Schedule. Volume discounts are available, agreed with each Merchant individually and confirmed in writing. Revenue-share arrangements, if any, will be communicated explicitly and agreed in writing.
• Signature Plan: We design and build a website and apps for your business that run on the Platform under your own name. A one-time build fee and a monthly subscription fee apply, as set out in your Order Form. The build fee is payable in full before design work starts and is non-refundable once work has started, unless we fail to deliver the build. No commission is charged on orders. If you take payments through AppEatByte, each online Order also carries the card processing fee and admin fee set out in your Fee Schedule. Your apps are published on the Apple App Store and Google Play under your own developer accounts: you are responsible for opening those accounts and paying their fees, and you authorise us to publish and update the apps on your behalf. Any hardware you choose is quoted in your Order Form, paid for in advance, and belongs to you once paid for.
• Bespoke Plan: Pricing, what we build, who owns it, where it is hosted and how it is supported are agreed individually in a separate Order Form. The Order Form supplements these Terms and prevails if they conflict on any of those points.

Optional features you switch on in the Merchant Portal may carry a charge, which is shown to you before you switch them on.

All fees are stated exclusive of VAT unless otherwise specified. On the Discover Plan, the card processing fee and admin fee are deducted automatically from each payment before it is paid out to you, and a monthly invoice is issued as a record of the fees taken. Invoices and credit notes are issued electronically: each one is made available in the Merchant Portal, and we let you know when it is ready. You agree to receive them this way, and you should keep a copy for your records. Subscription fees are invoiced monthly in advance and payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date. Overdue amounts accrue interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

Payouts: Money from your Orders is paid out automatically to your nominated bank account on a schedule agreed with you. Where available for your account, you may also request an Instant Payout at any time. Instant Payouts usually arrive within 30 minutes, including at weekends and on bank holidays, and carry the fee set out in your Fee Schedule. The fee is shown before you confirm, is deducted from your balance when the Instant Payout is made, and appears on your monthly invoice. Instant Payouts are optional, are subject to the eligibility rules and limits of our payment provider, and need a bank account or debit card that supports them. We may withdraw Instant Payouts from an account to manage refund, dispute or fraud risk.

Refunds, chargebacks and amounts you owe: If a payment for one of your Orders is refunded (by you, by AppEatByte under clause 9, or by our payment provider), disputed, or charged back by the Customer's card issuer, you are responsible for the full amount of that payment and for any dispute fee our payment provider charges. The card processing fee and admin fee on that Order remain payable. AppEatByte may recover any amount you owe under these Terms by deducting it from money due to you, by debiting your payout balance, or by invoicing you, with payment due within 14 days. Where we reasonably believe there is a high risk of refunds, chargebacks or fraud, including after termination, we may delay payouts or hold back a reasonable amount for up to 120 days after the relevant Order.

Payment processing: Payment processing for Merchants is provided by Stripe and is subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service (together, the "Stripe Services Agreement"). By agreeing to these Terms or continuing to operate as a Merchant, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Services Agreement, as Stripe may modify it from time to time, and you authorise AppEatByte to share information about you and your transactions with Stripe. If your payments run through your own Stripe account rather than one set up through AppEatByte, the Payouts paragraph above does not apply, and payouts and Stripe's own fees are between you and Stripe.

Your own payment provider (Signature Plan): On the Signature Plan you may instead take payments through a payment provider of your choice that we agree to integrate, as set out in your Order Form. Payments taken that way are governed by your own agreement with that provider: the Payouts, refunds and payment processing paragraphs above apply only to payments taken through AppEatByte, and the provider's fees, payouts, refunds, disputes and chargebacks are between you and the provider. AppEatByte is not responsible for the provider's service, and you must keep your provider account in good standing.

AppEatByte reserves the right to revise the Fee Schedule on 30 days' written notice. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any fee change constitutes acceptance of the new fees.

7. Merchant Obligations

As a Merchant on the Platform you are responsible for:

• maintaining all required food hygiene, safety, and trading standards throughout your use of the Platform;
• ensuring all menu items and ingredients are accurately described and that allergen information is complete and correct;
• fulfilling Orders placed by Customers promptly and to the quality standard represented in your Listing;
• handling customer complaints, refunds, and disputes in a fair and timely manner;
• complying with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and all applicable consumer protection legislation;
• notifying AppEatByte of any change to your business details, food safety rating, or operating status within 5 business days;
• if you sell alcohol, holding a premises licence that covers the sales you make through the Platform (including sales for delivery), selling it only within your licensed hours, following your age verification policy (for example, Challenge 25) on delivery, on collection and at the table, and refusing to hand over alcohol where the person cannot show they are 18 or over or appears to be drunk;
• holding public and products liability insurance suitable for your business (we recommend at least £1 million of cover) and showing us evidence of it if we ask; and
• ensuring all staff involved in Order preparation and fulfilment are appropriately trained.

8. Menu, Content & Listings

You are solely responsible for the accuracy and legality of all content you submit to the Platform, including menu items, descriptions, photographs, pricing, and allergen information.

By submitting content you grant AppEatByte a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to display and reproduce that content on the Platform and in associated marketing materials for the purposes of operating and promoting the Services.

You must not submit content that:

• is false, misleading, or likely to deceive Customers;
• infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party;
• contains offensive, defamatory, or discriminatory material; or
• advertises products that you are not authorised to sell.

AppEatByte may review, edit, or remove any content that breaches these requirements and will notify you where reasonably practicable.

Prices listed on the Platform must be identical to the prices displayed on your in-store menu. You must not charge Customers a higher price via the Platform than the price shown for the same item on your physical or in-venue menu. We ask for this so Customers can trust that ordering through AppEatByte never costs more than ordering in your store. AppEatByte reserves the right to suspend or remove your Listing if a discrepancy between Platform prices and in-store menu prices is identified.

Pricing displayed on the Platform must match the prices charged to Customers. You must not add any charge to an Order outside the Platform, and apart from a web service charge under this clause, you must not surcharge Customers for using the Platform.

Web service charge: You may choose to add one fixed service charge to Orders placed on the web, including on your own branded store website. Orders placed in the Customer App never carry a service charge. The amount is set up for your account with AppEatByte, is shown to the Customer before they pay, and is paid to you as part of the Order. You are responsible for making sure the charge complies with consumer protection law.

Listing order: The Platform shows Listings within a set distance of the Customer's location. Depending on the screen, Listings are ordered by distance from the Customer (nearest first), with Listings that are open and accepting Orders shown first, or at random so that every nearby Listing has a fair chance to be seen. We do not accept payment for a higher position. Listing suppression under clause 9 can lower or remove a Listing. If we change these main factors, we will update this clause.

9. Orders & Fulfilment

When a Customer places an Order through the Platform, a contract for the sale of goods is formed directly between you and the Customer. AppEatByte acts as a technology facilitator and is not a party to that contract.

You appoint AppEatByte as your limited agent to accept payments from Customers for your Orders. When a Customer pays for an Order through the Platform, their obligation to pay you for that Order is discharged, even if the money has not yet been paid out to you.

You must:

• accept or reject each Order promptly and in any event within the Acceptance Window described below;
• prepare and fulfil accepted Orders to the standard and within the estimated time communicated to the Customer;
• keep your availability and opening hours accurate and up to date on the Platform; and
• process refunds in accordance with your obligations under consumer protection legislation where an Order cannot be fulfilled or does not meet the described standard.

Acceptance Window: Each Order must be accepted or rejected in the Merchant Portal within 5 minutes of the Customer's payment being confirmed, or such other period as AppEatByte notifies to you in writing (the "Acceptance Window"). The time remaining is shown on each Order in the Merchant Portal. If an Order is neither accepted nor rejected within the Acceptance Window, it is automatically rejected and the Customer's payment is released; the Customer is not charged. You are responsible for keeping the Merchant Portal open and monitored, on a device with a working internet connection and audible alerts, whenever your Listing is accepting Orders.

Rejected Orders: The Customer's payment is authorised when they place an Order and is only taken when you accept it. Where you reject an Order, or an Order is automatically rejected at the end of the Acceptance Window, the authorisation is released and the Customer is not charged. No card processing fee or admin fee is payable on a rejected or lapsed Order. Repeatedly rejecting Orders, or allowing them to lapse, may result in Listing suppression or account review.

Automatic pause: If a number of Orders in a row (currently three) lapse at the end of the Acceptance Window, AppEatByte may automatically switch your Listing off so that Customers are not left waiting. We will tell you when this happens and why, and you can switch your Listing back on in the Merchant Portal.

AppEatByte may display Order acceptance rates, fulfilment scores, and Customer ratings publicly on the Platform. Persistently low ratings or high cancellation rates may result in Listing suppression or account review.

AppEatByte-Initiated Refunds: Where a Customer raises a complaint and AppEatByte, acting reasonably, determines that it is necessary to intervene to resolve the dispute, AppEatByte reserves the right to issue a full or partial refund to the Customer without requiring your prior consent. In such cases:

• the refund amount will be debited from any funds owed to you or invoiced to you accordingly;
• the card processing fee, admin fee, any subscription fees, and any other transaction-related charges applicable to the Order remain payable in full and will not be refunded or waived — you remain liable for those fees regardless of whether the Customer receives a refund; and
• AppEatByte will notify you of any such refund decision as soon as reasonably practicable, together with the reason for the intervention.

AppEatByte will exercise this right reasonably and only where it considers intervention necessary to protect the Customer or the integrity of the Platform. Repeated instances of AppEatByte-initiated refunds may result in Listing suppression or account review.

10. Promotions & Offers

You may create and manage promotional offers via the Merchant Portal, subject to the following conditions:

• all promotions must comply with the CAP Code and applicable advertising standards;
• discount values and eligibility criteria must be accurately stated;
• free item rewards and spin-to-win prizes you set up are funded by you, and AppEatByte decides how they work, including the chance of winning;
• you are solely responsible for the commercial cost of any discount or promotional offer you create; and
• AppEatByte reserves the right to decline to display a promotion that it considers misleading or contrary to Platform policies.

11. Data Protection & Privacy

Each party shall comply with its respective obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

AppEatByte is the data controller for Customer personal data collected and processed through the Platform — whether via the AppEatByte Customer App or your own branded store website — up to the point an Order is transmitted to you. AppEatByte shares with you only the data necessary to fulfil that specific Order (for example, the Customer's name, delivery or collection details, contact phone number, and Order contents). You do not have, and must not seek to build, your own database or list of Platform Customers.

From the point you receive an Order, you act as an independent data controller solely in respect of that Order's data, and solely for the purposes of preparing and fulfilling the Order and complying with your own legal record-keeping obligations (for example, tax and accounting records). You must not use Customer personal data for any other purpose — including compiling or retaining it in your own customer database or mailing list, marketing, or any purpose unrelated to fulfilling that specific Order — and must not retain it for longer than is necessary for those purposes.

You must notify AppEatByte without undue delay if you become aware of any loss, unauthorised access, or misuse of Customer personal data you have received.

Where you process personal data for your own business operations independently of the Platform and unrelated to any Order (for example, a loyalty programme you operate entirely outside the Platform using data you collect yourself), you are solely responsible, as data controller, for compliance with applicable data protection law in relation to that processing.

Indemnity: You agree to indemnify and hold AppEatByte harmless against all liabilities, fines, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with any breach by you of applicable data protection law in your capacity as an independent data controller, including any unlawful processing, unauthorised retention or use, failure to respond to a data subject request relating to data in your possession, or building your own customer database contrary to this clause.

12. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in the Platform, including but not limited to the software, design, trade marks, and documentation, are owned by or licensed to AppEatByte. Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership rights to you, unless a Bespoke Plan Order Form says otherwise.

You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights in the content you submit to the Platform (for example, your menu photography and brand assets). The licence granted to AppEatByte in clause 8 is limited to operating and promoting the Services and terminates on the expiry or termination of your account.

Signature Plan websites and apps: The websites and apps we build for you run on the Platform. The software, code, templates and designs we create for them remain AppEatByte's intellectual property, and you may use them while your subscription is active. Your domain name, logo, menu content, photography and other materials you supply remain yours. When your subscription ends, your website and apps stop working: the apps are removed from the app stores, and we will help you point your domain elsewhere.

You must not reproduce, copy, or use AppEatByte's trade marks, logos, or brand assets without prior written consent.

13. Limitation of Liability

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law. Nothing in this clause limits AppEatByte's obligation to pay out money collected for your Orders that is due to you under these Terms.

Subject to the above, AppEatByte's total aggregate liability to you under or in connection with these Terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall not exceed the greater of:

• the total fees paid by you to AppEatByte in the three months immediately preceding the claim; or
• £500.

AppEatByte shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or special loss, including loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of data, or loss of goodwill, even if advised of the possibility of such loss.

AppEatByte does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free, but will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability.

AppEatByte is a technology provider only and has no responsibility whatsoever for the preparation, quality, safety, or legality of any food or drink you sell through the Platform, including allergen information and food hygiene compliance; responsibility for those matters rests solely with you as the Merchant. AppEatByte accepts no liability for any claim, loss, or damage arising from the food or drink you supply, whether brought by a Customer or any third party.

Your indemnity: You will indemnify AppEatByte against all claims, losses, fines, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) the food and drink you supply, including allergen information and food safety; (b) content you submit to the Platform, including any claim that it infringes a third party's rights; and (c) your breach of consumer protection or licensing law. AppEatByte will tell you promptly about any claim, let you take part in its defence, and not settle it without consulting you.

14. Term & Termination

These Terms commence on the date you complete merchant registration and continue until terminated by either party.

Termination by you: You may terminate these Terms at any time by switching off your Listing and emailing partners@appeatbyte.com. On the Signature Plan or a Bespoke Plan, 30 days' written notice applies unless your Order Form says otherwise, and subscription fees remain due for the notice period.

Termination by AppEatByte: We may terminate these Terms for any reason by giving you 30 days' written notice with our reasons. We may suspend or restrict your Listing immediately, telling you why at the time, and may terminate these Terms immediately, with our reasons, if:

• you materially breach these Terms and have not remedied the breach within 14 days of our written notice, or you breach these Terms repeatedly;
• you become insolvent, enter administration, or are subject to a winding-up order;
• your food hygiene rating falls below 3, or your food business registration is suspended or withdrawn;
• the law, a regulator, or our payment provider requires it; or
• we reasonably believe that continued access poses a serious risk of harm to Customers or of fraud.

You can ask us to review any suspension or termination by emailing partners@appeatbyte.com.

On termination, your Listing will be removed from the Platform and your access to the Merchant Portal will cease. Any accrued but unpaid fees remain payable. Clauses 6, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 17 continue to apply after termination, including to Orders placed before it.

15. Amendments

AppEatByte may amend these Terms from time to time. We will provide at least 30 days' written notice of material changes by email to the address registered to your account.

If you do not agree to the amended Terms, you may terminate your account before the effective date of the change. Continued use of the Platform after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Minor amendments that do not materially affect your rights (such as typographical corrections or clarifications) may be made without notice.

16. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

The parties agree to attempt to resolve any dispute informally in the first instance by contacting partners@appeatbyte.com. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally within 30 days, either party may refer the matter to the courts of England and Wales, to whose exclusive jurisdiction both parties submit.

17. General

Confidentiality: Your Fee Schedule, and any rates or terms we agree with you individually, are confidential. You must not share them with anyone except your professional advisers, or where the law requires it.

Transfer: AppEatByte may transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation, including as part of a sale or reorganisation of our business, and will tell you in writing if this happens. You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our written consent.

Events outside our control: Neither party is liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations caused by events outside its reasonable control, including failures of internet, hosting or payment provider services, as long as it takes reasonable steps to limit the effect. This does not affect your obligation to pay amounts you owe.

Entire agreement: These Terms, your Fee Schedule, and any Order Form or written agreement referred to in them form the whole agreement between you and AppEatByte about their subject matter. Nothing in this clause limits liability for fraud.

Relationship: Except where clause 9 appoints AppEatByte as your limited agent to accept payments, nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture or agency between you and AppEatByte.

Notices: We will send notices to the email address registered to your account. You should send notices to partners@appeatbyte.com.

Other terms: If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. If we do not enforce a right straight away, we can still enforce it later. No one other than you and AppEatByte has any right to enforce these Terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

18. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

These Terms were last reviewed and updated on 31 October 2026. They supersede all previous versions of the Merchant Terms and Conditions.