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 Marketplace listing, Branded 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 (Marketplace, Branded, or Bespoke).

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;
• have a valid food hygiene rating issued by your local authority;
• 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:

• Marketplace Plan: No setup fee, no monthly subscription, and zero commission on orders. Revenue-share arrangements, if any, will be communicated explicitly and agreed in writing.
• Branded Plan: A monthly subscription fee (currently £50/month + VAT) provides access to a white-label experience. No commission is charged on orders.
• Bespoke Plan: Pricing is agreed individually in a separate Order Form. The Order Form supplements these Terms and prevails in the event of conflict regarding fees.

All fees are stated exclusive of VAT unless otherwise specified. Invoices are issued 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.

AppEatByte reserves the right to revise its 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; 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. 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 surcharge Customers for using the Platform.

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 must:

• accept or reject each Order promptly and in any event within the time window specified in the Merchant Portal;
• 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.

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;
• all platform fees, subscription fees, and any 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;
• 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 processes personal data relating to your account and business in accordance with its Privacy Policy. You acknowledge that AppEatByte will share Order-related Customer data with you solely to the extent necessary for Order fulfilment. You must not use Customer personal data for any purpose other than fulfilling the relevant Order.

Where you process personal data as a data controller in connection with your own business operations (for example, a loyalty programme operated independently of the Platform), you are solely responsible for compliance with applicable data protection law.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 your account at any time by providing 30 days' written notice to partners@appeatbyte.com. Monthly subscription fees remain due for the notice period.

Termination by AppEatByte: We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without notice, if:

• you materially breach these Terms and the breach is not remedied within 14 days of written notice;
• you become insolvent, enter administration, or are subject to a winding-up order;
• your food hygiene rating falls below an acceptable level; or
• we reasonably believe that continued access poses a risk to Customers, the Platform, or our reputation.

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.

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. Contact

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

These Terms were last reviewed and updated on 5 July 2026. They supersede all previous versions of the Merchant Terms and Conditions.