Terms & Conditions

Service for accessing the Central Information Registry (CIR)

The services of limited access to the CIR database are provided through First Cyprus Credit Bureau LTD (hereinafter called FCCB) and are governed by the following terms and conditions. The below terms and conditions have been approved by the Managing Committee (MC) of the CIR.

FCCB manages the webpage located at www.fccb.com.cy through which any subscriber has the ability to gain limited access the data of the CIR which are updated on a daily basis from the information received from the Central Bank of Cyprus.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USAGE OF THE SERVICE OF PROVISION OF LIMITED ACCESS TO THE CENTRAL INFORMATION REGISTRY FOR THE ISSUERS OF DISHOUNOURED CHEQUES.

DEFINITIONS

«CIR» is the Central Information Registry for Issuers of Dishounoured Cheques of the Central Bank

«FCCB» is the company First Cyprus Credit Bureau LTD

«CBC» is the Central Bank of Cyprus

«MC» is the Management Committee of the CIR

«Subscriber» is the legal or physical entity that applies for provision of access to the CIR through the FCCB system and signs this agreement

«User» is the person that has access to the CIR database

The below conditions may be modified following instructions from the Central Bank. If they are modified, the new terms will be communicated to you via email.

Terms and Conditions

1. Conditions for granting access

Subject to these terms and conditions and without prejudice to the agreement between the Central Bank of Cyprus and FCCB, FCCB allows access to CIR database through its webpage solely for the subscriber’s individual use and for evaluating the possibility of having a financial transaction with another natural or legal person that can include the acceptance of cheques as means of payment.

1.1. Following approval from the CIR MC for access to the Central Information Register, the subscriber will become a user and FCCB will provide access codes to all of the designated users of the subscriber. The subscriber is bound by this agreement to ensure that access codes are not disclosed, for whatever reason, to any other third party, and agrees that all of the designated users of the database which have access to the Database are bound by the same agreement. The subscriber remains responsible for informing the MC through FCCB of all users who will have access to the CIR, during the registration process, and providing with immediate update in case any change to the designated users may arise. The subscriber also agrees to compensate FCCB for all damages which may arise in the case of any misuse of the webpage or the information included in the CIR database.

1.2. The subscriber has the capability to access the Database via the internet through the webpage or through API, or both.

1.3. All applications for accessing the CIR will be received by FCCB and transmitted to the MC of the CIR for review.

1.4. All applications will be reviewed and approved by the MC of the CIR. The CBC/MC has the discretionary right not to approve an application, or cease the provision of access to the database in general or to a specific user.

1.5. The subscriber agrees that the limited access to the database will be in according to the current and future terms and conditions of the MC as they may change over time.

2. 2. This agreement comes into effect upon the approval of provision of access by the MC of the CIR and the receipt by the designated users of the access codes to the system of FCCB. This process will be initiated as soon as the subscriber accepts the online terms and conditions by selecting to click on the ‘I Accept’ icon during the registration process.

2.1. The same process will apply in case the acceptance of the terms and conditions comes through a facsimile (fax).

3. Cost of access

Every user has the right to search in the database of the CIR through the FCCB system subject to payment of the fees applicable during access. The database is updated on a daily basis by information sent by the CBC to FCCB

The fees will be calculated and invoiced based on monthly usage. The user can prepay an amount for usage as an available initial balance, which will be renewed with written approval by the user.

FCCB, following approval from the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, can alter the subscription fee whilst first having informed the subscriber accordingly

4. Searches in the database

4.1 For a user to perform a search in the database, certain details of the issuer of a cheque, or the entity with which they are evaluating the possibility of having a financial transaction with, must be typed into the system and more specifically:

(a) If the search will be conducted on an individual, the individual’s Identity Card (ID) number must be typed to perform the search. In the case the individual is not a holder of a Cypriot ID, or in the case where the individual is a foreigner, a search can be conducted by typing the passport number and the country of issue. In any of the above cases and for any search to be conducted on an individual, the subscriber must obtain explicit written consent of the individual to use the aforementioned personal information for the purposes of conducting a search in the CIR.

(b) If the search will be conducted on a legal entity, the registration number of the company must be typed in order to perform the search.

4.2 The subscriber is responsible to ensure the necessary data are available to them in order to perform a search as outlined in 4.1 above, as well as the explicit consent of the physical person of whom the aforementioned personal information will be used for the purposes of conducting the search in the CIR. The subscriber is obligated to maintain this consent and be able to demonstrate that this consent has been obtained in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 27th of April 2016. Additionally, the subscriber must provide such consent to FCCB or the Central Bank whenever requested.

4.3 The CBC, the MC of the CIR and FCCB will not be responsible for any damages which may occur as a result erroneous information in the Database.

4.4 The CBC, the MC of the CIR and FCCB will not be responsible for any damages which may occur as a result of the malfunctioning of their systems.

4.5 4.5. It is stressed that in the case where a search results as “not listed in the CIR”, it does not imply in any way the payment or not of a specific cheque to the recipient.

5. Termination

FCCB is obligated by its agreement with the CBC to terminate the provision of access to the CIR in case the CBC using its discretionary right requests from FCCB to terminate any access to the database.

5.1 In case the subscriber fails to adhere to the terms and conditions of the agreement, FCCB has the right to immediately terminate the access to the CBC, without prior notification of the subscriber, after the approval of the MC.

6. Subscribers’ Obligations.

The subscriber agrees’ to the right of the MC/CBC to contact those individuals whose personal details have been used to search in the CIR database, in order to confirm that explicit consent has been taken during the investigation process. This contact can be established when the MC/CBC deems this to be necessary.

6.1 The subscriber, his employees and/or representatives cannot copy any data from the CIR Database, nor connect the Database to any other external database, or make use of the Database and its data for any other purpose.

6.2 The subscriber, his employees and/or representatives must ensure that information retrieved from the database is kept confidential according the relevant legal provisions outlined by the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, as well as all other relevant directives regarding the processing of personal data.

6.3 The subscriber, his employees and/or representatives are required to ensure the confidentiality of the information they receive as well as the application of all of the provisions of the legislation regarding the processing of personal data and any other legal provision to be applied by the concerned party.

7. Force majeure

FCCB is responsible for the provision of fast, safe, and reliable access to the database for the subscribers, except in the case of the occurrence of force majeure or any other events which are beyond FCCB’s control.

8. Confidentiality of Subscriber information

8.1 As per paragraph 9.2 below, subscriber information must be kept confidential by FCCB, except when approval is given by the Subscriber or as per the relevant Law or as per the terms in this agreement.

8.2 Information given by the subscriber when filling out the subscription request form will be kept by FCCB, and with the consent of the subscriber this information can be used by FCCB for building subscriber awareness of new products and services of the Group to which FCCB belongs to. With the consent of the subscriber this information can be used for the above purposes in compliance with any law concerning Personal Data Protection (as this might be amended or replaced from time to time).

9. No Assignment

This agreement, as well as its terms and conditions, cannot be assigned to any third party. Any such assignment will result in the agreement being legally void.

10. If any of the terms and conditions is inconsistent with the terms and conditions that will be published on the website of FCCB following the approval of the MC/ CBC, the terms and conditions published on the website prevail.