This Agreement applies to the VISA and/or MasterCard credit Card and Credit Devices issued to you by TIB The Independent BankersBank, N.A., Georgia Branch, although the name on your Card may be that of a different financial institution. Any Card or Credit Device issued to you by us remains our property and must be returned to us or to anyone we designate, upon request. Retaining, signing or using, or permitting others to use, the Card or Credit Device shall constitute the equivalent of signing this Agreement and such retaining, signing or using means you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement. The Application you submitted for the Account is hereby incorporated into and made a part of this Agreement. This Agreement begins on the earlier of (i) the date you sign or otherwise submit an Application that is approved by us or (ii) the first date you or someone authorized by you uses the Account in a transaction that we approve (in NY, the first date you or someone authorized by you signs a sales slip or memorandum or the first date that another document is issued to you or someone authorized by you as evidence of a transaction on the Account that we approve).
Definitions. In addition to other terms that may be defined in this Agreement, the following terms when used in this Agreement have the following definitions:
"Account" means the open-end revolving credit account established pursuant to your Application and this Agreement to which charges are posted based on use of a Card, information from a Card, Credit Device, or any other device or procedure by which the Account may be accessed in the future.
"Agreement" means this Credit Card Agreement plus the Disclosure Statement, which is contained in the same envelope as, and folded together with, this Credit Card Agreement and which provides information on the periodic rate, the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), the Interest Charge and balance on which it is determined, any Other Charges, cash advance fees, balance transfer fees, and any grace period applicable to the Account. The Disclosure Statement is incorporated herein by reference as if repeated verbatim herein. If any provision of this Credit Card Agreement is inconsistent with any provision of the Disclosure Statement, the provision of the Disclosure Statement controls.
"Application" means the application for credit you completed and returned to the Sponsoring Bank to request that we extend credit to you under the Account.
"Authorized User" means any person you permit to use the Account or who has apparent authority to use the Account.
"Card" means the VISA and/or MasterCard credit card(s) issued to you by us, and any future credit card(s) issued to you in connection with the Account. If you applied for more than one type of Card, this Agreement is a separate Agreement for each Card.
'Cash Advance' means the amount requested by you and advanced to you by any method approved by us according to the terms of this Agreement in cash or cash equivalent items (including, but not limited to, money orders, travelers checks, lottery tickets, casino chips, vouchers redeemable for cash, or racetrack wagers).
'Cash Advance Limit' means (i) ten percent (10%) of the Credit Limit for business use accounts and (ii) 50 percent (50%) of the Credit Limit for consumer use accounts.
"Credit Device" means any device such as a blank check, payee-designated check, "convenience" or "special" check, blank draft or other order, or any other device or item which may, at our discretion and pursuant to procedures we may adopt from time to time, be issued by us to you to access the Account.
"Credit Limit" means the total dollar amount of the Account which we approved and which you may borrow against according to the terms of this Agreement.
"Index" means the Prime Rate (the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks) published in the Wall Street Journal on the 25 th day of each month or the business day preceding the 25 th day if that day falls on a weekend or a holiday recognized by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Changes in the Index will take effect beginning with the first billing cycle in the month following a change in the Index. Increases or decreases in the Index will cause the APR and periodic rate to fluctuate, resulting in increased or decreased Interest Charges on the Account.
'Other Charges' means the charges listed in the section of this Agreement with such caption.
"We," "us," and "our" mean TIB The Independent BankersBank, N.A., Georgia Branch, 1550 N. Brown Road, Suite 150, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043.
"You" and "your" refer to each person who signed an application for the Account, each person who signs or uses the Card or a Credit Device, and any Authorized User.
Purchases, Cash Advances and Balance Transfers; Cash Advance Limit. You request and authorize us to extend credit to you under the Account as follows: (1) goods and services may be purchased or leased by use of the Card from any seller or vendor who honors the Card ("Purchases"); (2) "Cash Advances" may be obtained up to, but not in excess of, the Cash Advance Limit (a) when you complete a written request on a form furnished to you by us or any other financial institution we approve; (b) using the Card at any automatic teller machine which accepts the Card; or (c) using a Credit Device to pay for Purchases or, when allowed, to receive cash. (3) 'Balance Transfers' may be obtained when you complete a request. We are not responsible for any person or entity refusing to accept the Card or any Credit Device for Purchases or Cash Advances.
Promise to Pay. You promise to pay us for all Purchases made by you and for all Cash Advances and Balance Transfers received by you except as limited in this Agreement regarding your liability for unauthorized use of a Card or Credit Device. You shall be jointly and severally liable for all amounts due from you under this Agreement for Purchases, Cash Advances, Balance Transfers, Interest Charges, and Other Charges.
Special Checks. If Special Checks are issued from time to time for use with your Account, you may obtain what is deemed to be a Cash Advance under the Account by writing a check. Each Special Check must be in a form we have issued to you and must be imprinted with your name and the Account number. Special Checks may be used only by a person whose name is printed on the Check and must be completed and signed in the same way as a regular personal check. You agree not to use your Special Checks to purchase or carry securities or to pay amounts you owe us under this Agreement. We are not obligated to pay a Special Check (a) if your resulting Account balance would exceed the Credit Limit, (b) if the Check is dated more than 6 months before it was presented to us for payment, (c) if a Special Check or Card has been reported lost or stolen, (d) if you are in default under this Agreement or a loan agreement with another lender, (e) if you or we have terminated your ability to receive further credit under this Agreement, (f) if you are insolvent, or (g) if your Card has expired. The amount of each Special Check paid by us, even if we are not obligated to pay it, will be a Cash Advance. Checks paid by us will not be returned to you with your monthly billing statement, but information about them will appear on such statement. You agree you will promptly review your monthly billing statement to discover any unauthorized or altered Special Checks. You cannot put a stop-payment order on a Special Check.
Refunds and Adjustments. Any refund, adjustment, or credit allowed by any seller or other person or entity shall not be by cash but rather by a credit to the Account appearing on your monthly billing statement.
Monthly Billing Statements. Each month we will send you a monthly billing statement reflecting all Purchases, Cash Advances, Balance Transfers, Interest Charges and Other Charges pursuant to this Agreement for the prior monthly period. Such statements shall be deemed correct and accepted by you unless you notify us to the contrary in writing within 60 days of our mailing such statement to you.
Payments on the Account. Your payment under the Account must be made on or before the "Payment Due Date" reflected on your monthly billing statement. Your payment must be either the full amount billed or, at your option, an installment equal to at least the required "Minimum Payment Due" stated on the billing statement. The minimum payment will equal the "New Balance" shown on your statement if that amount is less than $25. If the New Balance exceeds $25, the minimum payment will equal the greater of 3% of the New Balance or $25, plus the entire portion of the New Balance in excess of your Credit Limit, plus any amount past due.
Payments must be made in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. Transactions in foreign currencies will be converted to U.S. dollars at the exchange rate used at the time of the conversion. The conversion may occur after the transaction date and the conversion rate may differ from the rate of exchange in effect at the time of the transaction. You agree to pay the converted amount to us in U.S. dollars, plus any charge for the conversion or processing that may be imposed.
All payments on the account must be made at the address shown on your monthly billing statement and are considered to have been made on the date received at that address. If payment is made at any location other than the designated address, credit for such payment may be delayed for up to 5 days. As allowed by law, we may accept payments marked "payment in full" (or words of similar intent) without losing any of our rights to collect the full balance due under the Account and this Agreement. We will apply your payments to the unpaid balance of the Account in the order and manner we decide, in our sole discretion.
Late Payments and Increase in Rate. If you allow your Account to become 60 days past due, we may increase your APR on all balances to a higher rate equal to the Index plus a margin of 15.99% up to a maximum of 21%. This means if you fail to at least pay your required minimum monthly payment for the periods stated above, your APR may increase; however, if your Rate is increased, your Account may become eligible for a lower APR if you make timely payments for three consecutive months.
Payment Holidays. At our option we may permit you from time to time to skip making the Minimum Payment Due for a specified billing cycle (referred to as a "payment holiday"). Even if you accept such a payment holiday, we will continue to assess Interest Charges on the unpaid balance of the Account as disclosed in the Insert. Any payment holiday we permit will not affect the terms of this Agreement. The terms of this Agreement remain in force regardless of whether you accept a payment holiday.
Credit Limit; Cash Advance Limit. You agree not to use or permit others to use the Card, information from the Card, or a Credit Device if such use would cause either (i) the balance of the Account to exceed the Credit Limit we set from time to time or (ii) the balance of the outstanding Cash Advances to exceed the Cash Advance Limit applicable to such Credit Limit. The initial Credit Limit for the Account is shown on the material accompanying the Card before the Account is used and will also be disclosed on each monthly billing statement for the Account. We may, at our option, extend credit under the Account which exceeds the Credit Limit or the Cash Advance Limit. If we do, you agree to immediately pay the excess which we advanced to you over either of the applicable limits. We are not obligated to allow any Purchase, Cash Advance or Balance Transfer which will exceed your Credit Limit or Cash Advance Limit, and if we do, we are not obligated to do so at a later time. You agree we may change your Credit Limit (which will automatically also change your Cash Advance Limit) or cancel the Account if you exceed the Credit Limit or the Cash Advance Limit.
Transactions Made in Foreign Currencies. If a transaction is made in a foreign currency, we and MasterCard International or VISA International, depending on which card is used, will convert the transaction into a U.S. dollar amount. MasterCard and VISA will act in accordance with their operating regulations or conversion procedures in effect at the time the transaction is processed. Currently, their regulations and procedures provide that the currency conversion rate they use, to determine the transaction amount in U.S. dollar, is either (a) a wholesale market rate, or (b) a government-mandated rate in effect one day prior to the processing date. MasterCard and VISA increase this conversion rate by one percent (1%) and keep this increase as compensation for performing the currency conversion service. We will charge you two percent (2%) of the U.S. dollar amount of the transaction converted from a foreign currency. The currency conversion rate calculated in this manner that is in effect on the processing date may differ from the rate in effect on the transaction date or posting date.
Other Charges. You agree we may assess, in addition to the Interest Charge, the Other Charges below which charges will be earned when assessed and are not subject to refund or rebate. The following fees may be added, as applicable, to the Account and treated as a Purchase as indicated on the Insert:
Annual Fee. A non-refundable annual membership fee may be charged to the Account during the month following issuance or re-issuance of the Card and will be posted annually on the anniversary date of the opening of the Account. The annual membership fee is not refundable even if the Account is closed for any reason by either you or us, and the fee is a condition of maintaining the Account whether or not you use the Account by making Purchases or receiving Cash Advances.
Late Fee. If the minimum required payment is not received by the Payment Due Date for that billing cycle, we may assess a $25 late charge on the Account.
Returned Payment Fee. We will charge you $25 for each return by a bank or other depository institution of a dishonored check, negotiable order of withdrawal or share draft issued by you to us in connection with the Account. This fee will be in addition to all other Interest Charges and Other Charges we may collect from you and is not subject to refund or rebate.
Cash Advance Fee. If you request a Cash Advance, in addition to the Interest Charge which will accrue on the Cash Advance, you agree to pay a fee of three percent (3%) of the amount of the Cash Advance subject to a minimum fee of $10.00.
