Picwave | Payment Policy | v1.0 | Effective 8 October 2026

1. Scope & purpose

1.1 This Payment Policy governs payments made to WERVIX LTD trading as Picwave on pic-wave.com for catalogue image downloads and prepaid credits for AI image generation. It explains what constitutes an Order, accepted methods, checkout security, payment errors, refunds and escalation of disputes.

1.2 This policy is read together with the Terms & Conditions, Refund Policy, Cancellation Policy and Digital Product Fulfilment Policy. Where any operational checkout rule is inconsistent with non-excludable cardholder or consumer rights, applicable law and scheme protections take precedence.

1.3 A customer agrees to pay only the final amount presented and accepted at checkout. Browsing product images, entering a prompt or opening an Account does not create an obligation to pay unless the customer submits an authorised chargeable Order.

2. Nature of transactions

2.1 Current purchases are individual, one-off payment transactions. A customer may buy a selected Digital Image for electronic delivery or a pack of account-bound Generation Credits; those credits are consumed by subsequent completed image-generation requests in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.

2.2 A credit does not accrue interest, represent cash, create a claim to repayment on demand or function as e-money. Credits are use entitlements in the Picwave Service. There are no recurring subscriptions, periodic membership instalments or default auto-top-ups under this model.

2.3 Any future recurring product would require its own prominent billing frequency, amount, renewal and cancellation terms and an affirmative checkout choice before charges begin. Existing one-off purchases are not silently converted into subscriptions.

3. Accepted payment methods

3.1 The payment methods actually available to a purchaser are those displayed in the secure checkout at the time of payment. Major credit or debit cards may be accepted through the external payment processor, with specific networks, local methods or digital wallets dependent on its enabled configuration.

3.2 A method shown on a promotional page is not guaranteed to be accepted if a bank, scheme, region or risk control makes it unavailable at checkout. We will not insist on payment by unadvertised bank transfer, private cryptocurrency wallet or a support representative’s personal account.

3.3 Users should check that the browser remains on a legitimate Picwave or authorised hosted-checkout interface before entering credentials. We do not ask customers to send complete card details through support email or direct messages.

4. Billing currencies & pricing display

4.1 The storefront can present prices in multiple currencies, including EUR, USD, GBP or AUD where selected or displayed. The customer must rely on the actual transaction currency, total and exchange information confirmed in the final checkout summary; the on-page currency selector alone does not establish the acquiring settlement currency.

4.2 A price card or credit-pack offer may differ by region, offer or currency conversion. Before authorisation we present the selected Product, quantity, relevant tax treatment and gross amount; a genuine pricing error may require cancellation and refund rather than capturing a different amount without renewed consent.

4.3 The cardholder’s issuer may apply separate conversion rates or foreign transaction fees. Such charges are outside our direct control and should be verified with the bank. A later refund normally uses the original charge currency, which can produce a different converted statement value.

5. Taxes & charges

5.1 Prices should clearly indicate applicable value-added tax, sales tax or other legally required charges before the user places an Order. For electronically supplied products, tax treatment can depend on the buyer’s location, status and applicable place-of-supply rules.

5.2 We may request billing country or other proportionate tax information where the law requires it. The customer’s final order confirmation records the amount charged, currency and any included tax, together with the product or Credit quantity purchased.

5.3 No unconsented processing, delivery or handling surcharge is added after a customer authorises the transaction. As there is no physical shipment, no postal charge or customs duty is added by Picwave for delivery of the digital file.

6. Authorisation & transaction completion

6.1 At checkout, the customer reviews the Order and selects an available method. The payment processor may request card issuer authentication or a security challenge. Authorisation permits the provider to check the proposed payment, but the transaction is not necessarily completed until the payment is captured and an Order confirmation is issued.

6.2 If a bank declines an attempted authorisation or an authentication step is not completed, the Order may not be accepted and no digital entitlement is created. A temporary bank hold is not necessarily a settled charge and its release timing is controlled by the issuer.

6.3 After confirmation, the system records an Order reference, amount, currency and provider transaction identifier, then starts digital fulfilment. We use transaction-state controls to avoid allocating duplicate credits for a payment notification that is delivered more than once.

7. Use of third-party payment providers

7.1 Payments are processed through the card/payment service provider identified within the secure checkout flow. The provider may operate authentication, fraud checks, authorisation, clearing, settlement, refunds and scheme communication under its own contractual or regulatory obligations.

7.2 We receive limited payment-status information and transaction references for order reconciliation, audit and dispute handling. Complete payment-card numbers and security codes should not be stored in ordinary Picwave order or support records. Customers should rely on the payment interface for entering their financial credentials.

7.3 The identity and legal notices of the processor may be available from its hosted elements or payment terms. We remain responsible for the merchant obligations that applicable law assigns to us even when technical payment processing is outsourced.

8. Security, verification & fraud controls

8.1 The processor or issuing bank may require Strong Customer Authentication or a 3-D Secure step where applicable. Merchant security procedures may include transaction velocity checks, device and account signals, inconsistent billing details and temporary manual review of higher-risk Orders.

8.2 Verification steps protect customers and payment channels but are not infallible. We may temporarily pause digital allocation while a legitimate fraud check is completed, and any amount captured for an Order that we cannot lawfully fulfil must be handled through an appropriate reversal or refund.

8.3 We do not accept a customer’s offer to disclose complete card credentials or passwords to bypass a failed checkout. Suspected phishing, compromise or unauthorised payment should be reported immediately to the bank and to info@pic-wave.com.

9. User payment responsibilities

9.1 A user must have authority to use the selected method and must ensure entered billing details are accurate. A customer should read the final Product, Credit quantity, price and currency carefully, particularly where a displayed currency may differ from a bank account’s currency.

9.2 Do not intentionally generate multiple Orders by repeatedly clicking the payment button. If checkout freezes or a bank notification appears without an order confirmation, contact support with the time and masked transaction details before paying again.

9.3 Users should preserve receipts and monitor statements for transactions they do not recognise. Contact us with suspected merchant errors and alert the bank promptly about any unauthorised use; statutory protections and scheme dispute rights continue to apply.

10. Declined, failed or reversed payments

10.1 A payment may fail because of insufficient funds, card expiration, authentication error, issuer policy, region restriction, connectivity or processor downtime. We ordinarily display a failed or pending status and do not grant paid Digital Images or Generation Credits against a payment that was never successfully completed.

10.2 A reversed authorisation is not a completed paid Order. If funds were captured and the Order was subsequently rejected for a genuine reason, we will arrange an appropriate reversal or refund. The issuer determines when a temporary authorisation disappears from the account.

10.3 For disputed or reversed funds associated with already delivered entitlements, we may place a proportionate hold on unspent credits pending investigation, without treating a legitimate chargeback as misconduct or removing applicable digital-content remedies.

11. Duplicate charges & technical errors

11.1 A verified duplicate captured payment for the same intended Order will be corrected, normally by refunding the excess charge to the original card. We compare order references, payment-provider identifiers, timestamps and credit-ledger entries to avoid creating more confusion.

11.2 If the digital product was delivered only once, its continued availability is not a justification for retaining a second erroneous charge. If credits were accidentally allocated twice for a single captured amount, the ledger may be reconciled without depriving a customer of purchased entitlements.

11.3 Report technical errors with a screenshot, amount, currency and approximate transaction time; never email full payment credentials. The Refund Policy sets out service targets and the legal remedies available for wrongly charged or undelivered items.

12. Unauthorised transactions & security reporting

12.1 A cardholder who detects a payment they did not authorise should promptly notify the card issuer, follow the bank’s security advice, and contact Picwave. Rights relating to unauthorised payment transactions arise under applicable payment legislation and scheme rules, not an arbitrary short notice deadline imposed by this policy.

12.2 We can use transaction references, device-session records and fulfilment evidence to support a good-faith investigation. The bank or processor may require additional verification through its secure channel. Where necessary we restrict an associated Account to reduce further damage.

12.3 Picwave does not require a customer to compensate it for an unauthorised payment merely because the transaction record exists. The relevant burden of proof, liability allocation and refund timetable are governed by law, issuer rules and the actual facts.

13. Refunds & relationship to the Refund Policy

13.1 Refund eligibility depends on the Refund Policy and mandatory law. Qualifying grounds include non-supply, defective or misdescribed digital content, incorrect or duplicate charges, valid statutory cancellation and the separate voluntary review for wholly unused generation-credit packs.

13.2 Approved refunds are ordinarily submitted to the original payment method within one to three business days after approval, subject to any faster mandatory deadline. Funds may take approximately five to ten additional business days to appear depending on the issuing bank and payment method.

13.3 Where refunding a Credit pack, unspent Credits associated with the refunded Order are reversed or adjusted fairly. This avoids a customer receiving both a full reversal and the same consumable entitlement, without limiting claims for non-conforming goods or services.

14. Chargebacks, retrievals & disputes

14.1 A chargeback is a cardholder’s attempt to reverse a qualifying card transaction through their issuer using applicable scheme processes. The cardholder may contact Picwave first to resolve a missing download or billing discrepancy, but contacting us is not a legal prerequisite to using a bank or scheme remedy.

14.2 If a retrieval or dispute is opened, we may provide appropriate evidence of the Order, authorised checkout, confirmation email, access event, digital download link, credit allocation, generation usage and customer communication to the processor. Evidence must be accurate, relevant and handled under the Privacy Policy.

14.3 An ongoing dispute may cause temporary restrictions on contested entitlements where proportionate. We coordinate voluntary refunds with the bank case to avoid duplicate reimbursements and do not punish users for genuine or legally protected complaints.

15. Timing of delivery & account crediting

15.1 Once an Order is accepted after payment confirmation, the site normally makes catalogue Digital Images available through a secure download or purchase history and allocates purchased Generation Credits to the relevant Account. Digital fulfilment is ordinarily prompt; no courier is involved.

15.2 For each completed generation request, the Service ordinarily debits one Credit. Platform-side generation failure should lead to restoration of the affected Credit or another appropriate correction. A provider review or technical incident can delay delivery; the Digital Product Fulfilment Policy sets out escalation.

15.3 Payment capture by itself is not proof that a digital entitlement was correctly delivered. We maintain separate order, provider status and fulfilment events so support can investigate discrepancies and provide a remedy where necessary.

16. Payment records & audit trail

16.1 Order records ordinarily document unique references, product/pack, quantity, amount, currency, tax treatment, date, payment status, limited provider identifiers, refunds and associated delivery status. Such information supports receipts, legal accounting duties and proportionate payment-scheme evidence.

16.2 We do not require customers to disclose complete card numbers to trace an Order. For retention of financial and dispute records, see the Privacy Policy, which explains the separate legal obligation and legitimate-interest bases and the retention schedule.

16.3 Changes to the available credit balance, purchase reversal or manual correction should produce an auditable ledger entry to help distinguish paid credits from promotions and to avoid duplicate use. Customers may request a relevant receipt or transaction explanation through support.

17. Geographic & legal restrictions

17.1 Acceptance can be restricted where a payment processor, card network, financial-sanctions rule or applicable law prohibits a transaction. We may decline an Order that cannot be safely or legally processed, with suitable release or refund of any captured amount.

17.2 A currency selector does not guarantee that all countries, cards or payment methods are supported. The bank may reject an otherwise properly submitted transaction because of its own security or cross-border policies.

17.3 Customers must not bypass country restrictions or misstate billing details to evade compliance controls. Lawful refunds, complaints and access to already accrued statutory remedies are assessed separately from the ability to make future purchases.

18. Minors & payment authority

18.1 Purchases are restricted to adults aged 18 or over. An account holder must be legally capable of contracting and authorised to use the selected card or payment method. Children may not use another person’s credentials to bypass this rule.

18.2 We may request proportionate verification where age, identity or payment authority is reasonably in doubt. The request should not create a channel for emailing full card details, government documents or passwords unnecessarily.

18.3 Parents or guardians who discover a potentially unauthorised purchase should contact the issuer and Picwave promptly with the Order reference. The transaction will be assessed under applicable law, including any rules governing minors, fraud and payment authority.

19. Changes to prices, methods & rules

19.1 Catalogue prices, pack sizes and promotional discounts may change for future Orders. The binding price of an accepted Order is the final amount authorised at that checkout, subject to lawful correction of a genuine manifest error before fulfilment and appropriate restitution.

19.2 We may add or remove supported cards, wallets, currencies or checkout features without rewriting completed Orders. Material changes to the billing model will be clearly disclosed before a customer makes a new commitment.

19.3 No change to payment methods or display currency retrospectively establishes a recurring obligation. Consumer rights and already paid Credit balances remain subject to applicable law and the order terms accepted at purchase.

20. Service interruptions & processor downtime

20.1 Temporary network faults, issuer outages, fraud reviews or payment-provider incidents can result in pending Orders, delayed confirmation and unavailable checkout. Customers should not interpret a browser timeout as confirmation that no debit occurred; check for bank and account records before retrying.

20.2 Where a processor captured funds but no entitlement was delivered, we investigate the transaction and correct the record or provide the applicable refund. A pending-only authorisation may require issuer release rather than merchant reimbursement.

20.3 If an interruption significantly affects access to purchased digital content or prepaid credits, we assess conformity and statutory remedies. Maintenance notices will be provided where practical, and support will retain a traceable case reference.

21. Contact & complaint route

21.1 Payment enquiries go to info@pic-wave.com with subject Payment Enquiry and an Order reference. The merchant is WERVIX LTD, company no. 17499009, registered at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, WC2H 9JQ. The site contact form is available at https://pic-wave.com/contact-us/.

21.2 Transactions may appear under the descriptor PICWAVE.COM or the descriptor confirmed by the issuing bank for the payment provider’s processing configuration. If you cannot recognise a charge, verify its amount and date and contact the bank without sharing full card credentials with us.

21.3 We aim to acknowledge payment complaints within two business days. You may escalate an unresolved dispute to your card issuer, applicable consumer adviser, court or regulator where permitted. We will not misstate a non-mandatory contact-first practice as a waiver of your issuer rights.

22. Updates

22.1 A revised Payment Policy will be published with an effective date and version number. Material changes to payment security, currency handling, fees or dispute procedures will be communicated in a manner appropriate to the effect on customers.

22.2 Updates apply prospectively and do not remove accrued claims, existing statutory entitlements or settlement obligations for earlier accepted Orders. The Refund Policy continues to determine refund eligibility, and the Privacy Policy continues to govern data handling.

22.3 This Payment Policy is governed by the law of England and Wales subject to mandatory consumer protections that apply elsewhere. The site’s checkout confirmation and applicable scheme rules remain important evidence of a particular payment transaction.

Practical Payment Lifecycle Overview and Good Practice for Users

Before payment, confirm the actual price and settlement currency in the final checkout, rather than relying only on the catalogue currency selector. A 90-credit pack represents 90 completed generation requests under the Terms & Conditions, not an interest-bearing or withdrawable monetary balance.

After payment, preserve the receipt and check that the download link or purchased Credit balance is available. If confirmation is delayed, do not submit the same payment repeatedly: use the Order reference and bank timestamp to request reconciliation.

If a bank statement shows an unrecognised transaction, contact the issuer promptly and provide Picwave only the masked payment and Order details required to locate it. Do not share full card numbers, CVV, passwords or one-time authentication codes.

If an Order is refunded, Picwave returns the eligible amount through the authorised original payment route and reconciles the corresponding digital entitlement. Card networks and banks control their own investigation and posting times; legal consumer remedies cannot be excluded by an internal billing workflow.

Picwave | Payment Policy | v1.0 | Effective 8 October 2026. Published on the website and subject to update; the current published version governs transactions made after it takes effect, subject always to mandatory rights.