Terms and conditions

These Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) govern access to and use of the website smscy.com and the SMSCY messaging platform, including the customer dashboard, the application programming interface (API), any mobile application we provide for sending messages through a device connected to your account, and all related services (together the “Services”). The Services are provided by TKOCY LTD, a company registered in Cyprus with its registered office at Panagias Evaggelistrias 89B, 4156 Limassol, Cyprus, VAT number CY10399700T (“SMSCY”, “we”, “us”, “our”).

By creating an account, clicking to accept these Terms, or using the Services, you (“Customer”, “you”) agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you are accepting on behalf of a company or organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind it. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

1. Definitions

• “Account” – the customer account you register on the platform, including any sub-accounts or additional users you create.
• “Credits” – the prepaid units used to pay for messages sent through the platform.
• “Message” – any SMS, Unicode SMS, MMS, one-time password or other message submitted through the Services.
• “Recipient” – any person or number to which you send a Message.
• “Sender ID” – the alphanumeric name or number shown to Recipients as the originator of a Message.
• “Connected Device” – a mobile device and SIM card you link to your Account to send or receive Messages through our mobile application.
• “Applicable Law” – all laws applying to your use of the Services, including the GDPR, Law 125(I)/2018, the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services Law 112(I)/2004 (in particular section 106 on unsolicited communications), the Cyprus consumer protection legislation, and the laws of any country in which your Recipients are located.

2. The Services

2.1 SMSCY offers a Marketing Platform for bulk promotional and transactional messaging, an Alert Platform for real-time notifications and urgent alerts, and related tools: contact and group management, message templates and personalisation, scheduled and recurring campaigns, two-way messaging and keyword opt-out, delivery reports and analytics, webhooks and an API for integration with your own systems.

2.2 Messages are delivered through mobile network operators and SMS gateway providers, or, where you use a Connected Device, through your own SIM card and operator. SMSCY is a technical intermediary; we do not author your Messages and we do not select your Recipients.

2.3 We may add, change or withdraw features from time to time. We will give reasonable notice of any change that materially reduces the Services you have paid for.

3. Eligibility and Account registration

3.1 The Services are intended for businesses, organisations, professionals and public bodies. You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into a contract.

3.2 You must provide accurate, complete and current registration information, including a valid company name, address, contact email and mobile number, and keep it updated. We may ask for identification or company documents before activating an Account, approving a Sender ID or releasing higher sending limits, and we may refuse or close an Account at our discretion, for example where we cannot verify your identity or where we reasonably suspect misuse.

3.3 You are responsible for all activity under your Account, including activity by your users, sub-accounts, API tokens and Connected Devices. Keep your password, two-factor authentication codes and API tokens confidential; enable two-factor authentication where available; and notify us immediately at info@smscy.com if you suspect unauthorised access.

3.4 If you register using a social sign-in provider, you are also bound by that provider’s terms.

4. Credits, plans and payment

4.1 Prices. Prices are displayed in euro (EUR) and exclude VAT unless stated otherwise. VAT at the applicable Cyprus rate is added where required by law; for business customers in other EU Member States the reverse-charge mechanism may apply on presentation of a valid VAT number.

4.2 Credits. The Services are prepaid. You purchase Credits (or a plan that includes Credits) and Credits are deducted when a Message is submitted for delivery, at the rate applicable to the destination, operator and message type (for example a long or Unicode message counts as more than one SMS part). Rates are shown in the dashboard and may change; changes apply to Credits used after the change takes effect.

4.3 Undelivered Messages. Credits are consumed when a Message is accepted by the operator network. Where the operator returns a definitive “failed” or “rejected” report we may return the corresponding Credits automatically or on request; Credits are not returned for Messages reported as delivered, expired, or sent to invalid, unreachable or switched-off numbers, or for Messages sent through a Connected Device.

4.4 Expiry. Credits are valid for the period stated in the plan or offer under which they were purchased (12 months from purchase unless otherwise stated) and are forfeited on expiry or on closure of the Account. Credits transferred between accounts, where we enable that feature, are subject to the same rules.

4.5 Subscriptions. Recurring plans renew automatically at the end of each billing period and are charged to your payment method on file until you cancel from the dashboard before the renewal date. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current period; no pro-rata refund is given.

4.6 Payment methods. Payments are made through the third-party payment providers offered in the dashboard or by bank transfer. Credits purchased by bank transfer are activated when cleared funds are received. We do not store full card details.

4.7 Refunds. Because Credits are a prepaid digital service delivered immediately, purchases are non-refundable except where required by law or where we fail to provide the Services in accordance with these Terms. If you are a consumer within the meaning of Cyprus consumer law, you acknowledge that by requesting immediate activation of Credits you lose the 14-day right of withdrawal once the Credits are made available to you.

4.8 Invoices and late payment. We issue electronic invoices for every purchase. Any amount not paid when due (for example a reversed card payment or chargeback) bears interest at the statutory rate and may result in suspension of the Account until settled. You are responsible for any chargeback fees caused by an unjustified dispute.

5. Sender IDs

5.1 Sender IDs are subject to our approval and to mobile-operator and regulatory requirements. You may only request a Sender ID that identifies you, your business or a brand you are authorised to use. We may reject, change or withdraw a Sender ID at any time where required by an operator or regulator, or where it is misleading, offensive or infringes third-party rights.

5.2 You must not use a Sender ID that impersonates a bank, government body, emergency service, mobile operator or any other person or organisation.

5.3 Operators in some destination countries replace or pre-register Sender IDs; we cannot guarantee that a Sender ID will be displayed as requested.

6. Your obligations and acceptable use

6.1 Consent and lawful basis. You are solely responsible for ensuring that you have a lawful basis to send every Message to every Recipient. For marketing Messages this means, under section 106 of Law 112(I)/2004 and the GDPR, that the Recipient has given prior consent, or is an existing customer whose details you obtained in the context of a sale and who was given a clear and free opportunity to object both at the time of collection and in every Message. On our request you must be able to demonstrate consent (date, source, wording) for any Recipient.

6.2 Identification and opt-out. Every marketing Message must clearly identify you as the sender and give the Recipient a free, simple way to opt out (for example “Reply STOP” or a contact number). You must honour opt-out requests immediately and must not remove numbers from your blacklist or re-import opted-out numbers. Messages sent from a Connected Device must also comply with these requirements.

6.3 Prohibited content and uses. You must not use the Services to send or facilitate:

• unsolicited bulk messages (“spam”), or Messages to purchased, scraped or randomly generated number lists;
• Messages that are fraudulent, deceptive or misleading, including phishing, “smishing”, fake delivery or bank notifications, prize or lottery scams, or requests for passwords, card details or one-time codes;
• Messages that are defamatory, threatening, harassing, obscene, pornographic, or that incite hatred or violence, or that are otherwise illegal in Cyprus or in the Recipient’s country;
• Messages relating to illegal goods or services, unlicensed gambling, unlicensed financial services, counterfeit goods, or the sale of controlled substances;
• Messages that infringe intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any person;
• Messages that impersonate any person or organisation, or that conceal or disguise the identity of the sender;
• malware, links to malicious content, or content designed to interfere with any network or device;
• artificially inflated traffic, SIM-box or grey-route schemes, or any traffic that breaches the terms of a mobile operator;
• Messages to emergency numbers, premium-rate numbers or numbers on a national do-not-call register where applicable.

6.4 Timing. Unless a Recipient has agreed otherwise or the Message is an urgent alert, marketing Messages should be sent between 08:00 and 21:00 local time of the Recipient, and not on public holidays.

6.5 Connected Devices. If you link your own device and SIM to your Account, you are responsible for the device, for the SIM’s operator terms and charges, and for ensuring that sending volumes do not breach your operator’s fair-use or anti-spam rules. We are not liable for the operator suspending or blocking your SIM.

6.6 API and integrations. You must keep API tokens secure, respect the rate limits we publish, and not use the API in a way that degrades the Services for others. Webhooks you configure must point to endpoints you control.

6.7 Security of your data. You are responsible for maintaining a backup of your contacts, templates and reports. You can export your data from the dashboard at any time while your Account is active.

6.8 Monitoring. We do not review Messages before sending, but we use automated spam and fraud detection and may hold, review, delay or block Messages, Sender IDs or Accounts that we reasonably believe breach these Terms, Applicable Law or operator rules. We may share information about abusive traffic with operators and regulators.

7. Alerts and emergency communications

The Alert Platform is a tool for distributing notifications quickly; it is not an emergency service and must not be relied on as the sole means of communicating life-safety information. SMS delivery depends on mobile network availability, coverage, congestion and device status and can be delayed or fail. For emergencies always contact the national emergency number 112. You remain responsible for having alternative channels for critical communications.

8. Data protection

8.1 Roles. For Recipient personal data that you upload or send through the Services you are the controller and SMSCY is your processor. For your own Account data SMSCY is a controller as described in the Privacy Policy.

8.2 Processing terms (Article 28 GDPR). As your processor, SMSCY will: (a) process Recipient data only on your documented instructions, which are given through your use of the platform and these Terms, unless required by law; (b) ensure that persons authorised to process the data are bound by confidentiality; (c) implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures; (d) engage sub-processors (mobile operators, SMS gateway providers, hosting and infrastructure providers, push-notification providers) only under written terms offering equivalent protection, and inform you of intended changes so that you may object; (e) assist you, taking into account the nature of the processing, in responding to data-subject requests and in meeting your obligations on security, breach notification and impact assessments; (f) notify you without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal data breach affecting your Recipient data; (g) delete or return Recipient data at the end of the Services, subject to any legal retention obligation; and (h) make available the information necessary to demonstrate compliance and allow for audits, subject to reasonable notice and confidentiality.

8.3 Your instructions. You warrant that your instructions comply with Applicable Law and that you have provided Recipients with the information required by Articles 13 and 14 GDPR. You will indemnify us for any claim arising from your breach of data-protection law.

8.4 Transfers. Where a Recipient’s number is outside the EEA, you authorise the transfer of the data necessary for delivery to operators and aggregators in that country.

8.5 Retention. Message content and delivery records are retained for the period set in your Account or the default period stated in the Privacy Policy, after which they are deleted or anonymised. Traffic data required by telecommunications law may be retained for longer.

9. Delivery and service levels

9.1 We will use reasonable efforts to submit Messages to the relevant operator promptly and to make the platform available 24/7, excluding planned maintenance (which we will announce in advance where possible) and events outside our control.

9.2 We do not control mobile networks and cannot guarantee that any Message will be delivered, delivered within a particular time, or displayed in a particular way. Delivery reports reflect information received from operators and may be delayed, missing or inaccurate.

9.3 Operators may block, filter or alter Messages, Sender IDs or links for their own reasons; we are not responsible for such actions.

10. Suspension and termination

10.1 By you. You may close your Account at any time from the dashboard or by emailing us. Unused Credits are not refunded.

10.2 By us. We may suspend or restrict the Services immediately, with notice where practicable, if: you breach these Terms or Applicable Law; we receive complaints from Recipients, operators or regulators about your traffic; your Account is used for spam, fraud or security attacks; payment is overdue or a chargeback is raised; or we are required to do so by law or by an operator. We may terminate your Account on 30 days’ notice for any reason, or immediately for a material breach that is not cured within 7 days of notice, or for a breach of section 6.3.

10.3 Effect. On termination your right to use the Services ends, scheduled campaigns are cancelled, and, after a grace period of 30 days during which you may export your data, we will delete your data subject to legal retention obligations. Sections that by their nature should survive (payment, liability, indemnity, data protection, governing law) survive termination. Where we terminate under section 10.2 for your breach, unused Credits are forfeited.

10.4 Inactive accounts. We may close Accounts that have been inactive for more than 12 months after giving 30 days’ notice by email.

11. Intellectual property

11.1 The platform, website, mobile application, API, documentation, software, design and trade marks (including the name SMSCY) are owned by or licensed to TKOCY LTD and are protected by intellectual property law. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use them for your internal business purposes in accordance with these Terms. You may not copy, modify, reverse engineer, resell or sublicense the Services or remove any proprietary notice.

11.2 You retain all rights in your Messages, contacts and templates. You grant us a licence to store, process and transmit them solely to provide the Services.

11.3 You may not use our name or logo in any publicity without our prior written consent.

12. Warranties and disclaimers

12.1 Each party warrants that it has the authority to enter into these Terms. You warrant that your use of the Services and the content of your Messages will comply with these Terms and Applicable Law.

12.2 Except as expressly stated in these Terms, the Services are provided “as is” and “as available”. To the extent permitted by law we exclude all other warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, uninterrupted or error-free operation, and delivery of any Message. Nothing in these Terms limits any statutory rights you have as a consumer that cannot be excluded by law.

13. Limitation of liability

13.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any liability that cannot be excluded under Cyprus law.

13.2 Subject to 13.1, we are not liable for: loss of profit, revenue, business, contracts, goodwill or anticipated savings; loss or corruption of data (other than as required by data-protection law); business interruption; any indirect or consequential loss; the acts or omissions of mobile operators, gateway providers, payment providers or other third parties; the content of your Messages or the identity of your Recipients; or any failure or delay in delivery.

13.3 Subject to 13.1, our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms and the Services in any 12-month period is limited to the total amount you paid to us for the Services in that 12-month period.

13.4 Any claim must be notified to us in writing within 6 months of the event giving rise to it.

14. Indemnity

You will indemnify and hold harmless TKOCY LTD, its directors, employees and providers against all claims, fines, penalties, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: your Messages and their content; Messages sent without a lawful basis or in breach of section 106 of Law 112(I)/2004 or the GDPR; complaints or actions by Recipients, operators or regulators relating to your traffic; your breach of these Terms or Applicable Law; or unauthorised use of your Account caused by your failure to keep credentials secure.

15. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including operator or network outages, internet failures, power failures, cyber-attacks, acts of government, regulatory changes, strikes, fire, flood, epidemic or war. Payment obligations are not excused.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes in law, operator requirements or the Services. We will publish the updated Terms on smscy.com and, for material changes, notify you by email or a dashboard notice at least 14 days before they take effect. If you do not accept the changes you may close your Account before the effective date; continued use after that date constitutes acceptance.

17. General

17.1 Notices. Notices to you will be sent to the email address on your Account. Notices to us should be sent to info@smscy.com or to our registered office.

17.2 Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our written consent. We may assign them to an affiliate or a successor to our business.

17.3 Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy and any plan or order details you accept in the dashboard constitute the entire agreement between us and supersede any prior arrangement.

17.4 Severability. If any provision is held invalid, the remainder stays in force and the invalid provision is replaced by a valid one that most closely achieves its purpose.

17.5 No waiver. A failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

17.6 Relationship. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, agency or employment relationship between us.

17.7 Language. These Terms are drawn up in English. If a Greek translation is provided, the English version prevails in case of conflict.

18. Governing law and disputes

18.1 These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of the Republic of Cyprus.

18.2 The courts of Limassol, Cyprus have exclusive jurisdiction, except that we may bring proceedings to recover unpaid amounts or to protect our intellectual property in any competent court.

18.3 Before starting proceedings, the parties will try to resolve the dispute in good faith by contacting each other in writing; we aim to respond to complaints within 14 days. If you are a consumer resident in the EU you may also use the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr, and complaints about electronic communications services may be addressed to the Office of the Commissioner of Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation (OCECPR).

19. Contact

TKOCY LTD
Panagias Evaggelistrias 89B, 4156 Limassol, Cyprus
VAT Number: CY10399700T
Telephone: +357 25253190
Email: info@smscy.com