Terms of Service for End-Users
Last updated:
October 2024
Overview
Forward Lending, Inc. d/b/a Method Financial (“Method,” “we,” or “us”) is a software-as-a-service provider to companies (“Partner” or “Financial Institution”) that offer products and services to consumers like you (“End Users”). Our Partners use our services (the “Method Services”) to connect to their End Users’ financial accounts so they can provide the product or service their End Users requested.
If you are a customer of one of our Partners who uses Method Services to provide you with a product or service, then you are an End User, and these Terms of Service (“Terms”) apply to you. Please read them carefully.
By accessing or using the Method Services through a Partner—your Financial Institution or provider (collectively, “FI”)—you: (1) acknowledge that you have read and understand these Terms; and (2) agree to be legally bound by them in their entirety and as they may be amended from time to time. As used in these Terms and unless separately identified as applicable to either an individual or entity, “you” and “your” refer to you individually.
The Method Services
The Method Services include data access to End User financial accounts, and electronic payment services through Method’s application programming interfaces and related technical, business, and support services, each as may be modified or updated. The Method Services allow our Partners to provide you with financial products and services on their own platform, website, and/or application (each, an “App”).
Eligibility
When you consent to your FI’s access and use of the Method Services, you represent and warrant that you: (1) are at least 18 years of age; (2) are a resident of the United States; (3) are not currently restricted from the Method Services; (4) have the legal right to connect to and share data from the financial accounts with your FI; (5) are requesting a product or service from your FI on your own behalf; (6) have full power and authority to enter into these Terms and doing so will not violate any other agreement to which you are a party; and (7) will not violate applicable law or any rights of Method, your FI, or any third party.
Authentication
Before we can connect to and make available the data from your financial accounts to your FI, your identity and ownership or legal authority over the accounts must be authenticated. We may ask you or your FI to provide personal identifiable information (“PII”) such as your name, phone number, date of birth, address, and/or your social security number. We may also ask you to answer questions or provide additional information, such as a copy of your photo ID (e.g. driver’s license or passport), to help us verify your identity.
You represent and warrant that all PII you submit to us or your FI is true, accurate, current, and complete. You agree that you will promptly update your PII with your FI if any of it changes. It is your responsibility to keep your PII accurate and updated. Method is not responsible for any disputes or claims related to any inaccurate, incomplete, or untimely PII provided by you or your FI to us.
You authorize us to verify your identity with our third-party verification service provider(s). We may refuse to allow your FI to access your financial accounts or use the Method Services on your behalf if your identity and legal authority is not verified, or to the extent required or permitted by law. Method is not responsible for any disputes or claims related to a refusal to provide the Method Services for any reason.
Consents
When you apply for or request a product or service from your FI who uses Method Services to provide that to you, you authorize Method to connect to certain financial accounts of yours and make that account data available to your FI for that purpose. The scope of your consent (things like what accounts are connected, what data is made available, how long can the connection last, etc.) is determined between you and your FI from whom you’ve requested the product or service.
You further acknowledge and agree that:
We may validate your identity and prevent fraud using your PII obtained from you, your FI, your wireless carrier, and our service provider(s). You authorize your wireless carrier to use or disclose information about your account and your wireless device, if available, to Method or its service provider for the duration of your business relationship, solely to help them identify you or your wireless device and to prevent fraud;
We may share your Personal Data with one or more consumer reporting agencies, and you consent to us obtaining a consumer report and information about you from them ("credit pull"). You understand the credit pull is a soft inquiry that will not impact your credit score. We will use this information in connection with verifying your identity and identifying and obtaining data on your liability/debt accounts such as account number, type, balance, interest rate, payoff information, late fees, payment history, etc. ("Account Data");
You authorize and direct us to use your Personal Data to act on your behalf to access, obtain, and transmit the Account Data from your financial institutions, lenders, creditors, and service providers, or any of their third parties, and you consent to us sharing the Account Data with your FI.
Your decision to use any particular FI or to request from them any product or service is your own. Your relationship with your FI is governed by separate terms and conditions or any other agreement you’ve entered into with them. Method is not responsible for your relationship with your FI, your FI’s acts or omissions, or the product(s) or service(s) they provide to you. Method does not represent or endorse, and disclaims and responsibility or liability for: (1) the reliability or performance of your FI; (2) the safety, quality, accuracy, reliability, integrity or legality of your FI’s products or services; or (3) the truth or accuracy of the description of any such products or services, or of any advice, opinion, offer, proposal, statement, data, or other information provided by your FI.
Privacy Policy
You acknowledge that you’ve read and agreed to our Privacy Policy.
Consumer Report Authorization
If you request or apply for a credit monitoring product or other service or product offered by your FI (for example, personal financial management, etc.), you are providing written instructions in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act authorizing Method to obtain periodically information from your personal credit profile, including your VantageScore(s), from one or more of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies and to share that information with your FI so it can provide you with the credit monitoring, scoring product, or other service or product you requested. If you would like to revoke your consent, please contact your FI to opt-out or contact us at privacy@methodfi.com.
Feedback
If you contact us to identify any issues, provide suggestions, or comments related to the Method Services or otherwise relating to Method (“Feedback”), you acknowledge and agree that all Feedback is provided voluntarily and we shall be free to use or disclose such Feedback for any purpose. You acknowledge and agree that you will not provide us with any third-party confidential or proprietary information, and you are not entitled to any compensation or reimbursement of any kind from Method under any circumstances relating to such Feedback.
Prohibitions
You acknowledge and agree that you will not do, cause, or attempt any of the following: (1) access accounts without legal authority; (2) provide a third-party’s PII or access accounts on a third-party’s behalf; (3) modify, create derivative works of, or decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Method Services; (4) circumvent Method’s intended limitations for any feature of the Method Services; (5) use the Method Services in a way that could impair or overburden the Method Services or interfere with the use of the Method Services by others; or (6) use the Method Services for any prohibited purpose or transaction including but not limited to: (i) fraudulent, unlawful, harmful, deceptive, or abusive purposes; (ii) the sale or purchase of illegal goods; (iii) cannabis -related businesses; (iv) adult entertainment, including but not limited to escort services, encounter clubs, and pornographic products and services; (v) firearm or ammunition sales; (vi) promotion of hate, violence, harassment, or abuse.
Right to Restrict or Terminate Access
We may deny or restrict your FI’s use of the Method Services without notice in our reasonable discretion if we determine that your FI violated their agreement with us, or if you have violated these Terms or otherwise engaged in any conduct or activities that we, in our sole and reasonable discretion, believe violates the letter or spirit of any of these Terms, any applicable laws, or the rights of third-parties. We disclaim any liability for such denial or restriction.
Disclaimer
YOUR USE AND YOUR FI’S USE OF THE METHOD SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. ALL CONTENT AND THE METHOD SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, CUSTOM, TRADE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, NONINFRINGEMENT, AVAILABILITY OR ACCURACY OF INFORMATION. METHOD DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE AVAILABLE, WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR WILL OPERATE IN AN UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR COMPLETELY SECURE MANNER OR THAT ERRORS OR DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. METHOD DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OR CONDITIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE METHOD SERVICES, IN TERMS OF THEIR ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, OR OTHERWISE.
SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, OR ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH EVENT, METHOD’S WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICES WILL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW IN SUCH JURISDICTION.
Limitation of Liability
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL METHOD, ITS AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, LICENSORS OR OTHER THIRD PARTY PARTNERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE OF OUR SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY; INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, ARISING OUT OF THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE OF OUR SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY.
METHOD’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED (100) US DOLLARS.
SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, THE METHOD PARTIES’ LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
EACH PROVISION OF THESE TERMS THAT PROVIDES FOR A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES, OR EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES IS TO ALLOCATE THE RISKS OF THESE TERMS BETWEEN THE PARTIES. THIS ALLOCATION IS REFLECTED IN THE FACT THAT METHOD DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE TO YOU AND IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN THE PARTIES. EACH OF THESE PROVISIONS IS SEVERABLE AND INDEPENDENT OF ALL OTHER PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION AND THE SECTION ABOVE WILL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY IN THESE TERMS.
Modifications to these Terms
From time to time, we may revise these Terms without prior notice to you other than identifying a later effective date than the one set forth at the top of these Terms. Such modification shall be effective immediately upon posting at the website page hosting these Terms. We encourage you to look for a new effective date on these Terms when you visit or use the Method Services. It is your responsibility to check these Terms periodically for changes.
Miscellaneous
These Terms shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of Texas, without reference to its choice of law rules. The exclusive venue for any action arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be in Washington, DC.
Our failure to insist upon or enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Any sections or terms which by their nature should survive or are otherwise necessary to enforce the purpose of these Terms, will survive the termination of these Terms and termination of the Method Services.
These Terms do not limit any rights that we may have pursuant to any intellectual property laws or any other laws. All rights and remedies available to us, pursuant to these Terms or otherwise, at law or in equity, are cumulative and not exclusive of any other rights or remedies that may be available to us.
If any portion of these Terms are found to be unenforceable or invalid for any reason, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the rest of these Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect.
No independent contractor relationship, employment relationship, partnership, join venture, or franchise relationship is created by these Terms. You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your use of the Method Services without our prior written consent. We may assign or transfer these Terms at our sole discretion. These Terms along with any agreements or policies they reference constitute the entirety of the mutual understanding between you and Method.
