Secured Card Terms of Use

Secured Card Terms of Service

Last Updated on May 31, 2023

The Terms of Service/Agreement

These Secured Card Terms of Service (“Terms of Service”) represent an agreement between you and Credit Sesame.

You should read this document along with Credit Sesame’s Secured Card Cardholder Agreement, Sesame Cash Cardholder Agreement, Sesame Cash Terms of Service, Credit Sesame Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. To the extent any provision of these Terms of Service conflicts or is inconsistent with the Secured Card Cardholder Agreement, the Cardholder Agreement shall control to the extent of that conflict or inconsistency.

NOTICE: THESE TERMS OF SERVICE REQUIRE ALL DISPUTES TO BE RESOLVED BY WAY OF BINDING ARBITRATION. THE TERMS OF THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE APPEAR NEAR THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT.

What Is the Secured Card?

Credit Sesame is the servicer for your Credit Sesame Secured Mastercard® Credit Card (“Secured Card”), which is a Mastercard-branded secured charge card issued by Community Federal Savings Bank. Credit Sesame provides administration and operational services to support your Secured Card and the associated credit account (“Secured Account”). The Secured Card is a secured charge card that can only be used with the Sesame Cash Mastercard® Prepaid Debit Card (“Sesame Cash Card/Account”) and is intended to educate and promote positive credit use. Although there is no upfront security deposit required to use the Secured Card, you will be required to hold a security deposit account (“Security Account”) with Community Federal Savings Bank to securitize your debt as it is incurred and separately pay off the balance on the Secured Card in full every month. Funds from your Sesame Cash account will be used to securitize transactions made on your Secured Card account. At the end of each month when there is a balance due on the Secured Card, you must actively pay off the balance through a manual payment or by setting up autopay. Failure to make your monthly payment timely could have a negative on your credit report.

How to Contact Credit Sesame

For questions about these Terms of Service or your Secured Account, you can contact Credit Sesame by calling 1-877-751-1859, by mail at Secured Card, 444 Castro St., Suite 500, Mountain View, CA, 94041, or by visiting www.sesamecash.com.

Your Security Deposit Is Held at a Bank and Protected by FDIC Insurance

The money securitized in your Security Account is held in an account at Community Federal Savings Bank. The money in your Security Account is insured up to $250,000, subject to additional terms, by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Visit the FDIC website at https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/ for details on deposit insurance.

Description of the Secured Card

Your Secured Card can generally be used wherever Mastercard credit cards are accepted, provided that you have sufficient credit available to make the purchase and your account is not in default. If a merchant requires that a physical card be presented at the time of purchase, you will not be able to use the Secured Card. However, the Secured Card does not come with its own card, and transacting with the Secured Card requires you to use your Prepaid Card for all transactions. You will not be able to use the Secured Card for cash advances or to withdraw cash from an automated teller machine (“ATM”).

To use your Secured Card, you must make a deposit of no more than $20,000 to your Sesame Cash Account or by direct deposit/automated clearing house (“ACH”) transfer with the same cap.

For additional information on the Secured Card, please see the Secured Card Cardholder Agreement.

Your Security Account does not earn interest.

Getting Information About Your Transactions

You may check your transaction history and balance at any time on the Credit Sesame Mobile App (“Mobile App”) or by calling us at 1-877-751-1859. We will also provide you with monthly statements (available via the Mobile App) that will reflect all transactions through the billing cycle and other important information. Additional information about using your Secured Card is located in the support section of our website.

Card Loss and Unauthorized Transactions

Please keep your Secured Card and Secured Account information safe at all times. If you think someone else may be using your Secured Card or Secured Account information without your permission, please freeze your Secured Card within the Mobile App and contact our Customer Service team at 1-877-751-1859 immediately. For disputed transactions you must provide a written notice to sesamecash@creditsesame.com that includes your name, account number, the dollar amount of your suspected error, why you believe it is an error, type of unauthorized transaction(s) with the date(s) and amount(s) of error. If we reverse unauthorized transactions, you will help us investigate, pursue and get reimbursement from the wrongdoer. Your help includes giving us documents in a form that we request.

Your liability for unauthorized transactions processed on the Mastercard network is zero ($0) dollars if you used reasonable care in protecting the Secured Card from loss or theft, and, upon becoming aware of such loss or theft, promptly reported such loss or theft to us by calling our Customer Service team at 1-877-751-1859 (the “Mastercard Zero Liability Policy”). The Mastercard Zero Liability Policy is subject to change without notice and changes made by Mastercard will automatically apply to your Secured Account. This protection does not apply if we determine that you have been fraudulent or negligent in the handling of your Secured Card. These provisions limiting your liability also do not apply to any credit transactions that are not processed by Mastercard. See the section titled “Your Billing Rights” in the Secured Card Cardholder Agreement for more information concerning your rights and our responsibilities under the Fair Credit Billing Act and your potential liability for transactions that are not covered by this section.

Fees

The full list of charges is set out in the fee schedule provided separately and included in the Secured Card Cardholder Agreement.

You may have to pay other costs, taxes, or charges in relation to your Secured Account from other financial institutions or entities. For example, other banks may charge you a fee for making payments to your Secured Account.

Sharing Your Information

By accepting these terms, you agree to allow Credit Sesame to use your information to make and receive payments on your Secured Account. If you would like us to stop using your information to make and receive payments on your Secured Account, you must close your Secured Account. However, even if you close your Secured Account, Credit Sesame may keep your personal data and use it where permitted by law in accordance with our Privacy Policy. In addition, you agree to allow Credit Sesame to disclose and share your information with third parties as required to process your requests and transactions, and with companies providing related services, as permitted by law. Please ensure that you review our Privacy Policy along with Community Federal Savings Bank’s Privacy Notice for additional details.

How Credit Sesame Will Contact You

Credit Sesame may contact you in English via the Mobile App, or through your email, phone, mobile app instant notifications, and mailing address. Please let us know of any changes in your email, phone, or mailing address.

Closing Your Secured Account

You can close your Secured Account at any time by calling Credit Sesame at 1-877-751-1859 or chatting with a customer service representative in the Credit Sesame Mobile App.

You must use the funds in your Security Account to off pay any remaining balance before closing your Secured Account. Once the Secured Account is closed, you will no longer have access to your Secured Account. Note that the closure of a tradeline could have a negative impact on your credit report. You are required to maintain a Sesame Cash Account in order to obtain and maintain a Secured Account. If your Sesame Cash Account is closed for any reason, your Secured Account will also be closed. In addition, Credit Sesame may close your Sesame Cash account for any reason, including if we believe you have:

broken the terms of this Terms of Service, or any of the other related agreements;
violated the law or attempted to violate the law;
put Credit Sesame in a position where it might violate the law;
provided false information at any time; or
committed fraud related to your Secured Account or Sesame Cash account or with the use of your Secured Account or Sesame Cash account.

How to File a Complaint

If you have a complaint regarding your Secured Card, please contact us at 1-877-751-1859, and we will do our best to address the problem. You may also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). For more information, you can visit the CFPB’s website.

Choice of Law

These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of New York.

Arbitration

Subject to all other terms of this Terms of Service, and to the extent not prohibited by law, you agree that any claim of any kind arising from or related to this Terms of Service or the use of the Secured Card against us, our affiliates, or the parties with whom we contract in order to offer the Secured Card and related services (i) shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules in your state of residence at a location that is reasonably convenient for both parties and (ii) shall not be brought through class or individual litigation proceedings. If such a claim is advanced by class proceeding by any other person on your behalf, you will opt out of, or not opt into, such proceedings as circumstances dictate.

Changes to this Agreement

These Terms of Service are available at www.creditsesame.com and through the Mobile App. Credit Sesame may make changes to this Terms of Service at any time and for any reason. If we make changes that result in higher fees or greater consumer liability, we will notify you in writing about these changes by mail or email (see “How Credit Sesame Will Contact You” above) at least 45 days before we make the change. If you do not agree to these changes, you can let us know and we will close your Secured Account. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that you agree to the changes we have made.

Limitation of Liability

Except as otherwise expressly provided in this agreement or as otherwise required by applicable law, we, our affiliates, and the parties with whom we contract in order to offer the Secured Card and related services are neither responsible nor liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising out of or relating in any way to the Secured Card, any products or services purchased using the Secured Card, or these Terms of Service.

Credit Sesame
444 Castro St., Ste 500
Mountain View, CA, United States 94041
Attention: Credit Sesame Secured Card Terms of Service.

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