Scope
These Converia Pay Terms and Conditions become part of the contract when the organizer commissions the provider to organize the sale of their event tickets and monitor payment processing. It is possible to use the Converia software without utilizing these services. In this case, these Converia Pay Terms and Conditions do not become part of the contract.
Contracting Party
Provider: Converia GmbH, developer of the Converia conference management software and operator of the ticket sales platform for the organizer's events
Payment Institution: Secupay AG, a payment institution authorized by BaFin for financial transfer services, which processes and manages participant payments in escrow as part of the ticket sales process.
Organizer: Hosts an event and commissions the provider to organize the sale of event tickets to participants via the platform.
Section 1 Subject Matter of the Contract
The organizer uses the software Converia Express ("Converia"), a web-based conference management platform provided by "Converia GmbH" ("Converia"), which enables professional organizers to manage conferences, congresses, and similar events. The organizer's use of the platform is subject to the End User License Agreement (EULA), which applies in addition to this agreement.
Contractual obligations regarding the event and ticket sales exist exclusively between the participant purchasing the ticket and the organizer. Nevertheless, organizers may register participants via the platform, sell tickets, and have the provider issue invoices for this exclusively in euros, or in Swiss francs or US dollars by separate agreement.
For the event, the organizer hereby exclusively authorizes and commissions the provider to organize ticket sales for the event via the Converia websites and to send the tickets to the participants.
The provider monitors the payment process and, upon the organizer's instruction, organizes the transfer of funds back to participants in the event of a cancellation or booking change.
For the technical processing of payments during ticket sales, the organizer enters into a separate contract with the payment institution, which holds the funds in an insolvency-protected escrow account. The funds are the sole property of the organizer. The provider has no direct power of disposal over the funds and can only transfer funds back to participants via secure access upon the organizer's instruction and within the scope of the mandate.
During the contract initiation process between the organizer and the payment institution, the payment institution will conduct a check of the beneficial owners on the organizer's side in accordance with the Money Laundering Act. Should the contract between the organizer and the payment institution not be concluded, the provider will be unable to perform its services for organizing ticket sales under the Converia Pay terms and conditions, and the contractual agreements of the Converia Pay terms and conditions will thus become void. The remaining contractual agreements, such as the use of the Converia software, remain unaffected.
The organizer decides whether tickets are to be sent to participants, held at the venue, and/or delivered electronically, or whether participants should be able to choose the delivery method. If tickets are held at the venue, the organizer can also choose whether the tickets are to be paid for at the event location and/or billed by the provider.
The organizer is obligated to inform participants of any potentially applicable right of withdrawal or return and to instruct them regarding their rights in accordance with the regulations. As the direct contractual partner of the participant, the organizer is solely responsible for all tax-related aspects.
The provider makes its services available via various top-level domains as well as various subdomains and domain aliases ("Converia websites").
Section 2 Ticket Prices and Fees
The organizer determines the ticket price at their own discretion. It is up to the organizer to set a flat rate or a base price with additional components such as service or payment fees.
The provider will invoice the organizer for its fees plus VAT. This includes, in particular, service fees, fees for additional services (ticket deposit, shipping costs), chargebacks, and payments in accordance with the pricing terms commissioned from the provider.
Other third-party fees (such as those for international bank transfers) are to be borne by the organizer, who may, if necessary, claim these from the participant.
Section 3 Changes to the Event
If an event for which tickets are, have been, or have already been offered for sale via the Converia websites is cancelled, or if the date, time, venue, or other essential factors change, the organizer must inform the provider in writing of these changes as soon as they become aware of them. The organizer will be invoiced for any costs incurred up to that point. Additional costs may be incurred in accordance with Section 5.
Section 4 Invoicing
The provider will set up the required payment interfaces on the Converia platform in accordance with the payment methods selected in the order. The financial institution collects payments made by participants for tickets and manages the collected funds in a separate account.
Notwithstanding the above, for regulatory reasons, a separate PayPal merchant account is required for the PayPal payment method, if commissioned, which must be opened and provided by the organizer themselves. In this case, a contract is concluded directly between PayPal and the organizer only. The provider will technically integrate this PayPal merchant account via the payment interfaces as far as possible so that this payment method can be offered via the Converia platform. The participation fees collected via this payment method will accrue directly in the PayPal merchant account, minus PayPal's own fees. The funds are the sole property of the organizer, and the organizer may dispose of them freely via their PayPal account. Neither the provider nor the financial institution has direct control over these funds.
The organizer is obligated to submit objections to invoices sent to participants immediately, but no later than four weeks after the invoice date. Otherwise, the invoice shall be deemed accepted.
The financial institution will transfer the collected funds to the organizer's account, as specified in the organizer's agreement with the financial institution, in accordance with the deadlines agreed upon in the offer. Within 45 business days after the end of the event (unless the parties have agreed on a different period), the provider will send the organizer a statement of the fees incurred in accordance with the order. The provider is entitled to issue interim statements for the fees incurred to date at any time.
Should refunds be made to participants upon the organizer's instruction after the distribution has taken place, and the account at the financial institution does not have sufficient funds, the organizer is obligated to provide the corresponding funds and reimburse them to the financial institution.
The organizer is aware of the risks of chargebacks that can be triggered by participants who have chosen certain payment methods (e.g., direct debit or credit card payments), for which the organizer bears sole responsibility. Any chargebacks that occur will be invoiced to the organizer along with a chargeback fee as specified in the order. If a chargeback occurs after the total amount has been transferred to the organizer, the organizer must reimburse the funds to the financial institution. If a chargeback occurs before the transfer, the amount will be deducted from the organizer's claim. Furthermore, reference is made here to the financial institution's terms and conditions.
§ 5 Refunds
If the event is canceled or if tickets are lawfully returned by participants due to any other changes regarding the event, the provider shall, upon the organizer's instruction, organize the refund of the amounts paid by the participant for the purchase of the event ticket(s), including all fees, within 14 days.
To manage refunds, the organizer shall pay the provider an additional cancellation fee per ticket as specified in the order. Once the accounting processes are complete, the organizer will receive a statement containing the fees to be paid no later than 1 year after the originally scheduled event date.
The provider is entitled, but not obligated, to provide interim statements. The provider's contractual obligations under the Converia Pay terms and conditions end no later than 1 year after the event date.
The provider is obligated to reverse ticket purchases made via the Converia websites if:
- the provider is legally obligated to do so; or
- the provider has exercised its right to reverse transactions in accordance with §6 (for the avoidance of doubt, the provider is not obligated to exercise this right); or
- the organizer requests or authorizes this.
The organizer authorizes the provider to refund the payments received for tickets to the participants via the financial institution.
If the organizer has already received the funds from the payment institution in the event of a refund, the organizer is obligated to repay the sum necessary for the refund. If the organizer does not repay the funds received from the payment institution, the provider is only obligated to refund the amount that has either not yet been transferred to the organizer or that has been proportionally repaid by the organizer.
The provider processes refunds exclusively upon written request. The provider's response time to refund requests is a maximum of 5 business days (as defined in these terms and conditions). The refund will be issued no later than 10 business days after the payment institution confirms the refund.
For security reasons, refunds are generally only issued via the same method used for the original payment: credit card payments are credited back to the same credit card, bank transfers are returned to the paying bank account, and PayPal payments are refunded to the PayPal account that sent the payment.
§ 6 Prevention of fraud and abuse
The Converia websites feature a comprehensive security system that protects organizers against chargebacks, particularly when tickets are paid for by credit card. In rare cases, the system may decline payments from external payment providers, credit institutions, or the participant's bank to protect against fraud.
If there is reason to believe that the organizer is using the Converia websites improperly, the provider reserves the right to deactivate the ticket purchase function on the Converia websites and prohibit ticket sales. Reasonable suspicion of improper use exists if
- it becomes known before the start of the event that the event will not take place at all or will not take place in the form previously communicated to the participants; or
- illegal or immoral events are to be held; or
- the refund rate for the event is above average or is generally at least 2%
- there is information implying that the organizer is not authorized to sell tickets for the event.
If the suspicion cannot be dispelled within 30 days, the provider reserves the right to stop payouts by the financial institution to the organizer, reverse transactions, and refund the amounts to the participants in accordance with § 5.
§ 7 Obligations of the Organizer
The organizer warrants that all data transmitted to the provider is true and accurate. Furthermore, the organizer warrants that they are of legal age, provided they are a natural person. If the organizer is a legal entity, they warrant that they possess all necessary rights to act legally on behalf of the legal entity. The organizer is obliged to provide valid proof of the assurances made in this section upon the provider's request.
The organizer assures the provider that
- no agreement or arrangement exists between the organizer and a venue, the marketer or operator of a venue, or any other third party that could prevent or restrict the organizer from using Converia's services in accordance with these general terms and conditions,
- the organizer is entitled to enter into this agreement,
- the organizer is entitled to hold or promote the event advertised on the Converia websites.
The organizer is obliged to provide valid proof of the assurances made in this section upon the provider's request.
The organizer is only permitted to offset claims that are undisputed or have been legally established. The same applies to the organizer's rights of retention.
§ 8 Term of the Agreement
This agreement is valid for the duration of the event and as long as one of the contracting parties has not yet fulfilled all obligations in accordance with the provisions of this agreement. Ordinary termination of the agreement is excluded during this term.
The right of the contracting parties to terminate this agreement for good cause remains unaffected. Such grounds for termination exist for the provider in particular if
- the organizer has breached material provisions of these terms and conditions, or
- an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings against the organizer's assets is filed, or insolvency proceedings are opened by a court or dismissed due to a lack of assets, or
- the provider becomes aware of circumstances that lead them to reasonably assume that the organizer does not have the necessary financial resources to fulfill their contractual obligations to the provider or to third parties, and the organizer fails to provide evidence to the contrary to the provider's satisfaction within 30 days of a request, or
- the organizer does not hold an event within the meaning of these terms and conditions.
§ 9 Final Provisions
Any terms and conditions that conflict with these terms and conditions shall not apply.
Should any provision of this contract be or become invalid due to subsequent circumstances, the validity of the remainder of the contract shall remain unaffected. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that comes closest to what the contracting parties would have intended had they considered the point in question. The same applies to any gaps in this contract.
This contract is governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and other legal provisions that are part of German law within the framework or implementation of international agreements or supranational institutions, unless these are mandatory and part of European Union law. This also applies to claims arising from pre-contractual and post-contractual obligations and to statutory claims that compete with pre-contractual and post-contractual claims.
Where this contract refers to written form, this also includes email. The contracting parties are permitted to agree on provisions applicable to communications they may send to each other regarding this contract.