Terms of Service Effective Date: July 17, 2026 Last Updated: July 17, 2026 Introduction These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern access to and use of the websites, merchant dashboard, point-of-sale tools, hosted checkout, payment links, PineTree Wallet interfaces, reporting tools, commerce connectors, APIs, webhooks, support tools, and other products and services made available by PineTree Payments LLC (collectively, the "Services"). These Terms are a binding agreement between PineTree Payments LLC ("PineTree," "PineTree Payments," "we," "our," or "us") and the person or legal entity that accesses or uses the Services ("Merchant," "you," or "your"). If you use the Services on behalf of a business, platform, marketplace, nonprofit organization, or other entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity, and that entity is the Merchant under these Terms. By creating an account, connecting a provider, creating or accepting a payment, using PineTree POS or hosted checkout, using PineTree Wallet, using an API key or webhook, or otherwise accessing the Services, you agree to these Terms and acknowledge PineTree's Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Services. 1. Business Use and Eligibility The Services are intended primarily for lawful business and commercial use and are not designed as a consumer banking, investment, savings, or personal remittance product. To use the Services, you must: (a) be at least eighteen years old; (b) have legal capacity and authority to enter into these Terms; (c) provide accurate and complete information; (d) use the Services only for lawful purposes; (e) maintain all licenses, registrations, approvals, and permissions required for your business; and (f) comply with these Terms, applicable law, and applicable Provider Terms. PineTree may decline, restrict, suspend, or terminate access when a Merchant is ineligible, provides inaccurate information, presents legal, compliance, fraud, security, reputational, or operational risk, or uses the Services in a prohibited manner. 2. Definitions "Authorized User" means an employee, contractor, agent, developer, or representative whom Merchant authorizes to access the Services. "Customer" means a person or entity that pays or attempts to pay Merchant for Merchant's goods or services. "Payment Provider" or "Provider" means a third party that supplies payment processing, acquiring, gateway, terminal, wallet, custody, blockchain, settlement, identity, compliance, or related infrastructure used with the Services. "Provider Account" means an account, connected account, sub-account, wallet account, terminal location, gateway profile, or similar account maintained with a Provider for Merchant or for Merchant's use. "Provider Terms" means the separate agreement, policies, card-network rules, acceptable-use requirements, privacy notices, technical requirements, and pricing that govern Provider Services. "Payment Rail" means a supported card network, bank-connected rail, digital asset network, blockchain, stablecoin, Bitcoin Lightning, terminal channel, or other method through which a payment may be initiated or completed. "PineTree Engine" means PineTree's orchestration layer that creates payment records, applies Merchant configuration, routes instructions to enabled Providers or Payment Rails, normalizes events and statuses, and updates PineTree records. "Platform Fee" means the fee charged by PineTree for use of the Services, separate from Provider fees, card-network fees, hardware costs, blockchain fees, taxes, and other third-party charges. 3. PineTree's Role PineTree provides software, orchestration, user interfaces, transaction records, payment-routing tools, and integrations that connect Merchants with supported Providers and Payment Rails. PineTree may help Merchant create payment requests, present checkout or POS interfaces, transmit Merchant instructions, display transaction status, synchronize selected commerce information, and provide reporting. Unless a separate written agreement expressly states otherwise, PineTree is not: (a) a bank or depository institution; (b) a card network, card issuer, merchant acquirer, or independent sales organization acting as the Merchant's processor; (c) the merchant of record or seller of Merchant's goods or services; (d) an investment adviser, broker, exchange, or securities platform; or (e) the custodian or legal owner of Merchant or Customer funds or digital assets. PineTree does not guarantee that a particular Provider, Payment Rail, terminal, wallet, asset, network, or feature will be available to any Merchant. Provider approval, technical compatibility, geographic availability, and legal requirements may apply. 4. Merchant Accounts and Account Information Merchant may be required to create and maintain a PineTree account to access the dashboard, POS, hosted checkout, payment links, PineTree Wallet, reporting, provider settings, commerce connectors, or developer tools. Merchant must keep its legal name, business information, contact information, ownership information, tax information, websites, products, services, refund policy, fulfillment information, and other account data accurate and current. PineTree may rely on information and instructions submitted through Merchant's account. Merchant authorizes PineTree to use account information as reasonably necessary to provide the Services, communicate with Merchant, perform fraud and security review, support Provider onboarding, satisfy Provider requests, and comply with law. 5. Authorized Users and Account Security Merchant is responsible for all acts and omissions of its Authorized Users and for configuring their access appropriately. Merchant must promptly remove access for any person who is no longer authorized. Merchant must protect usernames, passwords, passkeys, API keys, device sessions, one-time codes, wallet sessions, and other credentials. Merchant must use reasonable security controls, including multifactor authentication when available, and must promptly notify PineTree at info@pinetree-payments.com of suspected unauthorized access or credential compromise. PineTree may treat actions completed through valid Merchant credentials, approved devices, wallet signatures, or authenticated sessions as authorized by Merchant. PineTree is not responsible for losses caused by Merchant's failure to secure its accounts, devices, users, credentials, or connected systems. 6. Provider Connections and Provider Accounts Many Services require Merchant to maintain a Provider Account or accept Provider Terms. PineTree may facilitate onboarding, account creation, connected-account linking, sub-account provisioning, API authorization, terminal registration, or other Provider setup on Merchant's behalf or at Merchant's instruction. Merchant authorizes PineTree to transmit information and instructions to Providers, request or refresh access tokens, create payment objects, retrieve transaction and balance information, receive Provider events, and take other actions reasonably necessary to operate enabled integrations. Each Provider independently controls its underwriting, identity verification, KYC or KYB review, risk decisions, reserves, limits, supported businesses, pricing, processing, custody, settlement, payouts, account restrictions, and termination. PineTree cannot guarantee Provider approval or reverse a Provider decision. Merchant is responsible for reading and complying with Provider Terms and for paying all Provider fees. If Provider Terms conflict with these Terms regarding Provider Services, the Provider Terms control for those Provider Services. PineTree does not require Merchant to use PineTree exclusively unless a separate written agreement expressly says so. 7. Merchant of Record and Customer Relationship Merchant remains the seller and merchant of record for its goods and services unless a separate written agreement with a Provider expressly states otherwise. Merchant, not PineTree, determines what is sold, sets prices, makes product and service representations, fulfills orders, issues receipts, handles taxes, provides customer support, and establishes refund, return, shipping, privacy, and cancellation policies. Merchant is solely responsible for its relationship with Customers and for all claims involving Merchant's goods, services, advertising, fulfillment, warranties, refunds, returns, disputes, chargebacks, and legal obligations. PineTree's display of a checkout page, payment request, QR code, terminal prompt, receipt, transaction status, or Merchant branding does not make PineTree a party to the sale between Merchant and Customer. 8. PineTree Engine, Routing, and Payment Instructions PineTree Engine may use Merchant settings, enabled Providers, Payment Rail compatibility, currency, asset, terminal configuration, availability, technical signals, and other factors to determine how a payment instruction is created or routed. Merchant authorizes PineTree to transmit authenticated payment instructions to enabled Providers and Payment Rails, including instructions to create payment intents, terminal actions, invoices, payment links, wallet transactions, checkout sessions, refunds, cancellations, and other supported operations. Routing is a software function and is not a guarantee of authorization, processing, confirmation, settlement, lowest cost, fastest completion, or uninterrupted availability. Providers and Payment Rails may reject, delay, reverse, expire, or otherwise fail to complete instructions. 9. Card Payments Card payment functionality may be made available through connected card processors, gateways, acquirers, card networks, and terminal Providers. Merchant must maintain an approved Provider Account and comply with applicable Provider Terms and card-network rules. Merchant is responsible for obtaining proper Customer authorization, accurately describing transactions, using the correct transaction type, issuing required receipts, maintaining evidence of authorization and fulfillment, and following all rules for refunds, recurring payments, card-present transactions, card-not-present transactions, tips, preauthorizations, incremental authorizations, manual entry, and surcharges or service fees. Provider authorization does not guarantee final settlement. Card transactions may later be reversed, refunded, disputed, charged back, adjusted, or withheld. Providers may impose reserves, negative balances, retrieval requests, fines, or other assessments. Merchant is responsible for those amounts and for responding to disputes by Provider deadlines. PineTree does not control card-network rules, interchange, Provider pricing, settlement timing, reserves, dispute outcomes, or Provider account holds. 10. POS, Terminals, Tap to Pay, Manual Entry, and Cash Recording PineTree POS may support compatible payment terminals, reader devices, browser-based interfaces, tablets, mobile devices, Tap to Pay functionality, manual card entry through Provider-controlled interfaces, digital asset payment requests, and recording of cash or other external payments. Terminal and Tap to Pay availability depends on Provider approval, supported hardware, operating system, device security, certification, country, network connectivity, and Provider requirements. Existing Merchant hardware may be used only when it is compatible, supported, properly configured, and permitted by the applicable Provider. Merchant must protect POS devices and terminals from loss, theft, tampering, unauthorized modification, malware, rooted or jailbroken operating systems, and unauthorized access. Merchant must inspect physical devices, install required updates, follow Provider instructions, and immediately disable or report compromised devices. When PineTree records a cash or externally completed payment, PineTree is providing a bookkeeping or workflow record only. PineTree does not receive, verify, safeguard, or settle the underlying cash or external payment. Merchant is responsible for verifying that payment was actually received. 11. Hosted Checkout, Payment Links, and Online Payments PineTree may provide hosted checkout pages, embeddable buttons, payment links, QR codes, redirects, and related online payment tools. Merchant is responsible for the accuracy of all amounts, currencies, taxes, shipping charges, product descriptions, order references, return URLs, expiration settings, and Customer-facing disclosures. Payment links may be accessible to anyone who possesses the link. Merchant must distribute and manage links securely and must not use them for deceptive, unauthorized, or prohibited transactions. Merchant must ensure its website, application, checkout flow, and Customer communications comply with applicable consumer-protection, advertising, privacy, accessibility, recurring-payment, refund, tax, and ecommerce requirements. PineTree does not review or approve Merchant's legal disclosures. 12. Digital Asset Payments PineTree may support payments using digital assets, stablecoins, blockchain networks, wallet applications, QR codes, deep links, transaction signatures, smart contracts, and related infrastructure. Supported assets, networks, wallets, and transaction types may change at any time. Digital asset transactions may be irreversible, publicly visible, delayed, rejected, underpaid, overpaid, sent on the wrong network, sent to the wrong address, affected by network congestion, or subject to smart-contract, bridge, validator, wallet, issuer, protocol, or infrastructure failure. PineTree generally cannot reverse or recover a confirmed blockchain transaction. Merchant is responsible for verifying the asset, network, address, amount, wallet, and transaction details before approving or requesting a transfer. Merchant bears the risk of price volatility, stablecoin depegging, issuer freezes, token-contract changes, forks, airdrops, unsupported assets, and network fees unless a separate written agreement states otherwise. A payment shown as confirmed may still be affected by a later blockchain reorganization, asset freeze, provider action, legal restriction, or other event outside PineTree's control. 13. PineTree Wallet and Provider-Managed Wallet Infrastructure PineTree Wallet is a unified interface that may display balances, addresses, transaction activity, withdrawal options, and payment readiness across supported Payment Rails. The underlying wallet, key-management, custody, account, or blockchain infrastructure may be supplied by one or more third-party Providers. Depending on the rail and configuration, assets may be held in a Merchant-controlled wallet, a Provider-controlled account, a Provider-managed wallet, a merchant-specific sub-account, or another supported arrangement. Unless PineTree expressly agrees otherwise in a separate written agreement, PineTree does not take legal title to Merchant assets and is not the custodian of those assets. PineTree does not ask Merchant to provide private keys, seed phrases, wallet recovery phrases, or full wallet passwords. Merchant must never submit those credentials through PineTree support, free-text fields, email, or chat. Merchant is responsible for protecting wallet access, approved devices, recovery methods, and transaction authorizations. PineTree may facilitate withdrawals or transfers only after authenticated Merchant instructions, required signatures, and Provider-supported approvals. Withdrawals and transfers may be irreversible and may be subject to Provider limits, compliance review, network fees, delays, or rejection. Balance displays are informational and may be delayed or differ from Provider or network records. 14. Bitcoin Lightning PineTree may provide Bitcoin Lightning payment functionality through underlying third-party infrastructure. PineTree may facilitate creation of a merchant-specific account or sub-account, generate Lightning invoices, display balances or payment status, and coordinate supported withdrawals or transfers. Lightning invoices may expire, routing may fail, liquidity may be unavailable, payments may remain pending, and Provider limits or compliance controls may apply. A successful invoice payment may be treated differently from an on-chain Bitcoin transaction and may depend on Provider records. Any Bitcoin held in connection with the Lightning service may be held by an underlying Provider or in another supported wallet arrangement rather than by PineTree. PineTree does not guarantee continuous Lightning routing, liquidity, invoice completion, custody availability, or recovery of funds sent through an incorrect or unsupported method. 15. Commerce, Inventory, and Order Connectors PineTree may connect with ecommerce platforms, inventory systems, order-management systems, and other commerce tools. Connectors may import or synchronize products, inventory counts, prices, orders, taxes, Customer references, and payment status. Merchant authorizes PineTree to access and exchange data with connected commerce platforms as necessary to provide the connector. Merchant is responsible for the accuracy of source data, permissions, product listings, inventory, tax settings, fulfillment, and order records. Synchronization may be delayed, incomplete, duplicated, or interrupted. Unless PineTree expressly states otherwise, Merchant's commerce or inventory system remains the authoritative system for products, stock, fulfillment, and orders, while Provider records remain authoritative for processing and settlement. Merchant must reconcile discrepancies and must not rely solely on PineTree to prevent overselling or fulfillment errors. 16. Transaction Status, Records, and Reconciliation PineTree normalizes Provider and Payment Rail events into operational status labels that may include Waiting, Processing, Confirmed, Failed, Expired, Canceled, Refunded, Disputed, Unknown, or similar states. Status labels are provided for operational visibility. A Confirmed status does not necessarily mean that a card transaction is immune from reversal, dispute, reserve, or chargeback, or that funds have reached Merchant's bank account. A digital asset status may depend on Provider or network confirmation thresholds. PineTree records are the operational source of truth for PineTree interfaces and PineTree fees. Provider records control Provider authorization, processing, custody, settlement, payouts, reserves, and card disputes. Blockchain records control on-chain transaction history. Merchant must regularly reconcile PineTree records with Provider, bank, wallet, blockchain, and commerce records. Reports, exports, dashboards, receipts, and analytics are provided for convenience and may contain delays, omissions, or errors. They are not audited financial statements, bank statements, tax returns, or legal records. 17. Refunds, Reversals, Chargebacks, and Disputes Merchant is responsible for establishing and honoring lawful refund and return policies and for providing timely Customer support. Card refunds, reversals, disputes, retrieval requests, and chargebacks are governed by Provider Terms and card-network rules. Merchant authorizes PineTree to transmit supported refund or cancellation instructions to the applicable Provider but understands that the Provider controls execution and outcome. Digital asset payments generally cannot be reversed. A digital asset refund may require Merchant to send a new transaction, may require Customer wallet information, may incur network or Provider fees, and may expose Merchant to asset-price changes. Merchant is responsible for confirming refund details before authorizing the transfer. Unless required by law or expressly stated in applicable pricing, PineTree fees already assessed are non-refundable even if the underlying transaction is later refunded, reversed, disputed, or charged back. 18. Fees, Platform Fee, and Taxes Unless different pricing is displayed in the Services or agreed in a separate written order form or merchant agreement, PineTree's standard Platform Fee is $0.15 per completed transaction for which a Platform Fee is assessed. The Platform Fee is separate from Provider processing fees, interchange, card-network assessments, gateway fees, terminal or hardware costs, chargeback fees, reserves, blockchain gas or network fees, wallet or custody fees, commerce-platform fees, taxes, and other third-party charges. Depending on Merchant configuration and applicable law, the Platform Fee may be paid by Merchant or included in the amount presented to the Customer. Merchant is solely responsible for ensuring any Customer-facing fee is clearly and lawfully disclosed and is not mislabeled as a tax, government charge, card-network fee, or mandatory Provider fee. Merchant may not impose card surcharges, convenience fees, or service fees except as permitted by law, Provider Terms, and card-network rules. PineTree may change fees or introduce new fees upon notice where required. Merchant is responsible for all taxes arising from its business and use of the Services, excluding taxes based on PineTree's net income. PineTree does not provide tax advice. 19. Merchant Responsibilities Merchant is responsible for: (a) the legality and quality of its goods and services; (b) accurate prices, taxes, tips, discounts, order references, and payment requests; (c) Customer authorization and fulfillment; (d) receipts, refunds, returns, disputes, and chargebacks; (e) Provider and Payment Rail configuration; (f) Merchant's bank accounts, wallets, devices, terminals, websites, applications, and networks; (g) recordkeeping, tax reporting, and reconciliation; (h) employee and Authorized User conduct; and (i) compliance with applicable law, Provider Terms, and card-network rules. Merchant must not represent that PineTree endorses, guarantees, insures, underwrites, sells, or is responsible for Merchant's products or services. Merchant must not use PineTree's name or marks in a misleading manner. 20. Prohibited Businesses and Uses Merchant may not use the Services for any unlawful, deceptive, abusive, harmful, unauthorized, or prohibited activity, or for any activity prohibited by a Provider or Payment Rail. Prohibited uses include, without limitation: fraud; money laundering; terrorist financing; sanctions evasion; human trafficking or exploitation; illegal gambling; unlicensed financial, money-transmission, lending, securities, investment, or exchange activity; Ponzi or pyramid schemes; scams or deceptive fundraising; stolen or counterfeit goods; illegal drugs; unauthorized pharmaceuticals; unlawful weapons activity; malware, ransomware, credential theft, phishing, or cybercrime; darknet markets; privacy invasion; harassment; unauthorized card testing; transaction laundering; processing for undisclosed third parties; and any goods or services prohibited by applicable law or Provider Terms. PineTree may block transactions, disable Payment Rails, restrict features, request information, report activity where required or permitted, and suspend or terminate accounts suspected of prohibited activity. 21. Compliance, Sanctions, and Provider Risk Review Merchant is responsible for compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, Customers, products, locations, transactions, and use of the Services, including laws relating to payments, consumer protection, privacy, data security, taxes, anti-money laundering, sanctions, digital assets, advertising, refunds, recurring billing, accessibility, and electronic communications. Merchant may not use the Services if Merchant or any beneficial owner, controlling person, Authorized User, Customer, counterparty, wallet, or transaction is prohibited by applicable sanctions or export-control laws. Merchant may not use the Services to evade sanctions, location restrictions, Provider controls, or legal requirements. PineTree and Providers may conduct identity, business, ownership, wallet, transaction, sanctions, fraud, and risk screening. Merchant must promptly provide requested information. PineTree may share relevant information with Providers, banks, card networks, authorities, or service providers as permitted by law and the Privacy Policy. Contract language does not determine Merchant's or PineTree's regulatory status. Each party remains responsible for obtaining legal advice and registrations or licenses required for its actual activities. 22. Customer Data, Privacy, and Merchant Instructions PineTree's handling of personal information is described in the PineTree Privacy Policy. Merchant must provide all notices, obtain all consents, and establish all legal bases required for Merchant to collect, use, disclose, and instruct PineTree or Providers to process personal information. Merchant represents that it has the right to provide Customer, employee, product, order, and transaction data to PineTree and connected Providers. Merchant must not submit unnecessary sensitive information or data that the Services are not designed to receive. PineTree may process Merchant data to provide, secure, maintain, troubleshoot, improve, and support the Services; prevent fraud and abuse; comply with law; and generate aggregated or de-identified analytics that do not identify Merchant or any individual. Where required, PineTree and Merchant may enter into a separate data-processing agreement. Merchant remains responsible for responding to Customer requests concerning Merchant-controlled data unless applicable law or a separate agreement provides otherwise. 23. Security, PCI DSS, and Sensitive Payment Data PineTree is designed to route sensitive card-data collection through supported Provider-controlled interfaces, SDKs, hosted fields, iFrames, terminals, or similar components. Merchant must not submit full card numbers, security codes, PINs, private keys, seed phrases, passwords, government identification numbers, or other highly sensitive credentials through PineTree free-text fields, support messages, logs, or APIs unless the applicable documentation expressly permits it. Merchant is responsible for the security of its environment and for all Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard obligations applicable to Merchant, even when card processing is outsourced. Merchant must use only approved integrations and must not modify, intercept, copy, store, log, or transmit sensitive payment data in an unauthorized manner. Merchant must maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, patch systems, secure endpoints and networks, limit access, monitor for compromise, preserve logs where appropriate, and promptly notify PineTree and affected Providers of incidents that may affect the Services or payment data. PineTree may require Merchant to complete security reviews, provide compliance evidence, disable insecure integrations, rotate credentials, or take other protective action. 24. APIs, Webhooks, and Developer Tools PineTree may provide APIs, SDKs, API keys, documentation, sandbox environments, webhooks, and other developer tools. Merchant may use them only for authorized business purposes and in accordance with documentation, rate limits, security requirements, and these Terms. Merchant must keep API keys and signing secrets confidential; use idempotency and authentication controls where documented; validate webhook signatures; handle duplicate, delayed, retried, or out-of-order events; maintain reconciliation and fallback procedures; and promptly rotate compromised credentials. Merchant may not reverse engineer, scrape, probe, overload, bypass, disrupt, exploit, or attempt unauthorized access to the Services; introduce malicious code; use the Services to test stolen payment credentials; or resell or sublicense the developer tools except under a separate written agreement. PineTree may change APIs, impose or adjust limits, revoke credentials, deprecate versions, or suspend developer access for security, misuse, nonpayment, legal, or operational reasons. Webhook delivery is not guaranteed, and Merchant must not rely on a single webhook as the sole record of payment completion. 25. Third-Party Services The Services may depend on Providers, cloud hosting, databases, email delivery, analytics, identity systems, wallet infrastructure, blockchain nodes, commerce platforms, mobile operating systems, internet service providers, card networks, banks, and other third parties. PineTree does not control and is not responsible for third-party products, terms, pricing, availability, security, compliance decisions, outages, delays, data practices, account restrictions, unsupported features, rejected transactions, reserves, settlement, or losses. Links to third-party sites and the availability of an integration do not constitute endorsement. Merchant's use of third-party services is governed by the applicable third-party terms. 26. Service Availability, Changes, and Maintenance PineTree aims to provide reliable Services but does not guarantee uninterrupted, secure, timely, or error-free operation. The Services may be affected by maintenance, releases, internet failures, Provider outages, terminal connectivity, device issues, wallet problems, card-network events, bank delays, blockchain congestion, validator or node failures, attacks, legal restrictions, or other conditions outside PineTree's control. PineTree may add, modify, limit, suspend, replace, or discontinue any feature, Provider, Payment Rail, asset, network, API version, connector, hardware integration, or geographic availability. PineTree may take immediate action when necessary for security, compliance, Provider requirements, or system stability. No service-level agreement or uptime commitment applies unless PineTree signs a separate written agreement expressly providing one. 27. Beta, Preview, and Test Features PineTree may offer beta, sandbox, test, preview, experimental, simulated, or pre-release features. These features may be incomplete, inaccurate, unstable, unsupported, or subject to material change. Merchant uses beta and test features at its own risk and must not use simulated or test-mode transactions as evidence of real payment, settlement, custody, or network completion. PineTree may modify or discontinue beta features without notice. 28. Support and Electronic Communications PineTree may provide support through email, dashboard tools, tickets, documentation, or other channels. Support does not include legal, tax, accounting, investment, regulatory, or professional advice. Merchant agrees to receive electronic notices concerning the Services, security, Provider connections, account status, fees, transactions, updates, and these Terms at the email address associated with Merchant's account or through the dashboard. Merchant must keep contact information current. Electronic acceptance, notices, records, and communications may satisfy legal writing and signature requirements to the extent permitted by law. 29. Suspension, Restriction, and Termination PineTree may review, restrict, suspend, or terminate Merchant's access or any Provider connection if: Merchant violates these Terms or Provider Terms; Merchant fails to pay amounts due; information is inaccurate or incomplete; activity appears fraudulent, prohibited, sanctioned, or unlawful; a Provider or authority requires action; an account creates security, legal, compliance, reputational, or operational risk; or continued service is not commercially reasonable. Merchant may stop using the Services at any time and may request account closure, subject to outstanding obligations and retention requirements. Closing PineTree does not automatically close a Provider Account, bank account, wallet, commerce account, or terminal agreement. Merchant must separately manage those third-party relationships. Upon termination, Merchant must stop using the Services and all PineTree credentials. PineTree may retain transaction, security, tax, audit, legal, and compliance records as required or reasonably necessary. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including payment obligations, confidentiality, intellectual property, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, dispute provisions, and miscellaneous terms. 30. Intellectual Property and License PineTree and its licensors own all rights, title, and interest in the Services, PineTree Engine, software, APIs, designs, interfaces, documentation, trademarks, logos, content, and technology, excluding Merchant Content and third-party materials. Subject to these Terms, PineTree grants Merchant a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable, nonsublicensable, revocable right to access and use the Services for Merchant's internal lawful business purposes during the term. Merchant may not copy, sell, lease, sublicense, distribute, create derivative works from, reverse engineer, decompile, circumvent, remove proprietary notices from, or use the Services to build a competing product except to the extent applicable law prohibits such restrictions. 31. Merchant Content and Data License Merchant retains ownership of its names, marks, product information, images, order data, Customer data, and other content submitted to the Services ("Merchant Content"). Merchant grants PineTree and its service providers a worldwide, nonexclusive, royalty-free license to host, copy, transmit, format, display, process, and otherwise use Merchant Content as necessary to provide, secure, support, and improve the Services and to comply with Merchant instructions and law. Merchant represents that Merchant Content is accurate, lawful, noninfringing, and provided with all required rights and permissions. PineTree may remove or restrict Merchant Content that violates these Terms or creates risk. 32. Confidentiality Each party may receive nonpublic information that is marked confidential or that reasonably should be understood as confidential, including technical, security, business, pricing, roadmap, Customer, integration, and Provider information ("Confidential Information"). The receiving party will use Confidential Information only to perform or receive the Services, protect it using reasonable care, and disclose it only to personnel, contractors, Providers, professional advisers, or authorities with a need to know and appropriate obligations or legal authority. Confidential Information does not include information that the receiving party can demonstrate was lawfully known without restriction, independently developed, publicly available without breach, or lawfully received from another source. Required legal disclosures are permitted after reasonable notice when legally allowed. 33. Feedback Merchant may provide ideas, suggestions, requests, or feedback. PineTree may use and commercialize feedback without restriction, attribution, or compensation, provided PineTree does not publicly identify Merchant as the source without permission. 34. No Professional, Investment, or Regulatory Advice PineTree does not provide legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment, custody, compliance, licensing, or regulatory advice. Information in the Services, documentation, reports, and support communications is general operational information only. Merchant must obtain advice from qualified professionals regarding its business model, licensing, money-transmission status, card-program obligations, taxes, privacy duties, sanctions exposure, digital asset activities, and other legal or financial matters. 35. Disclaimers THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PINETREE DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, AND OTHER WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, AND QUIET ENJOYMENT. PINETREE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY PROVIDER WILL APPROVE MERCHANT; THAT ANY PAYMENT, REFUND, WITHDRAWAL, WALLET TRANSACTION, TERMINAL ACTION, WEBHOOK, CONNECTOR, OR SETTLEMENT WILL SUCCEED; THAT ANY DIGITAL ASSET WILL RETAIN VALUE; THAT ANY EXISTING HARDWARE WILL BE COMPATIBLE; THAT REPORTS WILL BE COMPLETE OR ERROR-FREE; OR THAT LOST, MISDIRECTED, REVERSED, DISPUTED, FROZEN, OR IRREVERSIBLE FUNDS CAN BE RECOVERED. MERCHANT USES THE SERVICES, PROVIDERS, PAYMENT RAILS, TERMINALS, WALLETS, BLOCKCHAINS, AND COMMERCE CONNECTORS AT ITS OWN RISK. 36. Limitation of Liability TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PINETREE AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR LOST-PROFIT DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF REVENUE, BUSINESS, GOODWILL, DATA, DIGITAL ASSETS, CUSTOMERS, OR OPPORTUNITY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. PINETREE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR LOSSES ARISING FROM PROVIDER ACTIONS OR OUTAGES; CARD-NETWORK OR BANK ACTIONS; CHARGEBACKS OR RESERVES; TERMINAL OR DEVICE FAILURE; BLOCKCHAIN OR LIGHTNING CONDITIONS; WALLET COMPROMISE; PRIVATE-KEY OR RECOVERY FAILURE; MARKET VOLATILITY; STABLECOIN OR TOKEN FAILURE; USER ERROR; INCORRECT ADDRESSES, NETWORKS, AMOUNTS, OR CONFIGURATION; UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS CAUSED BY MERCHANT; CUSTOMER DISPUTES; COMMERCE-SYNC ERRORS; REGULATORY RESTRICTIONS; OR THIRD-PARTY SERVICES. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PINETREE'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE FEES PAID BY MERCHANT TO PINETREE DURING THE THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM; OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION DO NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE LIMITED. 37. Indemnification Merchant will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PineTree and its owners, officers, employees, contractors, affiliates, licensors, service providers, and partners from claims, investigations, proceedings, damages, judgments, settlements, penalties, fines, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from or related to: Merchant's business, goods, services, advertising, or Customers; Merchant Content; Merchant's use or misuse of the Services; refunds, chargebacks, disputes, taxes, fulfillment, or Customer claims; Merchant's violation of law, Provider Terms, card-network rules, or these Terms; Merchant's account, device, terminal, wallet, API, or security failure; Merchant's infringement of third-party rights; or instructions submitted through Merchant's account. PineTree may control the defense of a claim subject to indemnification, and Merchant will reasonably cooperate. Merchant may not settle a claim in a manner that admits fault by or imposes obligations on PineTree without PineTree's written consent. 38. Force Majeure PineTree is not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, severe weather, fire, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, government action, sanctions, epidemics, internet or telecommunications failure, utility failure, cyberattack, Provider or bank failure, card-network disruption, blockchain or validator failure, cloud-service failure, supply shortages, or hardware unavailability. 39. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Missouri, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except to the extent federal law or another mandatory law applies. Before filing a claim, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally. The complaining party must send written notice describing the dispute and requested relief, and the parties will have at least thirty days to attempt resolution unless urgent injunctive relief is reasonably necessary. Any dispute not resolved informally will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Missouri, and each party consents to personal jurisdiction and venue there, unless applicable law requires otherwise. 40. Changes to These Terms PineTree may update these Terms from time to time. PineTree will post the revised Terms and update the Last Updated date. For material changes, PineTree may provide additional notice through email, the dashboard, or another reasonable method. Unless a different date is stated, revised Terms become effective when posted. Merchant's continued use of the Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If Merchant does not agree, Merchant must stop using the Services. 41. Miscellaneous Order of precedence. If these Terms conflict with a separate written order form, merchant agreement, data-processing agreement, or other agreement signed by PineTree, the signed agreement controls for the subject it addresses. Provider Terms control Provider Services. Independent contractors. The parties are independent contractors. These Terms do not create a partnership, franchise, joint venture, fiduciary, employment, agency, or exclusive relationship, and PineTree's relationship with a Provider does not make the Provider PineTree's agent or PineTree the Provider's agent unless expressly stated in writing. Assignment. Merchant may not assign or transfer these Terms without PineTree's written consent. PineTree may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or transfer of the Services. Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will remain effective. Waiver. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Waivers must be in writing and signed by the waiving party. No third-party beneficiaries. Except for persons expressly protected by the disclaimer, limitation, and indemnification provisions, these Terms create no third-party beneficiary rights. Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, applicable pricing, and any signed agreements between Merchant and PineTree are the entire agreement concerning the Services and replace prior or contemporaneous communications on that subject. Headings. Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation. 42. Contact Questions about these Terms may be sent to: PineTree Payments LLC Email: info@pinetree-payments.com Website: https://www.pinetree-payments.com