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How Are Card Payments Treated?

Updated over 2 weeks ago

About Card Payments

When you use a credit or debit card to fund your account, it's important to understand what this transaction represents — and what it doesn’t.

👉 This information is provided for informational purposes only. No action is required from account holders or financial advisers.


❌ What This Is Not

When you use your credit or debit card to fund your account, you are not:

  • Purchasing a digital subscription or online service (like Netflix, Spotify, or a cloud-based platform)

  • Buying financial assets or securities directly using your card

  • Entering into a transaction for goods or services in the traditional sense

  • Making a payment to us as a merchant or service provider

Framing the transaction correctly helps prevent issues such as:

  • Being taxed incorrectly in your country of residence as if you were purchasing a service

  • Being flagged by payment processors or card networks for using cards to buy regulated financial instruments directly — which is often restricted


✅ What This Is

When you fund your account by card, you are:

  • Making a capital contribution to a trust account held in your name

  • Your contribution is deposited into a segregated client monies account (held at Bank of New York Mellon)

  • We act as trustee, and you are the beneficiary of the account

  • We then execute purchases of funds on your behalf, based on your selected investment strategy — not as a direct product purchase made by you

This setup ensures:

  • Proper legal and tax treatment under Guernsey’s regulated trust structure

  • Secure handling of funds, aligned with international regulatory standards

  • A clear distinction between your contribution and a retail card-based purchase

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