Terms of service

Escalator lets you pay a merchant who only accepts crypto by paying from your own bank account instead. You tell us the payment address and the amount the merchant asked for, we collect the pound equivalent of that amount plus our fee from your UK bank, and we send the USDC on Base to the address you gave us. Escalator is available to UK bank accounts only.

We are not the merchant. We do not sell, ship or guarantee whatever you are buying, and we are not a party to your agreement with the merchant.

By making a payment you confirm that:

• You are at least 18 and using your own bank account.
• The payment address you entered is correct and accepts USDC on Base.
• You are not using Escalator for anything unlawful or on someone else's behalf.

We may decline or cancel a payment if we suspect fraud, error or misuse. If we do, any money we have collected is returned to the account it came from.

Merchants are owed in USDC. We convert that amount to pounds using a live exchange rate with a 0.5% spread, and lock the rate for 15 minutes while you complete the payment. If the lock expires we re-quote and show you the new total before anything is charged. Our fee is 1.5% of the converted amount plus 25p. The full breakdown is shown before you approve anything, and the total you see is the total your bank is asked for. Your bank may apply its own charges, which are outside our control.

Payments on a blockchain cannot be reversed. If you enter an address that belongs to someone else, or an address on a different network, the funds cannot be recovered by us or by anyone else. Always copy the USDC on Base address your merchant gave you and check it before you pay.

Most payments complete in about 30 seconds once your bank approves them. Occasionally bank or network delays can make this longer. We show you the live status and a link to the transaction as soon as it is sent.

We take care to deliver the exact amount to the address you entered. We are not responsible for the goods or services you are buying, for a merchant that does not deliver, or for losses caused by an incorrect address, a bank delay, or events outside our reasonable control. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

We may update these terms as the service develops; the date at the top always shows the current version. Questions can go to support@escalator.to.