Offline money: the risks

The short version. Money on your phone is like cash in your wallet. If your phone is lost, stolen or wiped, or Bridgemoni is deleted or reinstalled, before that money settles, it can be lost. Neither Bridgemoni nor our banking partner covers it. Keep only what you need on your phone.

This page must match the disclosure you agree to in the app before you first move money onto your phone (“Money on this phone is held by you”).

What “money on this phone” is

When you move money to your phone (“To phone” or “Top up”), it leaves your Bridgemoni account and goes into this handset’s wallet. From that moment it is in your keeping, not ours. A key made on your phone, and kept in its secure hardware where it has it, is the only thing that can spend it. On phones without secure hardware the key is kept in software, and a lower limit applies. That’s what lets you pay with no network.

When you can lose it

• Your phone is lost or stolen.
• Your phone is reset, wiped or damaged so it can’t be used.
• Bridgemoni is deleted and installed again.
• The phone is rooted or tampered with, or anything else makes the wallet unreadable. That resets the balance on the phone.
• Someone who knows your device PIN uses your phone.

In each case, money still on the phone, and taps not yet settled, may not be recoverable. Bridgemoni cannot restore it.

Who covers it

Nobody. Neither Bridgemoni nor our banking partner covers money lost from a phone. It is not insured.

Getting it back

Money you move onto your phone comes back to your account only by spending it, or by settling it while the phone still works. Move only what you are prepared to carry.

What you can do

• Keep only what you need for the day on your phone.
• Never share your device PIN.
• If you lose your phone, freeze it from any other device straight away.
• Go online when you can, so your taps settle.

Money paid to you offline

Money someone pays you offline goes to “Collected”. It becomes yours to spend once it has settled with the bank, the next time either phone is online.

Payments can’t be undone by tapping again

An offline payment leaves your phone when you approve it, and settles with the bank when you’re back online. Tapping again doesn’t reverse it.

Limits and sessions

How much you can keep on a phone, and pay in one tap, is set by the bank and depends on your account level. See Fees and limits. Your phone can pay offline for a limited session; when it runs out, the phone must reach the bank once before it can pay again.