Payment policy

This page explains how payment works at iotean: which methods we accept, when your card is charged, what happens if a payment fails, and how refunds come back to you.

1. Accepted Payment Methods

We accept the following payment methods. The options available to you are shown at checkout.

Credit & debit cards: Visa, Mastercard
Digital wallets: PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay

We do not accept bank transfers, cheques, cash on delivery, money orders, or payment by instalment through third-party buy-now-pay-later providers. If a website, message or social media account claims we accept something else, it is not us.

2. Currency

Prices and payments are processed in the currency displayed at checkout. If your card is issued in a different currency, your bank converts the amount at its own rate and may add a conversion fee — that charge comes from your bank, not from us, and we have no control over it.

3. Payment Security

All transactions run over an encrypted connection (SSL/HTTPS). You can check this by looking for the padlock icon in your browser's address bar.
We never see or store your full card number, expiry date or security code. Card details are entered directly into our payment provider's secure checkout and handled by them under PCI DSS standards. We receive only the outcome of the payment and the last few digits of the card, so we can identify the transaction.
We will never email you, message you or call you to ask for your card number, password, one-time code or account login. No legitimate member of our team will ever do this. If you receive such a message, do not respond — forward it to service@iotean.com so we can look into it.

4. When You Are Charged

Your card or wallet is charged when you place the order, not when it ships. If a payment is authorised but the order cannot be fulfilled — for example an item sells out while your payment is being confirmed — we cancel the order and release the authorisation or refund it in full. You will not be left waiting on a charge for an order that does not exist.

5. Taxes, Duties and Import Fees

Prices shown on our website do not include import duties, customs tariffs or local sales taxes that may be collected on delivery.
Any duties or import taxes are the responsibility of the recipient. We do not collect them, estimate them, or reimburse them.
We do not mark parcels as gifts or under-declare their value. Under-declaring is illegal and it puts your parcel at risk of seizure.

6. Why a Payment Might Fail

Most declined payments are not a problem with your card, but with how the details were entered or how your bank screens the transaction. The common causes:

Details do not match. The billing address, postcode or cardholder name must match exactly what your bank has on file.
Your bank blocked it. Banks often decline international or first-time online transactions automatically. A quick call to the number on the back of your card usually resolves it.
Limits or insufficient funds. Daily spending caps, or a limit on online or international payments.
Verification not completed. Some cards require 3-D Secure, an SMS code or bank-app confirmation. If you close that window, the payment stops.

If a payment fails, nothing has been charged and no order has been created. Try again, use a different method, or email us if it keeps happening.

7. Order Review

In some cases we hold an order for a manual review before dispatch — for example a high-value order, a billing address that differs substantially from the shipping address, or several orders placed in quick succession to the same address. If your order is held, we will email you. Reviews are usually resolved the same day; if we need anything from you, we will say exactly what. If we cannot verify an order, we cancel it and refund it in full rather than ship against our judgement.

8. Refunds

Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method. We cannot refund to a different card, a different account, or to a friend's card.
We process refunds within 5–7 business days of approving them (for returns, that is after the item arrives and passes inspection).
After we issue it, your bank or card issuer typically needs a further 3–5 business days to post it to your account. That part is outside our control.
Original shipping charges are not refunded unless we made a mistake. See our Return & Refund Policy for what is and is not refundable.
Duties and import taxes you paid on delivery are claimed back from your local customs authority, not from us — we never received that money.

9. Chargebacks and Disputes

If something went wrong with your order, email us first — a chargeback almost always takes longer than a direct resolution, and we can usually fix the problem the same week.

If you do open a dispute with your bank or PayPal, we will respond with the evidence we hold: the order record, the dispatch confirmation and the tracking showing delivery. Filing a chargeback after an item has been delivered, or keeping both the item and the refunded money, is fraud, and we will contest it. Accounts that abuse the chargeback process may be declined on future orders.

10. Changes to This Page

We may update this page when payment options, providers or procedures change. The version published here is the one that applies to your order. If a change affects an order you have already placed, we will honour the terms that applied when you placed it.

11. Contact

Questions about a payment, a charge you do not recognise, or a refund that has not arrived: service@iotean.com. Service hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00–18:00 (GMT+8), closed Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. We reply within one business day.