General Terms and Conditions

Software-as-a-Service // Version 2024-04


The version number of these General Terms and Conditions is stated at the top of these terms. You should print a copy of these Terms and Conditions for future reference. If you do not understand any of the terms of this agreement, please contact us (hello@starfish.team) before using the Services.



(1) Scope of application


STARFISH provides to the customer Hellgate® SaaS, which consists of a single payments integration service, an application programming interface (API), as well as software development kits SDKs, which enable the channel-specific front-end integration into a checkout experience (Hellgate® SaaS). Further details of the operation and functionality of the services are made available through Hellgate® API, User Guide and other associated documentation accessible via Hellgate‘s website or as otherwise provided to you by STARFISH.


In order to use the Services, the customer must register and create an account on the Hellgate website. The customer must use a secure password and keep such password confidential. The customer must also keep the information in your Hellgate account configuration accurate and up-to-date.

(1.1)  STARFISH shall make the software according to the STARFISH offer available to the customer for use to the agreed extent for the duration of the contractual relationship (the "Service"). The Service is operated and maintained on servers operated by STARFISH.

(1.2)  STARFISH will adapt the Service at its own discretion in the form of patches, updates and upgrades if this (i) serves technical progress or (ii) appears necessary to prevent misuse or to remedy security problems. In addition, STARFISH is authorised to adapt the Service if (i) applicable law requires such changes, (ii) the changes are beneficial to the customer or (iii) the changes are of a purely technical nature and have no material impact on the customer. All updates and changes will be announced to the customer.

(1.3)  STARFISH shall send the customer access information and instructions that he requires for use to the agreed extent. The customer is not permitted to provide this access data to external third parties.

(2) Provision of the software, availability, technical requirements

(2.1) STARFISH provides the service for use at the network access point of its own service location (the "transfer point"). The customer is responsible for the Internet connection between the customer and the transfer point.

(2.2) STARFISH ensures an average annual availability of the software of 99%. The decisive factor is the availability of the software at the transfer point. Not included in the calculation of availability are (i) the regular maintenance windows, which can be up to [6] hours per week and are usually carried out between [22:00] and [4:00] Central European Time, (ii) times of non-availability due to mandatory unscheduled maintenance work that is necessary to eliminate faults, (iii) times of non-availability due to circumstances that are beyond the control of STARFISH, in particular force majeure and for which STARFISH is not responsible.

(2.3) Obligations to co-operate and services: The client undertakes to support STARFISH to the extent necessary and to create all conditions necessary for the proper execution of the contract in his sphere of operation. If the cooperation of the customer is not provided for in the schedules of the parties, the customer must provide the cooperation in a timely and proper manner, but in any case, in such a way that the agreed service is not impaired.

(2.4) The customer shall make the following contributions:


  • Before the start of the project, the client appoints a responsible German or English-speaking project manager who acts as the central point of contact for STARFISH in all matters at least until the final acceptance of the project;

  • Roles, contact details and project responsibilities are defined and documented at the latest at the project kick-off with STARFISH;

  • Notification of environmental changes and other operating conditions;

  • Notification of changes to system components.

(2.5) If the customer does not fulfil the obligations to cooperate or does not do so on time or in full, the customer cannot assert any claims against STARFISH for delay in performance.

(3) Reporting requirements

(3.1) Compliance with deadlines: If STARFISH discovers during the fulfilment of the contract that compliance with deadlines in accordance with the schedule and service plan is jeopardised, STARFISH will inform the client immediately.

(3.2) Execution of the contract: STARFISH will inform the client immediately if it is recognised that:


  • the client's specifications are substantially incorrect, incomplete or contradictory, or

  • cannot be executed as agreed, or

  • the system environment is not suitable for bringing about operational readiness. As far as possible with reasonable effort, STARFISH will simultaneously inform the customer of the consequences recognisable to him and await his decision before taking further measures. The customer will inform STARFISH of this decision without delay. STARFISH is authorised to check and test the specifications, deliveries and system environment only insofar as this is necessary to establish operational readiness.

(4) Rights of use to the services of STARFISH

(4.1) Subject to payment of the agreed remuneration, the customer receives from STARFISH the simple and non-transferable right to use the Services as intended for the duration of the contract to the agreed extent.

(4.2) The software may only be used for the customer's own business purposes. In particular, the customer may not


(4.2.1) use the services to give access to the services to third parties;


(4.2.2) modify, decompile, disassemble, reconstruct or in any other way process the content of this website, unless legally authorised to do so;


(4.2.3) distribute illegal content; and/or


(4.2.4) sell, sub-licence, rent, transfer or in any other way commercially exploit the Services outside the contractual purposes.

(4.3) After termination of the contract, the rights of use end automatically without the need for a declaration by STARFISH.

(4.4) The Services may contain open source software components. The use of these components is exclusively subject to the corresponding terms of use of the open source software components that are transmitted and/or referenced as part of the open source software components. STARFISH will inform the customer about the use of open source components to the extent necessary for the performance of this agreement and the customer will observe the corresponding terms of use.

(4.5) If STARFISH provides APIs or add-ons for third-party software, this third-party software is not covered by the granting of rights. The customer is responsible for obtaining the corresponding rights of use.

(5) Support services

(5.1) Support requests can be sent to the STARFISH ticket system. The customer will receive access to the ticket system in the course of the setup of a production account on Hellgate SaaS.

(5.2) Support requests are generally processed on working days (Germany) between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m..

(5.3) Support requests must be reported in text form with a comprehensible description of the error symptoms, which should, if possible, be substantiated by recordings, screenshots or other documents proving the defects. The report of the defect should enable the error to be reproduced.

(6) Obligations of the customer to co-operate; rights of use to data and analysis data

(6.1) Access data for the use of the services must be kept secret and not made accessible to third parties.

(6.2) The customer is obliged to check his systems, data and information for viruses or other harmful components and to use state-of-the-art virus protection programs for this purpose.

(6.3) The customer is solely responsible for the content and data uploaded by him in the context of the use of the services (the "content(s)") and must ensure that these do not violate the rights of third parties or applicable law.

(6.4) The Customer indemnifies STARFISH against all claims, legal disputes, losses, damages, expenses, costs (including court costs and legal fees) and liabilities ("Losses") arising out of or in connection with (i) a culpable breach of contractual obligations by the Customer or (ii) a breach of third party rights by the Customer's Content used by the Services.

(6.5) The content stored by the customer on the storage space intended for him may be protected by copyright. The client hereby grants STARFISH the right to make the contents stored on the server accessible to the client when he queries them via the Internet and, in particular, to reproduce and transmit them for this purpose and to be able to reproduce them for the purpose of data backup. The customer warrants that the corresponding rights have been licensed if necessary.

(6.6) STARFISH will comply with the applicable Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”). As applicable, the customer will comply with all applicable data privacy and security requirements under the PCI DSS. If applicable, upon STARFISH's request, the customer agrees to provide STARFISH with documentation demonstrating your PCI DSS compliance. If STARFISH is unable to validate your PCI DSS compliance, STARFISH may suspend or limit your access to or use of the Service.

(7) Warranty


The statutory provisions on warranty in tenancy agreements apply. However, the application of Section 536a (2) BGB (tenant's right of self-remedy) is excluded.

(8) Contract term and cancellation

The contract shall have the term specified between the parties in the main contract.  Upon termination of the contract, the customer must cease using the service. Any copies and downloads made will be completely and irretrievably deleted or destroyed, unless storage is required by law.

(9) Final provisions

(9.1) This contract is only transferable to a third party with the express written consent of the other contracting party. Notwithstanding this, STARFISH is authorised at any time and without further consent of the customer to transfer the contract to affiliated companies within the meaning of §§ 15 ff. AktG (German Stock Corporation Act) and to have rights and obligations arising from the contract fulfilled or exercised in whole or in part by third parties.

(9.2) The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from and in connection with this contract is the registered office of STARFISH.

(9.3) The place of fulfilment is the registered office of STARFISH.

(9.4) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply exclusively, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

(9.5) Additions and amendments to the contract must be made in writing to be effective. This also applies to this written form requirement itself. There are no verbal collateral agreements.

(9.6) Should a provision of these Terms and Conditions be or become invalid, contain an inadmissible deadline provision or a loophole, the legal validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. Insofar as the invalidity does not result from a violation of §§ 305 ff. BGB, the invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the economic intentions of the parties. The same applies in the event of a loophole. In the event of an invalid period, the legally permissible measure shall apply.