Billing Procedure and Fee Schedule 2015

Introduction

This page outlines the billing and payment procedure for RIPE NCC members. The information below forms an integral part of the RIPE NCC Standard Service Agreement and is complementary to the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2015.

The RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit membership organisation. RIPE NCC members pay an annual service (membership) fee for each Local Internet Registry (LIR) account they hold, in accordance with the fees determined by the RIPE NCC General Meeting in May 2014.

2015 Fees for Members

Fees for existing members

The RIPE NCC service fee is charged annually. All RIPE NCC members will be charged a fee for the year of €1,600 (sixteen hundred euro) for each LIR account they hold.

A €50 fee will also be charged for each Provider Independent (PI) number resource assigned to or sponsored by the LIR. PI number resources include Provider Independent IPv4 and IPv6 address assignments, anycasting assignments and IXP IPv6 assignments. We calculate the PI number resources assigned to or via your LIR accounts based on the resources held on 30 September 2014.

Multiple PI IPv4 and PI IPv6 assignments made on the same day to the same member will have one single charge of €50.

No sign-up fee is charged to existing members that have paid their annual fee on time and need to re-sign the “RIPE NCC Standard Service Agreement” (for example, in case of an organisation name change).

Existing and new LIRs will have to pay the full annual service fee for the year in question before they can commence a merger, transfer resources or close their LIR account. Only when the full annual service fee has been paid can the merger, transfer or closure take place.

Fees for new members

A one-time sign-up fee of €2,000 (two thousand euro) will apply for new members on the first invoice together with the service fee, calculated pro rata at the time of requesting membership.

Fees to re-open account

In accordance with Article 9.6 of the Standard Service Agreement, if the member wishes to re-open a closed LIR account, a sign-up fee of €2,000 and all outstanding fees must be paid to re-open the account.

Legacy Internet Resource Holder Fees

Legacy Internet resource holders have different options for how they can engage with the RIPE NCC:

• Legacy Internet resource holders can become members of the RIPE NCC. A pro rata annual fee of €1,600 (sixteen hundred euro) will apply while the sign-up fee of €2,000 (two thousand euro) will be waived.
• Legacy Internet resource holders who do not wish to become RIPE NCC members can conclude a separate direct agreement with the RIPE NCC. A one-time sign-up fee of €2,000 and a pro rata annual fee of €1,600 will apply.
• Legacy Internet resource holders can register the resources with a sponsoring LIR. An annual EUR 50 fee per legacy Internet resource will apply to the sponsoring LIR. AS Numbers are excluded from this charge.

Invoicing

LIRs can request to receive their invoices on a yearly, half-yearly or quarterly schedule by contacting billing@ripe.net. It is not possible to change payment schedules during the year. Changes to the payment schedule must be requested before 20 December 2014 for the 2015 fees.

Each member will receive the invoice(s) for each LIR account they hold based on the payment schedule chosen: one invoice if the payment schedule is set to yearly, two invoices for a half-yearly schedule and four invoices for a quarterly payment schedule.

The invoicing timeline schedule for 2015 is:

* These are the planned days – dates may alter in the case of technical problems, for example.

Please note that:

• If a member chooses to close its RIPE NCC account in the course of the RIPE NCC financial year, the service fee for that member's LIR account must still be paid in full. If the service fee has already been paid in full, no pro rata refunds will apply.
• Any resource transfer request in which LIRs transfer their last IPv4 resources from their LIR account to a different LIR account is only possible when the LIR transferring the last resources have no outstanding invoices and have paid the full annual contribution for the year at issue.

Invoices are sent to the billing contacts listed in our records for the LIR account. The billing contact details can be viewed and updated via the LIR Portal. Copies of invoices may be downloaded via the LIR Portal.

To make sure the invoices arrive at the correct email address, the RIPE NCC member is obliged to keep the billing contact details up-to-date. This can be done via the LIR Portal or by contacting the RIPE NCC's Billing Department. The RIPE NCC member must inform the RIPE NCC of any changes to the billing contact information for its LIR account.

Invoices are sent by email in PDF format unless LIRs have opted to receive a hard copy in addition by postal mail. Via the LIR Portal account, RIPE NCC members can choose to receive a hard copy of the invoices for their LIR account.

All invoices include a unique secure payment link. Through this link you can download a copy of the original invoice(s).

Payment Time Frame

Payment is due 30 days from the date of invoice.

If the RIPE NCC does not receive payment within 60 days of the date of invoice, the RIPE NCC will not approve any Internet number resource requests until the outstanding fee for the LIR account has been paid. The service level of a LIR account will be suspended when invoices are outstanding for longer than 90 days. When an LIR fails to make payment within 120 days, the RIPE NCC starts the process of closing the LIR Account.

Please be aware that after 120 days, a new sign-up fee of €2,000 and the applicable remaining yearly service fee must be paid to re-open an LIR account.

Methods of Payment

LIRs can pay their invoices via a bank transfer or by an online payment system. The RIPE NCC uses a trusted third Party, Doc Data Payments, to process the online payments.

Below is listed the different payment options available – please note that certain payment options are not available in every country.

All invoices that we send by email (in PDF format) include a unique payment URL. This will take you to a payment screen where you can complete your transaction by selecting your payment method:

How to Pay Your Invoice

• Bank Transfer
  

  Invoices may be settled directly with RIPE NCC by bank transfer. When using bank transfer, please refer on the transfer to the payment reference mentioned on the invoice (this means the “Customer Number” and your invoice number).

• Credit Card or PayPal
  

  Select the credit card option to complete payment.

• Debit Cards
  

  Please select VISA as your payment method as VISA also processes certain debit card payments. This option is only available for specific debit cards in the following countries:

  Denmark (Dankort);
  France (Carte Bleue);
  Italy (Carta Sr, PostePay and Visa Electron);
  Spain (4B, Euro6000, Servired)

• Maestro
  

  This option is only available in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain and the United Kingdom.

• iDeal
  

  This option is only available in the Netherlands.

Note:

• Payments should be made in euros.
• Online payments should be made against the full invoice amount. It is not possible to make partial payments via the online payment system.
• We cannot accept cheques. Any cheques that we receive will be returned to the member's billing address.
• The member is responsible for ensuring that full payment is received by the RIPE NCC by the due date.
• Members should take into consideration the time taken by banks to process payment.

Payment Status

You can view your LIR account details and the payment status of your invoices when you log in to the LIR Portal. In addition, by accessing the unique secure payment link on each invoice, you can verify whether we have received your payment once it has been made.

If you have any questions about your invoice or payments, or if you experience trouble using the online payment system, please contact billing@ripe.net.