Version 2026-08-18
A referral link is a link The Index Registry generates for you: either your account referral link (which earns you a platform-fee discount) or a listing share link (which can earn a cash reward where that specific listing carries an active referral offer). Whether a listing carries a reward is decided by us, per listing, on the platform's side. The state shown on the listing page ("a real reward amount" or "referral reward not available for this listing") is the only authoritative answer. Whisky casks and art never carry a public referral reward, for any seller, under any configuration.
Because you earn a reward when someone buys (or signs up) through your link, UK advertising law, the CAP Code, enforced by the ASA, requires that this is disclosed clearly, visibly, and before people engage with your link, wherever you share it. Vague or abbreviated tags (a bare "#collab", "*affiliate", or similar) have been explicitly ruled insufficient by the ASA. Every link The Index Registry generates comes with a ready-made disclosure:
"Referral link — I may earn a reward if you buy through this link."
Use it (or an equally clear equivalent) every time. The platform will not generate a share message without it, and we may suspend referral access for links shared in ways that hide the commercial relationship.
This carries real financial risk, not just guidance: under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in force for unfair commercial practices since 6 April 2025, the CMA can directly fine businesses up to 10% of global annual turnover for misleading practices, which includes undisclosed incentivised promotion, and can fine individuals who are accessories to a breach up to £300,000. Non-disclosure exposes both you and The Index Registry to that enforcement.
Referral promotion of wine must comply with UK alcohol-advertising rules: it must not be directed at, or be likely to appeal particularly to, anyone under 18. Wine share messages generated by the platform carry an adults-only line. Keep it, and do not share wine referral links in places aimed at minors. Wine listings only carry referral rewards while the seller's alcohol licence verification is current.
A reward is created as pending when a purchase attributed to your link is recorded, and only becomes approved once the underlying transaction has passed its 21-day validation window. A cancelled or refunded transaction cancels or reverses its reward. Approved rewards are paid from The Index Registry's own platform revenue, never from, or through, any buyer's payment, and paying out requires a verified payout account (including identity checks). Rewards are visible in your account before payout.
Attribution uses a single first-party cookie, set only if the visitor has accepted non-essential cookies (UK PECR). Someone who declines is not tracked by any other means, which also means a purchase they make may not be attributable to your link. That is a deliberate consequence of doing this lawfully, not a bug.
Breaches void the affected rewards and can end your referral access. Suspected fraud is reviewed by a human before any decision.
Participation in the cash referral programme is limited to people aged 18 or over. Before your first share link is generated you must positively confirm you are 18 or over and accept these terms; that acceptance is recorded against this terms version. There is no alternative participation route for under-18s: no guardian-operated flow, no held-until-majority rewards. If terms change, you accept the new version before sharing again.
You must not use referrals to conceal a conflict of interest or as a channel for a bribe or kickback. In particular: if you act as a procurement agent or purchasing decision-maker for a buyer, if your employer prohibits you receiving benefits connected to purchases you influence, or if a fiduciary duty applies to the purchase, you must not take a referral reward on it undisclosed. For referrals on transactions above £10,000, an explicit conflict declaration is required before the reward is attributed. Rewards obtained in breach are void.
Rewards may be taxable income in your hands; reporting and paying any tax due is your responsibility. The Index Registry does not and will not assist tax evasion: we will not conceal rewards, record false residency or location information, split or re-route payments to obscure a recipient, or participate in sham transactions. Requests to do any of these end referral access.
Rewards are paid on your own referred purchases only. There is no downline: you earn nothing from other people's referrals, recruiting referrers pays nothing, and joining is free. Anything resembling a joining fee, a recruitment reward, or a multi-level structure does not exist on The Index Registry and never will under these terms.
Alternative assets are not financial products, and you must not promote them as investments. Referrer-generated content must never claim or imply guaranteed value, including phrases such as “guaranteed return”, “guaranteed returns”, “guaranteed profit”, “safe investment” or anything equivalent. The platform will not generate share copy containing such language, and using it in your own promotion is a breach of these terms.
Rewards are earned on a completed, attributed purchase only, vest after the 21-day validation window, and are cancelled or reversed if the sale is cancelled, returned, or refunded, or if the referral breaches the referral terms. Any tax on rewards you receive is your own responsibility.
The same statement is shown wherever a reward amount is displayed, so what qualifies, when it vests, and why it can reverse is never small print.
Whisky Earn is a separate programme from the native referral system described above. Rewards are tracked, approved, and paid entirely by Awin, under Awin's own publisher terms, together with these programme terms. We never compute or pay a whisky Earn reward ourselves: once a sale is approved, Awin pays you directly, on its own schedule and terms. Joining requires a separate Awin publisher account, approved by Awin, not by us.
Breaching these terms, Awin's own publisher terms, or the programme terms Awin separately provides can end your Whisky Earn access. See our Awin publisher page for the commission structure.
Referring US buyers under Whisky Earn requires a separate, further approval: becoming an approved US Earn Ambassador. This section applies only to that referral of US buyers, in addition to the Whisky Earn terms above.