Privacy Statement

Fairstone Bank of Canada and its affiliates (“Fairstone”, “we”, “us” or “our”) are committed to protecting our customers’ privacy. The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to inform you of the types of Personal Information (defined hereinafter) we collect, how this information is used, and the steps we take to ensure it is handled appropriately.

Applicable Laws

Our policies and practices have been put in place to comply with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and all applicable provincial privacy legislation, including the Act respecting the protection of Personal Information in the private sector, both as amended from time to time.

For the purposes of this Privacy Statement, “Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual, such as contact information, account numbers, age, gender and marital status, financial information, biometric information, identification numbers, income and employment information photographs and signatures. This can also include information collected through your activities via digital means such as your phone or computer model, browser type and IP address. This may include information provided by you or collected through your activities with Fairstone from the use of its products and services, third parties or public sources, and includes information in any format, including digital formats.  For clarity, “digital means” includes websites, mobile apps social media accounts, virtual assistant, chatbot and other digital channels.

Collection

The type of Personal Information we collect depends on various factors, such as the type of products or services you use or apply for, any applicable legal and regulatory obligations, and the channel you use to communicate with us.

Personal Information that we collect may include:

 

Contact and Identity Information

  • From your applications and other forms – name, gender, date of birth, address, previous address, telephone number, email address, occupation, employer, assets, income, rent or mortgage details, language preference, and personal identification information (such as government-issued identification, social insurance number, driver’s license, passport and/or, provincial health insurance card in eligible provinces);

 

Transactional Information

  • Information about your transactions with us or third parties – account numbers, account balances, account transaction history, payment history, account activity, and records relating to the handling of any inquires or complaints you make;
  • Information we receive from program partners and service providers as a result of our private label credit card program, or other financial services program;

 

Credit and other Financial Information

  • Information received from your employer;
  • Reports we receive from credit bureaus;

 

Website Use and Device Information

  • From social media or speaking with a live-chat agent – mobile device information including make and model, unique device identifier, browser type, hardware, IP address, internet service provider, physical location of device, operating system, MAC address, mobile device-related information including screen size and time and date of use, precise location of your device;
  • From our website and online services – browsing habits on those services, search terms you entered on the website, websites and pages visited, length of time and actions taken, search terms that directed you to the website, ads viewed, accessed or clicked on;

 

Other information you give us by various means

  • From surveys completed by you – your preferences, needs, or interests;
  • From electronic communications that we send to you – actions you take in response such as opening the message or clicking an embedded link; and
  • From our mobile apps – photos taken with your device to complete a loan application (when enabled in your mobile device settings).

Use

Fairstone uses the Personal Information we collect for the following purposes:

  • verify your identity, accuracy, completeness of other information you provide to us;
  • evaluate your application and to assess your eligibility for requested products and services offered by us;
  • open, administer and service your account and to provide and administer any requested products or services;
  • provide you with replacement credit cards, from time to time, at our discretion;
  • detect and prevent fraud and unauthorized or illegal activities;
  • collect or pay a debt owed to us;
  • understand and assess your ongoing creditworthiness, financial and other requirements and to determine your eligibility or suitability for products or services offered by us;
  • understand and assess your behavioural characteristics (including your browsing history on partner websites, information of which is collected automatically, such as via cookies);
  • provide you with information about products or services offered by us or with our referral partners;
  • obtain services from agents, professionals, insurers, or service providers – see Disclosure to Third Parties below;
  • monitor and/or record mail, telephone, email and internet communications between you and us, or you and our representatives or service providers;
  • to measure the quality of our customer service;
  • to analyze business results, compile statistics and conduct marketing research and modeling, and to contact you for related surveys;
  • to comply with applicable tax, legal, security or regulatory requirements; and
  • for any other purpose to which you consent or that is permitted or required by privacy law or any other applicable law.

 

The accuracy and/or completeness of the Personal Information is based on the information you provide, or permit or consent, to others to provide. We rely on you to update and correct Personal Information that we collected to ensure it continues to be accurate, complete, and up-to-date.

Disclosure to Third Parties

As part of our routine business, we obtain services from agents or third parties, some of whom may be located outside of Canada (“service providers”). These service providers are contracted to provide certain products and services to us or to you directly. In the course of performing these services, we may provide your Personal Information to them. When we do so, we use written agreements that provide for physical, organizational, and technical measures for protection of your Personal Information. The written agreements prohibit the use of Personal Information by service providers for their own purposes or for the purposes of a third party and requires service providers to only use the information we disclose to them for the specific purpose mentioned in our agreement.

Reasons for disclosure to third parties include and are related to:

  • preparation, printing and other administrative services relating to cheque and statements;
  • card, security code and product/service issuance services;
  • settlement and valuation services;
  • data processing and market research services;
  • maintaining your credit history and providing credit references to credit bureaus;
  • participating in payment systems and networks (e.g. the electronic networks that allow consumers to pay their credit card accounts, loans or other borrowing facilities, or participating in payment clearing and settlement systems in association with other financial institutions;
  • servicing your transactions with merchants who accept a private label credit card;
  • managing various banking and financial benefits and private label credit card benefits, including insurance, loyalty and rewards programs;
  • distributing information and/or promotional offers to you related to the products and services you have with us;
  • bill payment services;
  • debt collection activities on your accounts;
  • evaluating and or performing proposed or actual financing, securitization, insuring, sale, assignment, disposal, or other proposed transactions relating to all or part of our business assets
  • to determine your suitability for or offer you additionally products or services and to send you information relating to our products and services;
  • assistance to third parties or investigative bodies to help prevent fraud, money laundering or other criminal activity; and
  • in connection with legal, audit, regulatory, risk management, security, and compliance purposes.

For Quebec-based Clients Only.

Where we are transferring your Personal Information outside Québec, or when we entrust a third party located outside Québec with the collection, use, disclosure, or retention of your Personal Information on our behalf, we will take into account the following: (1) the sensitivity of the information, (2) the purposes for which it will be used, (3) the safeguards, including contractual safeguards that will be applied, and (4) the legal regime applicable in the receiving jurisdiction, including the privacy principals applicable there.

Retention

Your Personal Information will be retained for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected and in accordance this Privacy Statement and applicable law, even if you cease to be our customer.

Consent

Consent to the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information may be given in various ways. Consent can be express (for example, orally, electronically or on a form you may sign describing the intended uses and disclosures of Personal Information) or implied (for example, when you provide information necessary for a service you have requested). You may provide your consent in some circumstances where notice has been provided to you about our intentions with respect to your Personal Information and you have not withdrawn your consent for an identified purpose, such as by using an opt out option provided, if any. Consent may be given by your authorized representative (such as a legal guardian or a person having a power of attorney). 

You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information at any time, subject to contractual and legal restrictions and reasonable notice. Note that if you withdraw your consent to certain uses of your Personal Information, we may no longer be able to provide certain of our products or services. Note also that where we have provided or are providing services to you, your consent will be valid for so long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Statement or otherwise at the time of collection, and you may not be permitted to withdraw consent to certain necessary uses and disclosures (for example, but not limited to, maintaining reasonable business and transaction records, disclosures to Canadian and foreign government entities as required to comply with laws, and reporting on credit information after credit has been granted, if applicable).  Consent can be withdrawn by contacting us at Fairstone Bank of Canada, 33 Yonge Street, Suite 810, Toronto, ON M5E 1G4, Attention: Privacy Officer.

The Bank collects, uses and discloses your Personal Information with your consent, except as permitted or required by law.  We may be required or permitted under statute or regulation to collect, use or disclose Personal Information without your consent, for example to comply with a court order, to comply with local or federal regulations or a legally permitted inquiry by a government agency, or to collect a debt owed to us.

How We Protect Personal Information

The security of your Personal Information is our priority. We protect this information by maintaining technical, physical, organizational, electronic and procedural safeguards that meet or exceed applicable law.

We have policies, procedures, guidelines, and safeguards in place to ensure that your Personal Information is protected. The ten fair information principles of PIPEDA are incorporated into our enterprise privacy policy.

Security measures such as passwords, restricted access to our offices and records, physical access security, and file encryption are in place to protect your Personal Information against unauthorized access, theft or misuse

Only our employees, agents and service providers who need to access your file in the course of their duties will have access to your file.  Each Fairstone employee is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of all Personal Information accessed. As a condition of employment, every employee must sign a Code of Conduct, which includes comprehensive provisions ensuring the protection of your Personal Information. When we use other companies to provide services for us, we require them to protect the confidentiality of Personal Information they receive in accordance with applicable law and in a manner that is consistent with our privacy policies and security practices.

What Can You do?

You can protect yourself against identity theft and fraud by taking some simple steps to protect your Personal Information and to ensure that it remains confidential:
  • Protect your PIN and passwords: You must keep your personal identification number (PIN), passwords and personal verification answers secret. Only you should know them. Use your hand or body to prevent anyone from seeing you enter your PIN at point-of-sale terminals, bank machines or when using telephone banking in a public area. Never disclose any PIN, password or verification answer to anyone, including anyone claiming to be from the Bank.
  • Keep track of your account: Check your account statement every month to ensure that there are no unauthorized transactions. If you have online access to your account, check it frequently for unauthorized activities.
  • Keep your contact information up to date: Make sure that we have your most current address, telephone numbers and email address so that communications to you are not misdirected or lost.
  • Keep your Personal Information confidential: Identity theft occurs when criminals obtain information about you that allows them to build a profile. Ensure that documents that contain information about you are shredded or otherwise securely disposed of. Don’t disclose your Personal Information over the telephone or online unless you know and trust the recipient.
  • Be careful online: Personal information that you provide online can be accessed by other users of that computer or through insecure communications. Always clear the cache and internet history of computers that might be used by others. Use a secure firewall to protect your computer, especially when connecting wirelessly, and install software to protect against viruses, spyware and other methods used by online criminals to try to access your Personal Information.
  • Contact us: If you have any concerns about the security of your Personal Information or your account with the Bank, if you have received a suspicious communication seeking information about you, or if you think you have been the victim of fraud or attempted fraud involving your account with the Bank, contact us immediately at the contact information provided below.

Your Rights of Access, Rectification, Request Information, and to Withdraw Consent

We create and maintain a file for every applicant and customer.  Subject to legal, regulatory and contractual requirements, you have the right to access your file and request rectification of any Personal Information that may be obsolete, incomplete or incorrect.  Much of this information is already accessible by you, for example, through your account statements or bankbook updates; by visiting the branch where you regularly do business; by accessing your account online; or through the Customer Contact Centre. However, if you need access to any other information, you must direct your request in writing by completing a Customer Access to Personal Information Request form. This form can be obtained by contacting us or our Privacy Officer, see details below.

 Your right to access or correct your Personal Information is subject to applicable legal restrictions. We may take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. We strive to respond to you within thirty (30) days of receipt of your request.

To request access or information, review, make corrections, changes, or seek deletion of your Personal Information, you may write to our Privacy Officer at:

33 Yonge Street, Suite 810,
Toronto, Ontario
M5E 1G4
Attention: Privacy Officer

Fairstone Bank Customers:  1-866-915-9423
Fairstone Financial Customers: 1-888-331-6133
Eden Park Customers: 1-833-761-8977
Telephone: 1-866-915-9423

Privacy Statement Changes

If we intend to use or disclose Personal Information for purposes materially different than those described in this statement, we will make reasonable efforts to notify affected individuals, if necessary, including by revising this Privacy Statement.  Your continued provision of Personal Information or use of our services following any changes to this Privacy Statement constitutes your acceptance of any such changes.