Effective as of: November 4, 2014
This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) applies to this website (the “Web Site”). This Web Site and the PowerForce® portal (“Portal”) are offered as a service to our business partners and merchant customers. 1st Merchant Funding, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and other members of our family of companies value your business and loyalty. We are committed to the protection of consumer privacy, transparency regarding the collection of your Personal Information (defined below), and your choices in connection with how your Personal Information may be used.
When this Privacy Policy uses the term “Personal information,” it refers to information that can be used to identify a particular individual, such as first and last name, street address, email address, social security number, financial account number, or mobile device number. We own the information collected via the Web Site and we may use or share it for with our business partners for other business and marketing purposes. Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to information collected on this Web Site; it does not apply to any other information collected or obtained through other means or information collected by third-parties.
The following are the types of information we may collect:
1st Merchant Funding may collect Personal Information like name, mobile device or telephone number, email address, date of birth, and home or business mailing address when you access certain areas of the Web Site that require registration for products and services, or if you require more information about those services.
At other times, 1st Merchant Funding may collect information that cannot be used to directly identify you, such as browser type, unique device IDs, Internet Protocol (IP) address, “click stream” data, and similar non-Personal Information. For example, we may aggregate non-Personal Information about you and other clients who visit certain areas of our Web Site. Aggregated information will not contain any information that can be linked directly back to you.
While we take all reasonable steps to protect the privacy of our Web Site visitors, we cannot promise that the current limitations of our online applications programming will address every browser setting or honor every personal browser preference. In particular, we have not implemented the necessary program changes to honor “Do Not Track” or “DNT” browser signals. As our online applications programming is refined, we will take all reasonable steps to honor such requests in the future. Please return to this privacy policy for further updates on this topic.
Further, our online service providers or business partners may implement technologies that allow for the collection of Personal Information over time and across websites. We recommend that you review each privacy policy posted on the websites that you visit to better understand privacy practices on those websites.
When you open emails from us or engage in SMS or MMS communications, we may log and store such information. We may also keep records of various communications regarding the types of products and services that you indicate are of interest to you via your response to email and text messaging.
The USA Patriot Act provides legal frameworks for financial institutions to assist in the prevention of fraud, identity theft, and the spread of terrorism. The Act requires financial institutions to obtain additional information from individuals or legal entities to help establish identity. When you register or open an account, you may be asked to provide this additional in order to establish and confirm your identity. It may also be required for you to provide one or more of the following types of identification:
We may receive information about you (e.g., missing street number) from other sources, such as information contained in public records, and add it to your Personal Information.
We may collect information from you in several different areas on the Web Site, including, without limitation, to those described below:
You may be asked to complete a registration form and provide Personal Information; you may also be asked to choose a username and password in order to take advantage of certain features offered on the Web Site. Your decision to register is voluntary and you will have the opportunity to decide whether or not to disclose information to us and what communications you would like to receive. Many products and services available on the Web Site require registration and if you elect not to provide such information, you will not be able to take advantage of those products and services.
This Web Site uses a technology called “cookies.” A cookie is a collection of information that gets stored on the hard drive of your computer when browsing the Internet. These small bits of code automatically identify your browser to the Web Site whenever your computer is used to visit the Web Site. Cookies also let us know how many people visit the Web Site and where visitors go on the Web Site. In addition, cookies can let us know non-Personal Information, like how many times a user has been on certain pages. For registered users, cookies can make using the Web Site easier for you by saving information such as your passwords or preferences. By tracking how and when you use the Web Site, cookies help us determine which areas are popular and which are not.
Many improvements and updates to the Web Site are based on data obtained from cookies. Accepting cookies allows you to personalize your experience on the Web Site. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, your browser should contain an option that allows you to disable or delete cookie data at any time. Some areas of the Web Site, however, may not provide you with a personalized experience if you have disabled the use of cookies.
The Web Site uses a variety of technical methods for tracking purposes, including Web beacons, pixel tags, or clear gifs. These technical methods/tools use small pieces of data that are embedded in images on the pages of websites. We also use these technical methods to analyze the traffic patterns on the Web Site, such as the frequency with which our users visit various parts of the Web Site. These technical methods may involve the transmission of information either directly to us or to another party authorized by us to collect information on our behalf. We also use these technical methods in HTML emails that we send to determine whether the recipients have opened those emails and/or clicked on links in those emails. The information from use of these technical methods may be collected in a form that is personally identifiable.
The information that you supply via this Web Site, Portal and/or Mobile Service will be used for advance processing purposes. Such purposes include, without limitation, gaining access to banking and other financial information that 1st Merchant Funding will use to evaluate your application. This information will be accessed and processed by the authorized third parties and agents of 1st Merchant Funding. The information will be retained by 1st Merchant Funding or its authorized third-party service providers and will be used for the purpose of: (a) processing your advance applications, and (b) developing summary information for statistical and audit purposes. By supplying such information you give absolute consent to 1st Merchant Funding and its authorized third-party service providers’ collection, processing, transmission and storage of the information for application processing purposes.
We own the information collected on or through the Web Site. As applicable, the information you provide to us may be used to contact you about offers, services, promotions on our Web Site, and provide you information or updates regarding services that you have requested or products or services you have ordered, such as registrations, entry confirmations, or other products and services. We will also use your Personal Information to monitor compliance with our Web Site Terms.
Additional uses of your non-personal and Personal Information will allow us to tailor products and services specific to your needs, to help organize and manage your customer relationship and our business, to conduct business, to provide you with customer and guest support, to perform functions that are described to you at the time of collection, to send you promotional material on behalf of our marketing partners and/or their respective affiliates and subsidiaries and other third-parties, and to enforce our Web Site’s Terms of Service.
1st Merchant Funding uses the services of independent companies to provide certain services to you, including, without limitation, Web Site hosting, fulfilling orders, sending email, removing repetitive information from customer lists, Web Site analysis, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, processing, registration processing, and Internet connectivity services (“Internet Service Providers”). 1st Merchant Funding may share your personal information with the Internet Service Providers as appropriate or for other marketing purposes.
We will share your Personal Information in the event that all or substantially all of our assets are sold or transferred to another party, or another transaction occurs in which your Personal Information is one of the business assets transferred, all Personal Information that has been collected and saved may be one of the business assets we transfer.
1st Merchant Funding may also disclose your personal information as is necessary to: (a) comply with a subpoena or court order; (b) cooperate with law enforcement or other government agency; (c) establish or exercise our legal rights; (d) protect the property or safety of our company and employees, contractors, vendors, and suppliers; (e) defend against legal claims; (f) help with internal and external investigations; or (g) as otherwise required by law or permitted by law.
You should be aware that when you are on the Web Site you could be directed to other websites beyond our control. For example, if you “click” on a banner advertisement, the “click” may take you off the Web Site onto a different website. This includes links from advertisers, sponsors and marketing partners that may use the Web Site’s logo as part of a co-branding agreement. These other websites may send their own cookies to you, independently collect data or solicit Personal Information and may or may not have their own published privacy policies. If you visit a website that is linked to the Web Site, you should consult that website’s privacy policy before providing any Personal Information.
1st Merchant Funding makes reasonable efforts to ensure that our Internet Service Providers have implemented physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to assist with safeguarding your personal information, and to help protect against unauthorized access and disclosure. Only our authorized personnel and our Internet Service Providers who perform legitimate business functions for 1st Merchant Funding are authorized to access your personal information.
Notwithstanding our efforts, the Internet has inherent security risks. 1st Merchant Funding cannot promise, and you should not expect, that your Personal Information, personal searches, and other communications will always remain secure. You should take care with regard to how you handle and disclose your personal information or any username or password that you are required to use to access services on this Web Site.
If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services contact us at LegalCompliance@1stmerchantfunding.com. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
This Web Site is a general audience Web Site. 1st Merchant Funding’s content is neither directed toward minors nor children who are under the age of 21. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 21. If 1st Merchant Funding or its Internet Service Providers become aware that a minor or a child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information without the parental consent, that information will be deleted from our databases. If you have questions about personal information that may have been submitted by a child or minor, you should email us at LegalCompliance@1stmerchantfunding.com.
By using the Web Site, you signify your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy. We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make a material change to the way in which we collect, use, and/or share your Personal Information, we will post a notice on the Web Site. We will assume that you have given your permission for your information to be used under the terms of the Privacy Policy, as modified, if you continue to use the Web Site after a notice is posted. Please note that you should always update your Personal Information to provide us with a current email address.
If your Personal Information changes (such as your email address or zip code), or if you no longer desire to have access to the Web Site, you may update or cancel your account.
1st Merchant Funding will not share any Personal Information about you with outside third-parties for their direct marketing purposes to the extent prohibited by California law, unless you agree otherwise as authorized by your prior written consent.
California residents have the right to request information from 1st Merchant Funding regarding the manner that we may share Personal Information with affiliated companies and third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To find out what and how we share such information, you may send us an e-mail request at LegalCompliance@1stmerchantfunding.com or mail a request to: Privacy Officer, 1st Merchant Funding, 12000 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 609, Miami, FL 33181, and receive the following information:
A. The categories of information we disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year, if any;
B. The names and addresses of the third parties who received information for their direct marketing purposes; and
C. Examples of the products and services subject to the third-parties’ direct marketing programs, if the nature of the third parties’ business cannot be determined from their names.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the privacy practices of this Web Site, please contact us by email at LegalCompliance@1stmerchantfunding.com, or mail to: 1st Merchant Funding, 1135 Kane Concourse, 6th Floor, Bay Harbor Islands, FL 33154.