Vank Privacy & Cookie Policy

Vank Digital Services Limited (“Vank”, “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) offers an online infrastructure to enable group ownership of real estate.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to services that are not owned or controlled by Vank, including third-party websites and the services of Vank’s Merchants. This Privacy Policy applies to all forms of systems, operations and processes within the Vank environment that involve the processing of personal data.

By using or accessing our Services, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. Your use of our Services is also subject to Vank’s Terms.

1. The Information We Collect

The personal data we collect depends on how you interact with us, the services you use, and the choices you make. We may collect information from different sources and in various ways, including information you provide directly, information collected automatically, third-party data sources, and data we infer or generate from other data.

1.1. Personal Data You Provide Directly

We collect the personal data you provide to us. For example:

• Contact information. As part of our operations, Vank may collect information such as your name, telephone numbers, address etc.

• Payment information. If you make a purchase such as when you checkout with Vank on a Merchant’s website or make a payment using our PoS Terminal, we collect payment card numbers, financial account information, and other payment details.

• Communications. If you contact us directly, for example, with an inquiry or a support request, we may receive additional personal data about you, including your email address and the content of your communications.

1.2 Personal Data We Collect Automatically

• Device Information. We receive information about the device and software you use to access our Services, including Internet Protocol (IP) address, web browser type, operating system version, and device identifiers.

• Usage Information. To help us understand how you use our Services, including the Demo portion of our website, and to help us improve them, we automatically receive information about your interactions with our Services. This information includes records of your transactions and information about your other activities related to our services, such as the date and time of your sessions, the pages you view, links to/from any page, and time spent in a session. Some of the data we gather through the use of cookies and similar technologies is discussed below.

• Location Information. When you use our Services, we may collect or infer your general location information. For example, your IP address may indicate your general geographic region.

1.3 Personal Data That We Receive from Others or Infer

• Partners. We may retrieve additional personal data about you from third parties and other identification/verification services such as your financial institution and payment processor. We may combine that data with other information we have about you.

• Publicly available sources. Public sources of information such as open government databases.

• Inferences. We may infer additional Personal Data based on the Personal Data described above. For example, for site visitors, we may infer your interests based on the web pages you view.

When you are asked to provide personal data, you may decline. You may use web browser or operating system controls to prevent certain types of automatic data collection. But if you choose not to provide or allow information that is necessary for certain services or features, those services or features may not be available or fully functional.

2. How We Use Personal Information

We use the Personal Data we collect to:

• Provide you with the required services

• Respond to your questions or requests

• Improve features, and website content and analyse data to develop products and services

• Address inappropriate use of our website

• Prevent, detect and manage risk against fraud and illegal activities using internal and third-party screening tools

• Send you marketing content, newsletters and service updates curated by Vank (only with your explicit consent)

• Verify your identity and the information you provide in line with Vank’s statutory obligations using internal and third-party tools

• Maintain up-to-date records

• Resolve disputes that may arise, including investigations by law enforcement or regulatory bodies

• Any other purpose that we disclose to you in the course of providing Vank services to you

3. How We Share Personal Data

Vank does not sell, trade or rent personal data to anyone. Further, we will not share or disclose your personal data with a third party without your consent except as necessary to provide the Services or as described in this Privacy Policy.

• Merchants. We may share your contact information with merchants as part of your purchase details for record purposes. We will not share this information with other third parties except as a necessary part of providing our website and services. We do not share your card information with merchants. Please review your merchant’s privacy policy to understand the privacy policies guiding the merchant you transact with.

• Service providers. We share personal data with vendors or agents working on our behalf for the purposes described in this statement. For example, companies we've hired to provide customer service support, to assist in protecting and securing our systems and services, or to perform sanctions screening and identity verification services may need access to personal data to provide those functions. The processing by such third parties shall be governed by a written contract with Vank to ensure adequate protection and security measures are put in place for the protection of personal data in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

• Financial services & payment processing. When you provide payment data, for example, to make a purchase, we will share payment and transactional data with banks and other entities as necessary for payment processing, fraud prevention, credit risk reduction, or other related financial services.

• Affiliates. We enable access to personal data across our subsidiaries, affiliates, and related companies, for example, where we share common data systems or where access is needed to provide our services and operate our business.

• Corporate transactions. We may disclose personal data as part of a corporate transaction or proceeding such as a merger, financing, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, or a transfer, divestiture, or sale of all or a portion of our business or assets.

• Legal and law enforcement. We may access, disclose, and preserve personal data in accordance with applicable law and when we believe that doing so is necessary to comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal processes, including from law enforcement or other government agencies.

• Security, safety, and protecting rights. We will disclose personal data if we believe it is necessary to:

  • protect our customers and others, for example, to prevent fraud, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury to anyone;

  • operate and maintain the security of our services, including preventing or stopping an attack on our computer systems or networks; or

  • protect the rights or property of ourselves or others, including enforcing our agreements, terms, and policies.

Third-party analytics and advertising companies also collect personal data through our website and apps including, account information, marketing and communications data, demographic data, content and files, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences associated with identifiers and device information (such as cookie IDs, device IDs, and IP address) as described in the Cookies section of this statement. These third-party vendors may combine this data across multiple sites to improve analytics for their own purposes and others. For example, we use Google Analytics on our website to help us understand how users interact with our website; you can learn how Google collects and uses information at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners.

4. Cookies

We and our partners use cookies and similar technologies on our website to help collect information and operate the site. We use cookies to remember Users and make your user experience easier; customise our services, content and advertising; help you ensure that your account security is not compromised, mitigate risk and prevent fraud; and promote trust and safety on our website. Cookies are small text files placed by a website and stored by your browser on your device.

Our cookies hold a unique random reference to you so that once you visit the site we can recognise who you are and provide certain content to you.

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can go to your browser settings to learn how to delete or reject cookies. If you choose to delete or reject cookies, this may impact your experience using our website.

5. How We Protect Your Information

Vank shall establish adequate controls in order to protect the integrity and confidentiality of personal data, both in digital and physical format and to prevent personal data from being accidentally or deliberately compromised.

Vank is committed to managing your personal data in line with best practices. We protect your personal data using physical, technical, and administrative security measures to reduce the risks of loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure and alteration, we also use industry-recommended security protocols to safeguard your personal data. Other security safeguards include but are not limited to data encryption, firewalls, and physical access controls to our building and files, and only granting access to personal data to employees who require it to fulfil their job responsibilities. Employees may have access to personal data only as is appropriate for the type and scope of the task in question and are contractually forbidden to use personal data for their own private or commercial purposes to disclose them to unauthorised persons, or to make them available in any other way.

Two-factor authentication (“2FA”) is an additional layer of security we have added to your account. When 2FA is enabled, you will be required to enter a One Time Password (OTP) (which is a verification code we have sent to you for authentication purposes), each time you checkout using Vank on a merchant’s website or platform. While we encourage you to enable this feature on every transaction, you may choose to disable the 2FA feature after your initial enrolment by clicking on the toggle button to disable it. However, if you choose to disable this feature, you agree that Vank shall not be liable for any loss or damages incurred as a result of your action.

Vank also maintains a data breach procedure in order to deal with incidents concerning personal data or practices leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, or unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed. You may contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) upon becoming aware of any breach of personal data or if your access credentials have been compromised, to enable us to take the necessary steps towards ensuring the security of your personal data or account. We will report any breaches that will compromise your rights and freedoms to the Relevant Authority within 72 hours of discovery.

6. Storage Limitation

We will retain your information for the following periods:

• As long as reasonably necessary for the purpose of providing our services to you

• For the duration your account is active and we have your consent

• For the period needed to comply with our legal and statutory obligations

• As needed to verify your information with a financial institution

Vank is statutorily obliged to retain the data you provide in order to process transactions, ensure settlements, make refunds, identify fraud and comply with applicable laws and regulatory guidelines.

7. Transfer of Data

As part of our service provision, we may rely on third-party servers, databases co-located with hosting providers, and residents in foreign jurisdictions, which constitutes the transfer of your personal data to computers or servers in foreign countries. We take steps designed to ensure that the data we collect under this Privacy Policy is processed and protected according to the provisions of this Policy and applicable law wherever the data is located.

Where personal data is to be transferred to a country outside Nigeria, Vank shall put adequate measures in place to ensure the security of such personal data. Any transfer of personal data out of Nigeria will be in accordance with the provisions of relevant data protection regulations. In particular, Vank shall, among other things, use contractual terms to ensure the protection of the data or ensure the country has adequate data protection laws (i.e. listed in Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency’s [“NITDA”] White List of Countries, or the General Data Protection Regulation’s [“GDPR”] Adequacy List).

Should you wish to transfer personal data to a country deemed to have inadequate data protection laws, Vank will take all necessary steps to ensure that informed consent is obtained from you, and that you are aware of the risks entailed with such transfer. In any instance, Vank will ensure personal data is transmitted in a safe and secure manner. Details of the protection given when your personal data is transferred abroad, and details of the basis of such transfers shall be provided to you upon request.

8. Grounds for Processing of Personal Data

Processing of Personal Information by Vank shall be lawful if at least one of the following applies:

• The Data Subject has given consent to the processing of his/her Personal Information for one or more specific purposes;

• The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the Data Subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the Data Subject prior to entering into a contract;

• Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which Vank is subject;

• Processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the Data Subject or of another natural person; and

• Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of the official public mandate vested in Vank.

9. Choices and Rights

Individuals who have Personal Information held by Vank are entitled to reach out to Vank to exercise the following rights:

• Right to request for and access any Personal Information collected and stored by Vank;

• Right to be informed regarding their Personal Information;

• Right to be informed about appropriate safeguards in place where data is transferred abroad;

• Right to object to automated decision-making and processing;

• Right to request rectification and modification of Personal Information which Vank keeps;

• Right to request the deletion of their data;

• Right to request the movement of data from Vank to a third party - this is the right to the portability of data;

• Right to revoke consent;

• Right to object to direct marketing, and to request that Vank restricts the processing of their information; and

• Right to submit a complaint to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Your request will be reviewed and answered by Vank’s Data Protection Officer within a 30-day period.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may need to update, modify or amend our Privacy Policy as our technology evolves and as required by law. If we materially change the ways in which we use or share personal data previously collected from you through our Services, we will provide notice or obtain consent regarding such changes as may be required by law. The Privacy Policy will apply from the effective date provided on our website.

11. Policy Violations

Any violation of this Privacy Policy should be brought to the attention of the Data Protection Officer (details below) for appropriate sanctioning and treatment.

12. Contact Vank’s Data Protection Officer (DPO)

If you have any questions relating to this Privacy Policy or would like to find out more about exercising your data protection rights, please reach out to our DPO via email by sending a mail with the Subject: Data Protection at hello@vankwallet.com.

For any further queries, our Data Protection Officer may be reached at the following address:

Grand Hubb, 18, 1st Avenue,

Gwarinpa,

Abuja, Nigeria