Fortress MFB is a Microfinance Bank registered with Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria with Registration number RC730245. Fortress is licensed by Central Bank of Nigeria as a Micro Finance Bank and focuses its business on banking services designed to empower micro, small and medium enterprises to achieve financial freedom through unhindered access to sustainable financial services. We are reputed for product innovation and excellent customer services. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect, process, share and manage data about you (our customers and other natural persons where applicable). We respect your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information, and we appreciate the opportunity to do business with you.
This Privacy Policy explains our approach to handling your data and your rights with regards to our collection, use, storage and sharing of your personal data which may be collected by Fortress in the course of providing you with our products and services Kindly read this privacy policy in order to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it and determine how it applies data maintained by us. By continuing to visit our website (www.fortressmicrofinancebank.com) and other Fortress customer touchpoints, you accept and consent to the practices described in this policy.
The Information We Collect and Use
1. We may collect contact information, such as your name, email address, and contact list, when you register an account with Fortress MFB app. This information is necessary for creating and managing your account, providing customer support, and improving our services.
2.Your contact information is primarily used for account operations, such as account creation, authentication, and communication related to your account. We may also use this information to communicate with you about updates, promotions, and other relevant information related to our services.
3. We also collect other information such as video footages of you whenever you step into any of our branches, telephone conversations when you call any of our contact centerlines, geographic information when you visit our websites from any country.
4. We may also use information received from third parties such as family, solicitors, friends or employers, website/social media pages made public by you, government agencies, regulators, supervisory or credit agencies.
Non-Personal Information
To achieve our goal of providing you with the best service, we sometimes collect information during your visits to perform certain tasks such as grant you access to some parts of our website or conduct research on your behavior on our site in order to improve our services. We will not disclose your information to any person outside our organization except as described in this Privacy Policy.
Protocol data
When you interact with our website or other digital platforms, we may also automatically collect the following information about your visit. This is primarily to help us better understand how our customers use our digital platforms to enable us create better services:
1. Transaction information, such as personal account number, the merchant’s name and location, the date and the total amount of transaction, and other information provided by financial institutions or merchants when we act on their behalf.
2. How you have reached our digital platform and the internet protocol (IP) address you have used.
3. Your browser type, versions and plug-ins, and your operating system.
4. Product and service information, such as registration and payment information, and program-specific information, when you request products or services directly from us, or participate in marketing programs.
5. Your journey through our digital platform, including which links you click on and any searches you made, how long you stayed on a page, and other page interaction information.
6. Website, device and mobile app usage, and similar information collected via automated means, such as cookies and similar technologies.
7. Job applications and related information when you apply for a job with us.
8. Business contact information when you work for one of our business partners.
9. Information collected in any forms you complete.
Use of Your Personal Information
We may use your personal data for the following:
1. Process your payment transactions.
2. Operate, evaluate and improve our business, including anonymization and analytics.
3. For marketing purposes (with your consent).
4. For record keeping purposes.
5. To carry out market research so that we can improve the products and services we offer.
6. To create an individual profile for you so that we can understand and respect your preferences.
7. To track, personalise and improve your experience on our digital platforms.
8. Your job application.
9. Protect against and prevent fraud, and other legal or information security risks.
10. Operate, evaluate and improve our business, including anonymization and analytics.
11.We do not share your contact information with third parties, except as described in this Privacy Policy or with your consent. Your information may be shared with service providers who assist us in operating our services, but they are contractually obligated to keep your information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
Any personal information provided by you to Fortress will be used with your consent, or under the following under listed instances:
1. Cases where processing of personal data is required for the fulfilment of a contractual obligation.
2. Cases where processing of personal data is required for compliance with legal and/or regulatory requirements.
3. Cases where processing is required to protect your vital interest or that of any other natural person.
4. Cases where processing is required for an activity to be carried in significant public interest.
5. Cases where processing is required for legitimate interests of Fortress or a third party insofar as this does not conflict with the requirements for the protection of your personal data.
Your Personal Information
1. Updating and enhancing Fortress records.
2. Contacting you, for example in instances where we suspect fraud or some event(s) of significance.
3. Conducting and improving our businesses and improving your experience with us.
4. Complying with our legal obligations and assisting government and law enforcement agencies or regulators/supervisors.
5. Identifying and informing you about other products or services that we think may be of interest to you.
6. Processing your job application if you apply for a job with us.
7. Executing your instructions.
8. Establishing your identity and assessing applications for our products and services.
9. Pricing and designing our products and services.
10. Administering our products and services.
11. Managing our relationship with you.
12. Managing our risks.
13. Identifying and investigating illegal activity (i.e.), such as fraud.We may also collect, use and exchange your information in other ways permitted by law
Automated Processing
We use automated systems and software to help us reach decisions about you, for example, to process your data when you apply for some of our products and services. This type of processing is carried out under lawful basis and you can contact us to request that automated processing be reviewed by a human being if you detect any inaccuracies in your personal data.
Information We Share
We may share the information about you and your dealings with us, to the extent permitted by law, with the following:
1. Fortress Affiliates.
2. Regulators/supervisors, government agencies/courts. It may be necessary by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence for Fortress to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate.
3. External Auditors.
4. Fortress staff.
5. Fortress strategic partners/service providers for the purpose of improving and providing our products and services to you. Your Personal information will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.
We may also disclose information about you if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions or protect our operations or users. Additionally, in the event of a reorganization, merger, or sale we may transfer any and all personal information we collect to the relevant third party. Information about our customers and their usage of our website is not shared with third parties for their marketing purposes. We do not disclose any information about any user’s usage of our web site except in specific cases, and we do not share information with any unaffiliated third parties for marketing purposes unless you expressly give us permission to do so.
How We Protect Your Information
We take appropriate technical and organizational measures to prevent loss, unauthorized access, misuse, modification or disclosure of information under our control. This may include the use of encryption, access controls and other forms of security to ensure that your data is protected. We require all parties including our staff and third-parties processing data on our behalf to comply with relevant policies and guidelines to ensure confidentiality and that information is protected in use, when stored and during transmission. Our security controls and processes are also regularly updated to meet and exceed industry standards. Where we have provided you (or where you have chosen) a password which grants you access to specific areas on our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We request that you do not to share your password or other authentication details with anyone.
Where We Store Your Information
All Personal Information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers as well as secure physical locations and cloud infrastructure (where applicable). The data that we collect from you may be transferred to and stored at a destination outside Nigeria. Whenever your information is transferred to another location, we will take all necessary steps to ensure that your data is handled securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.
How Long We Store Your Information
We keep your information for as long as you are a customer of Fortress Storage of your data is also determined by legal, regulatory, administrative or operational requirements. We only retain information that allows us comply with legal and regulatory requests for certain data, meet business and audit requirements, respond to complaints and queries, or address disputes or claims that may arise. Data that is not retained is securely destroyed when it is identified that is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected.
Your Rights
You have certain rights available to you, these include:
1. The right to access your personal information held by us. Your right of access can be exercised by sending an email to info@fortressmicrofinance.com.
2. The right to rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.
3. Withdraw consent for processing in cases where consent has previously been given.
4. Restrict or object to processing of your personal data. We might continue to process your data if there are valid legal or operational reasons.
You also have the right to:
1. Request that your personal data be made available to you in a common electronic format and/or request that such data be sent to a third party.
2. Request that your information be erased. We might continue to retain such data if there are valid legal, regulatory or operational reasons.
Maintaining Accurate Information
Keeping your account information accurate and up to date is very important. You have access to your information, which includes your contact information through various means, such as our application portals. If you discover any inaccuracies in your personal information, please promptly notify us, via our email, office or Contact Centre, and provide the required documentary evidence, to enable us to implement the necessary updates or changes.
Applicability of This Privacy Policy
Fortress refers to Fortress Microfinance Bank.
Third-Party Sites and Services
Fortress websites, products, applications, and services may contain links to third-party websites, products and services. Our products and services may also use or offer products or services from third parties. Information collected by third parties, which may include such things as location data or contact details is governed by their privacy practices and Fortress will not be liable for any breach of confidentiality or privacy of your information on such sites. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of those third parties.
Social Media Platforms
Fortress may interact with registered users of various social media platform. Please note that any content you post to such social media platforms (e.g. pictures, information or opinions), as well as any personal information that you otherwise make available to users (e.g. your profile) is subject to the applicable social media platform’s terms of use and privacy policies. We recommend that you review these information carefully in order to better understand your rights and obligations with regard to such content.
Maintaining Accurate Information
Keeping your account information accurate and up to date is very important. You have access to your personal information through our application portals. If you discover any inaccuracies in your personal information, please promptly notify us, via our email or Contact Centre, and provide the required documentary evidence, to enable us to implement the necessary updates or changes.
Promotional Messages
Fortress may sometimes contact you with products or services that we think may be of interest to you. If you don’t want to receive such promotional materials from us, you can opt out at any time by sending an email to info@fortressmicrofinancebank.com
Privacy Policy Changes
We reserve the right to and may revise this policy, subject to applicable laws, at any time. Acceptance of the revised privacy policy is not a must for a user of this platform. However, it should be noted that for continuous usage or access to the services herein acceptance is compulsory. Should you not be satisfied with the terms of this policy or the revised policy you are entitled to stop usage of our services. Unless we expressly state otherwise, your access and use of our Services are governed by the version of this Privacy Policy in effect at the time of access or use.
Upon update of this Privacy Policy, the revised version will be posted on our platform and the last updated date at bottom of this Privacy Policy. Unless otherwise stated in the revised Privacy Policy or as otherwise required by applicable law, the revised Privacy Policy will be effective upon posting via our platform.
Legal justification for processing your information
The legal grounds for processing sensitive personal information outlined above are contained in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019. Also, by virtue of this policy and the laws and regulations which we are bound by and adhere to, we are legally required and permitted to process your information for the following reasons:
1. We are legally mandated to prevent illegal activities such as money laundering, tax evasion and fraud through our channels. In order to do this and to ensure transparency, we need your data to confirm your identity when you sign up or contact us.
2. For reasons of substantial public interest under applicable laws (such as where we are required by law or regulatory requirements to process your information in order to meet our KYC and "anti-money laundering" obligations).
3. We are bound by banking laws and regulations and as such, we may be required to share your details with regulators, tax authorities, law enforcement or other regulatory parties.
4. For legal and/or regulatory obligations or requests that we are subject to. All records or data relating to you are kept in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
5. To perform contractual obligations that we owe to you or to take pre-contractual steps at your request.
6. In some cases, because we have obtained your prior or express consent to. For the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
5. Fortress strategic partners/service providers for the purpose of improving and providing our products and services to you. Your Personal information will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.
Legitimate Interest
The information we collect from you is also used for its expected/stated purpose. This means your data is used for the main purpose for which it was obtained and is in your best interest. This use will not violate or jeopardize your privacy, interests, or fundamental rights and freedoms.
Limitation of Liability
Regardless of any other provision in this privacy policy, neither VAS2Nets Technologies Limited, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, attorneys, or agents shall be liable for, and you hereby waive, release, and agree not to sue any of them for, any claim for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages suffered or incurred by you in connection with, arising out of, or in any way related to, a violation of this privacy policy.
We disclose your information to the following parties:
Information about you is disclosed to competent authorities (including any national and/or international regulatory or enforcement body, court, or other form of tribunal, where required by applicable law or regulation at their request); a potential buyer, transferee, merger partner, or seller, and their advisers in connection with an actual or potential transfer or merger of part or all of Fortress' business or assets, or any associated rights or interests, or to acquire a business or enter into a merger with it; credit reference agencies or other organizations that help us detect criminal activity and incidence of fraud; and any federal, state or local government departments and other statutory or public bodies
Contact
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to our Data Protection Officer.
Address: 223 Ikorodu Road, Lagos, Nigeria.
Email: info@fortressmicrofinancebank.com
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