Notice to Customers and Other Individuals relating to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (the " Ordinance")

 

This Statement is made by Chinawide International Finance Limited (“the Company”) in accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“the Ordinance”). The Statement is intended to notify you why personal data is collected, how it will be used and to whom data access requests are to be addressed. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinawide Financial Holdings Limited and reference to the “Group” will be to all companies owned by Chinawide Financial Holdings Limited.

References to “data subjects” in this Notice, where applicable, also means the customers of the Company and various other persons, including without limitation, applicants for the Company’s financial services and products, sureties and persons providing security or guarantee or any form of support for obligations owed to the Company, shareholders, directors, corporate officers and managers, sole proprietors, partners, suppliers, contractors, service providers and other contractual counterparties supplying data (including personal data as defined in the Ordinance to the Company.

1. From time to time, it is necessary for data subjects to supply the Company with data in connection with the application or establishment for, or the continuation or provision of, financial accommodation, facilities, and financial services or products, to or by the Company by or to the data subjects.

2. Failure to supply such data may result in the Company being unable to render its services or provide its products or comply with any laws or guidelines issued by regulatory or other authorities.

3. It is also the case that data may be collected from data subjects in the ordinary course of the continuation of the Company’s relationship with the data subject.

4. The purposes for which data relating to data subjects may be used are as follows:-

i.

the daily operation of the Company’s services provided to data subjects;

ii.

creating and maintaining the Company's credit and risk related models;

iii.

conducting credit checks at the time of application for the Company’s services or products and at the time of regular or special reviews which normally will take place one or more times each year;

iv.

assisting other financial institutions to conduct credit checks and collection of debts;

v.

ensuring ongoing credit worthiness of data subjects;

vi.

designing the Company’s services or products for data subjects’ use;

vii.

marketing services, products and other subjects as described in paragraph (6) below;

viii.

determining the amount of indebtedness owed to or by data subjects;

ix.

the enforcement of data subjects’ obligations, including without limitation the collection of amounts outstanding from data subjects and those providing surety, security or guarantee for data subjects’ obligations;

x.

meeting the requirements to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on the Company and for the purposes of any guidelines issued by regulatory or other authorities with which the Company are expected to comply;

xi.

enabling an actual or proposed assignee of the Company, or participant or sub-participant of the Company’s rights in respect of data subjects to evaluate the transaction intended to be the subject of the assignment, participation or sub-participation; and

xii.

purposes relating to the aforesaid purposes.

5. Data held by the Company relating to data subjects will be kept confidential but the Company may provide such information to the following parties for the purposes set out in paragraph (4):

i.

any agent, contractor or third party service provider who provides administrative, telecommunications, computer, payment, debt collection or other services to THE COMPANY in connection with the operation of its business;

ii.

any other person under a duty of confidentiality to the Company including a member of the Company which has undertaken to keep such information confidential;

iii.

the drawee bank providing a copy of a paid cheque (which may contain information about the payee) to the drawer;

iv.

credit reference agencies, and, in the event of default, debt collection agencies;

v.

any person to whom the Company is under an obligation to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on the Company and for which the purposes of any guidelines issued by regulatory or other authorities with which the Company are expected to comply;

vi.

any actual or proposed assignee of the Company or participant or sub-participant or transferee of the Company’s rights in respect of data subjects; and

vii.

subject to paragraph (6) below:
a) any member of the Group;
b) third party financial institutions and credit card processors;
c) third party reward, loyalty and privileges programme providers;
d) co-branding partners of the Company and/or any other member of the Company; 
e) third party service providers (including but not limited to mailing houses, telecommunication companies, telemarketing and direct sales agents, call centres, data processing companies and information technology companies) that the Company engages for the purposes set out in paragraph (4)(vii); and
f) charitable or non-profit making organisations.。

Such information may be transferred to a place outside Hong Kong.

6. Use of Data in Direct Marketing

The Company intends to use a customer's data in direct marketing and the Company requires the customer's consent (which includes an indication of no objection) for that purpose. In this connection, please note that:

i.

the name, contact details, products and other service portfolio information, transaction pattern and behaviour, financial background and demographic data of a customer held by the Company from time to time may be used by the Group in direct marketing;

ii.

the following classes of services, products and subjects may be marketed:
a) financial management products and services and other related services and products;
b) co-branding programmes and related services and products;
c) services and products offered by the Group's co-branding partners (the names of such co-branding partners will be provided during the application of the relevant services and products, as the case may be); and
d) donations and contributions for charitable and/or non-profit making purposes;

iii.

the above services, products and subjects may be provided by or (in the case of donations and contributions) solicited by the Company and/or:
a) the Company and/or any member of the Group;
b) third party financial institutions and card processors;
c) third party co-branding programme providers;
d) co-branding partners of the Company and/or any other member of the Group (the names of such co-branding partners will be provided during the application of the relevant services and products, as the case may be); and
e) charitable or non-profit making organisations;

iv.

in addition to marketing the above services, products and subjects itself, the Company also intends to provide the data described in paragraph (6)(i) above to all or any of the persons described in paragraph (6)(iii) above for use by them in marketing those services, products and subjects, and the Company requires the customer's written consent (which includes an indication of no objection) for that purpose;

v.

the Company may receive money or other property in return for providing the data to the other persons in paragraph (6)(iv) above and, when requesting the customer's consent or no objection as described in paragraph (6)(iv) above, the Company will inform the customer if it will receive any money or other property in return for providing the data to the other persons.

If a customer does not wish the Company to use or provide to other persons his data for use in direct marketing as described above, the customer may exercise his opt-out right by notifying the Company at any time free of charge.

7. Under and in accordance with the terms of the Ordinance and the Code of Practice on Consumer Credit Data approved and issued under the Ordinance, any data subject has the right:-

i.

to check whether the Company holds data about him and of access to such data;

ii.

to require the Company to correct any data relating to him which is inaccurate;

iii.

to ascertain the Company’s policies and practices in relation to data and to be informed of the kind of personal data held by the Company;

iv.

to be informed on request which items of data are routinely disclosed to credit reference agencies or debt collection agencies, and be provided with further information to enable the making of an access and correction request to the relevant credit reference agency or debt collection agency.

8. In accordance with the terms of the Ordinance, the Company has the right to charge a reasonable fee for the processing of any data access request.

9. The person to whom requests for access to data or correction of data or for information regarding policies and practices and kinds of data held are to be addressed is as follows:-

        The Data Protection Officer

        Chinawide International Finance Limited

        Unit 2512, 25/F, West Tower, Shun Tak Centre, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

        Fax: (852) 2851 3788

10. The Company may have obtained credit reports on data subjects from a credit reference agency in considering any application for financial services or products. In the event data subjects wish to access credit reports, the Company will advise the contact details of the relevant credit reference agency.

11. Nothing in this Notice shall limit the rights of data subjects under the Ordinance.

* The Chinese version is for reference only. Should there be any discrepancy between the English and Chinese versions, the English version shall prevail.