FINTRAC
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC, is
Canada's financial intelligence unit, a specialized agency created to collect, analyze
and disclose financial information and intelligence on suspected money laundering
and terrorist activities financing. Created in July 2000, the Centre is an integral
part of our country's engagement in the global fight against money laundering and
the financing of terrorist activities.
Mandate
The Centre was created to detect and deter money laundering by providing critical
information to support the investigation or prosecution of money laundering offences.
In December 2001, this mandate was expanded to include the detection and deterrence
of terrorist activity financing.
More specifically, FINTRAC's mandate is to:
Receive and collect reports
on suspicious and prescribed financial transactions and other information relevant
to money laundering and terrorist activities financing;
Receive reports on the cross-border
movement of large amounts of currency or monetary instruments;
Analyze and assess the information
it receives;
Provide law enforcement financial
intelligence that would be relevant to the investigation or prosecution of money
laundering offences and terrorist activity financing offences as well as to provide
CSIS with financial intelligence that would be relevant to threats to the security
of Canada;
Ensure that personal information
under its control is protected from unauthorized disclosure;
Ensure compliance by financial
intermediaries and other reporting entities with their obligations under the Act
and regulations;
Enhance public awareness
and understanding of matters related to money laundering and terrorist financing.
Our Privacy Commitment
Finmark Financials is committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. We value
your trust and want you to understand how we protect, collect, use, and disclose
information about you.
Please read this notice carefully to understand what we do. All financial companies
need to share consumers' personal information to run their everyday business. In
the sections below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their consumers'
personal information; the reasons Finmark Financials chooses to share; and whether
you can limit this sharing. This privacy statement applies to information about
you we obtain anytime you interact with Finmark Financials, for example when you
visit our websites, complete transaction forms at agent locations, online, or contact
Finmark Financials call centers. We want to ensure you are aware of our practices
for collecting, using, disclosing, and processing personal information with strict
confidentiality.
Information We Collect
Finmark Financials collects personal information about you from a variety of sources
in the course of providing money transfer and payment services and related products
and services we provide. Personal information we collect and the sources of such
personal information include the following:
We collect personal information
when you ask us to send or receive money or to provide other goods or services,
provided by telephone, online at our Web site, through paper-based forms or at Finmark
Financials agent locations. This personal information may include identities and
contact information of senders and recipients of money transfers or payments, credit
card, banking or other billing information, birth dates and other personal identifiers,
questions used to verify your identity for security and fraud prevention purposes,
identification number and amounts paid or transferred.
We collect personal information
when you submit personal information on applications or other forms to us or our
affiliates,
including in connection with sending and receiving money transfers, through your
enrolment and participation in loyalty programs and when you provide additional
information we may reasonably request for fraud prevention purposes.
We collect information about
your transactions with us, including transaction history, such as frequency of use
and amounts transferred.
In connection with identify
verification, fraud prevention and similar security purposes, we collect and/or
confirm certain identity-related information, financial background and similar information
through third parties sources such as our business customers, government agencies
and consumer reporting agencies;
We may collect personal information
otherwise with your consent or as permitted or required by law.
How We Use It
We use personal information in a number of ways, including:
For our everyday business
purposes such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), manage
and administer our business and records, prevent fraud, abuse, and other actual
and potential prohibited or illegal activities, meet legal, regulatory, insurance,
security and processing requirements, respond to court orders and legal investigations,
or report to credit bureaus;
For our marketing purposes
such as to offer our products and services to you, better understand how you use
or may benefit from our products and services, manage our ongoing relationship with
you, tailor offers, coupons, and incentives we believe may be of interest to you,
and to assure overall good service;
To offer timely promotions
based on special events and holidays, including (a) local, regional, or national
holidays; (b) religious observances; and (c) cultural or life events;
For our affiliates' everyday
business purposes such as information about your transactions and experiences;
Otherwise with consent or
as permitted or required by applicable law. Finmark Financials its agents or authorized
delegates, companies that provide services on our behalf, or third parties as necessary
to process transactions that you have requested or authorized.
Finmark Financials may store
personal information on databases in the Canada or other countries for these purposes.
As permitted by applicable law, we may merge personal information with public information
or other information received from reputable sources to update contact information
or to enhance demographic profiles. Personal information will be subject to the
laws of the country in which it is located including lawful access requests by government
authorities. The laws of these countries (which may include countries outside the
European Economic Area) may not have similar data protection laws to the European
Economic Area.
Information We Disclose
We may disclose your personal information to our affiliates and to unaffiliated
third parties in connection with the purposes described in this Privacy Statement
as follows:
Provide Services: In order
to process and complete requested money transfers and payments, we may disclose
personal information to the recipient of a money transfer or payment, to local Finmark
Financials affiliates at the sender’s or receiver’s location, as applicable, to
authorized Finmark Financials agents (both at the sender’s and the recipient’s location),
and, if applicable, the recipient and any intermediary banks or other financial
institutions or financial services companies involved in the transaction or our
services.
Service Providers: Finmark
Financials may transfer personal information to outside agents or service providers
(including affiliates of Finmark Financials acting in this capacity) that perform
services on our behalf, for example marketing, information technology and/or data
hosting or processing services. Some of these service providers or affiliates may
be located outside of Canada, and your personal information may be collected, used,
disclosed, stored and processed for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement.
We take reasonable measures to ensure that personal information that may be processed
by these service providers on our behalf is protected and not used or disclosed
for purposes other than as directed by us, subject to legal requirements of government
authorities in those countries.
Business Transactions: Your
personal information may be used by Finmark Financials and disclosed to parties
connected with the contemplated or actual financing, securitization, insuring, sale,
assignment or other disposal of all or part of our business or assets (including,
for example, your service account with us), for purposes related to the evaluation
and performance of these transactions, including:
Permitting such parties to
evaluate and determine whether to proceed or continue with the transaction.
Fulfilling reporting, inspection
or audit requirements or obligations to such parties.
Successors and assigns of
Finmark Financials and/or its business or assets may use and disclose your personal
information for similar purposes as described in this Privacy Statement.
Legal, Regulatory, etc. Legal,
Regulatory, etc. Finmark Financials may disclose your personal information as necessary
to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, audit, and security requirements, and as otherwise
with your consent or as permitted or required by law (including as required by applicable
Canadian and foreign laws). This may include lawful requirements to disclose personal
information to government authorities in Canada and in foreign countries, for example
disclosures in compliance with suspicious activity reporting requirements under
anti-terrorism, anti-money laundering and similar laws and regulations in Canada
or in foreign countries.
Accuracy & Access
Finmark Financials wants to ensure that the information we obtain and use about
you is accurate for its intended purpose and therefore we have processes to help
maintain the accuracy of the personal information we collect. You can request access
to your personal information or help us maintain accurate records by informing us
of changes or modifications to your personal information by using one of the methods
listed under "Contact Us."
We will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you access
or enabling you to make corrections. Finmark Financials will retain personal information
only for the time period needed for business purposes or as required by law and
will securely destroy such information thereafter.
Data Security
To protect your personal information from unauthorized
access and use, we use security measures that comply with applicable law. These
measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings.
Finmark Financials uses physical, technical, and administrative
security measures to protect against loss, misuse, and alteration of personal information
under our control. Finmark Financials uses industry-standard practices and security
measures to safeguard such personal information we collect.
Access to personal information is restricted to employees
and service providers who need to have access to that information as described in
this privacy statement, in accordance with applicable laws. Our service providers
are required to observe standards for the security, collection, use, and sharing
of personal information, and to comply with applicable law.
Contacting Finmark Financials
Should you have further questions regarding our privacy
statement, about how your personal information is used, or about how to exercise
your right of access, rectification, or objection as per applicable law, you can
contact us directly at the address below.
Finmark Financials.
Attn: Privacy Dept.
3031A Hurontario Street,
Mississauga, ON L5A 2G9
Alternatively you may call us at:
1-(905) 272 3887 or email us at: info@finmark.ca.
