Policy statement

What is personal information?

Personal information is information that identifies you. It includes your name and address, your age and gender, your personal financial records, identification numbers such as your Social Insurance Number, personal references, and employment records.

What personal information do we collect?

We only collect personal information from you by fair and lawful means and for legitimate and necessary reasons, which includes information:

• to identify you,
• to protect you and us from fraud and error,
• to comply with legal requirements,
• to understand your financial needs,
• to determine your eligibility for our products and services, and
• to help us better match our products and services to your needs.

The Income Tax Act requires that we ask you for your Social Insurance Number in connection with interest bearing and registered accounts. Additionally, we collect health information when you apply for any of our life insurance products. First West is committed not to collect more information than is needed to provide you with our products and services and is committed to inform you of the purposes for which we collect your personal information.

Why do we collect your personal information?

We collect your personal information to open accounts and administer your accounts and other financial products with us. We collect your personal information to verify your identity and creditworthiness, to consider you for employment, to establish your eligibility for special offers or discounts, and protect you and First West from fraud.

Consent

By agreeing to the privacy portion of the terms of service of your First West account and/or products and providing your personal information to us you are consenting to First West using and disclosing your personal information in the ways described in this policy. You may withdraw all or part of your consent at any time by contacting your local First West branch or notifying the Privacy Officer. Your consent to disclose some personal information is necessary in order to provide you all the products and services that First West offers. If your consent is withdrawn, we may be limited in the products and services we can provide to you. Your personal information will only be disclosed when required by law, or in the ways described below. If First West is interested in disclosing your personal information for any other reason we are required to receive new consent from you.

Who do we disclose your personal information to?

As part of the day-to-day management of your account and the services we provide you, we may at times disclose your personal information when required to by law or when necessary to continue providing you with products and services. We disclose your personal information with your consent to third-party suppliers of products and services, such as administration of accounts and loans, cheque printing, credit cards, and access to online banking.  First West ensures that all information provided to third-parties is given the same degree of privacy protection that we offer our members, regardless of where in the world that service provider is located.  Some of our suppliers may be located outside of the province or country. When your personal information is sent to another jurisdiction for processing, your information could be accessed by the courts and law enforcement agencies of that jurisdiction. 

We disclose your information to credit reporting agencies and to other financial institutions to update your credit information as needed from time to time. We disclose your information to market research firms for purposes of analysis and conducting surveys, solely on behalf of First West. We disclose your information to our affiliates and other carefully selected organizations for the purpose of enabling them to give you information about products and services that may be of interest to you.

We will disclose your information to bailiffs, collection agencies, lawyers and others when collecting a debt owed to First West, enforcing an agreement between you and First West, ensuring or otherwise protecting First West’s interests in security held by First West or, realizing on security held by First West. We disclose your information to other organizations in connection with a merger or sale of some or all of First West’s assets. We disclose your information as required or authorized by law.

When you open an account with us through our Online Membership Application, we’ll need you to provide identification information. You can verify your identity by taking a picture of yourself and your government-issued picture ID (eg. BC Drivers License) using your mobile device. A third party will be authenticating your image.  Or, you can choose to skip this step, and verify your identity using your Social Insurance Number (SIN). Please visit our First West Privacy Code for information on how we safeguard and protect your information when it is in the hands of a third party. 

When you use our Digital Assistant Finley, you acknowledge and provide your consent for a third party to monitor your chats and keep a record of conversations as a record of information exchanged for training, development and quality assurance purposes. The digital assistant collects IP Addresses, device and location information for the purposes of improving its functionality. You also agree you will not input any personal information into the digital assistant, such as your name, address, account numbers, usernames or passwords. 

Preferences

We may tell you about First West products or services through direct mail, e-mail, by phone, or by other means. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you may unsubscribe through a link on the emails, opt out online or contact the branch where you do your banking.

If you opt-out of receiving our marketing communications related to promotional offers, financial advice, or community involvement, this will not affect your eligibility for products or services. By opting-out for one account, you’ll be opting-out for all your First West accounts including joint accounts where you are the primary account holder.

First West Privacy Code

First West commits to complying with British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act “BC PIPA” and the CSA Model Code for the protection of personal information, which form the backbone of our First West Privacy Code:

1. Accountability:
   First West is responsible for personal information in our custody and control including information that has been transferred to a third party for processing. First West has designated a Privacy Officer to be accountable for our compliance with the First West Privacy Code. All employees of First West are responsible for your privacy and compliance with this Privacy Code.
2. Identifying Purposes:
   The purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified at or before the time the information is collected.
3. Consent:
   The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate e.g. for legal requirements, medical emergencies or security reasons. An individual can withdraw consent at any time by contacting the branch or office where the individual does their banking, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
4. Limiting Collection:
   The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by First West. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention:
   Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
6. Accuracy:
   Personal information shall be as accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
7. Safeguards:
   Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
8. Openness:
   First West Credit Union shall make readily available to individuals, specific information about its policies relating to the management of personal information.
9. Individual Access:
   Upon written request to the branch or office where an individual does business, or the Privacy Officer the individual shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall be given access to that information except where inappropriate. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate. Access will be given no later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the request. Costs to comply with the request are at the requestor's expense. The individual will be informed of the approximate costs in advance. Refusal to provide access for valid reasons will be explained in writing to the individual. Some possible reasons for refusal are: access would reveal information about a third party; information is protected (e.g. solicitor-client privilege); access threatens life or security of another individual; access reveals confidential commercial information; access reveals information generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process; access reveals information gathered for reporting a breach of an agreement or contravention of a law.
10. Challenging Compliance:
    An individual shall be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles to the designated individual or individuals accountable for First West’s compliance (refer to Principle 1 Accountability above).

Our Online Privacy Policy

This information page describes in general terms how your personal information is collected and used within the online banking section of our site. The online banking area of the site is the area of our website that requires you to use your Member ID and Personal Access Code (PAC) to enter.

Controlled access to your information

To ensure that you are the only person accessing your personal financial information, we restrict access to the online banking section of the site by requiring that you enter your Member ID and PAC to login. Only you know your PAC. Our employees do not have access to your PAC, and they will not ask you to reveal it. If someone does ask you to provide your PAC to them, we ask that you refuse to do so and contact us immediately.

Transactional services

By nature, our Internet banking site has many transactional functions such as transfers between accounts and bill payment functions. These transactions are all logged to ensure that your accounts are debited or credited appropriately, and a history of each transaction is available to verify your account information. We store and use your transactional information in the same fashion as if you performed the transaction at a branch or through any other service channel.

We may also use transactional information for servicing your account — for example, billing you for the particular transactions that you perform, or for the services that you use.

Creating a secure channel

We create a secure channel between your browser and our server to protect your information when you use the site. To learn more about how we do this, please review our information on Internet Security.

Application forms

To provide you with a convenient method for applying for loans and mortgages, or for purchasing other financial services products such as Registered Savings Plans, we may provide secure online application forms. These forms capture personal information that we use to provide you with the products and services you request. This information is processed in a similar way to application forms received through our other channels.

Logout button

To ensure that no-one else can access your personal information, always use the logout button to end an online banking session. It is located at the top of every page. When you exit using the logout button, we delete your session cookie so that your session cannot be resumed unless your Member ID and PAC are re-entered.

Automatic session time-outs

In the event that you leave your computer without logging out, the online banking feature of this site has been designed to end your session automatically if our system detects that you haven't provided any instructions or used the browser buttons to navigate for several minutes. To restart the session, you will need to provide your PAC again.

Email

To communicate with us electronically, we strongly recommend that you use our Contact Us feature. This feature provides a secure channel for sending us comments, questions or instructions.

General email is not secure since it passes through many points on its route from you to us. If you are using general email to communicate with us, we strongly recommend that you do not include personal financial information (such as account numbers) within the email as we cannot guarantee its confidentiality en route to us.

When you email us your comments, questions or instructions, you provide us your email address and we use it to correspond with you. We then store your email and our replies to you in case we correspond further.

Links to other sites

Our site may also contain links to other websites or Internet resources. As an example, from time-to-time we may provide links to Microsoft or Netscape to assist you in upgrading your Internet browser. However, we have no control over these other websites or Internet resources and do not control their collection, use and disclosure of your personal information. Always review the Privacy Statements of the sites that you are viewing.

Contact us

We welcome any questions or concerns about your privacy relating to use of our website. Please use the contact us form to submit your questions or comments.

As we continue to expand our online banking service to serve you better, and as new Internet technologies become available, we may update the information on this page at any time, to reflect changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you collect information about me?
We collect personal information from you directly when you open an account and/or apply for additional products or services. Some personal information we collect is required by law to ascertain your identity. With your consent, we also collect information from credit reporting agencies, references provided by you, your employer and others when you apply for credit and other products and services. Your consent can be expressed or implied.

Do I have to provide my social insurance number (SIN) or business number (BN)?
We are required by law to obtain your SIN or BN from you to report interest on your deposits and dividends on your shares and other investment income to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Also, when we deal with the credit bureau, using your SIN or BN is the best way to ensure the credit information is about you, not someone else with a similar name. However, use of your SIN or BN for this purpose is voluntary. You will not be denied credit or other service solely because you choose not to authorize us to use your SIN or BN for this purpose.

Can I decline to have my personal information collected, used or disclosed for certain purposes?
Yes, you can decline to have your personal information collected, used or disclosed for certain purposes. For example, you can opt out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes, such as:

• Receiving information about products and services or special promotions
• Sharing your information with organizations for the purpose of providing you with information about products and services

To choose these options, please submit an opt-out request.

You can also decline to have your personal information collected, used or disclosed for other purposes. This may mean we will not be able to provide you with products and services.

What will happen if I opt out of marketing purposes?
If you opt out of receiving marketing information, you may no longer receive information about new products or special promotions, financial information, member newsletters or credit union activities and events. We will continue to send you account statements, including statement inserts, and information required by law such as notices of membership meetings.

Your request to opt out of receiving marketing information will not affect your eligibility for any products and services.

How do you protect my personal information?
We are required to treat all personal and financial information confidentially. We have many policies, practices and physical and electronic systems in place to safeguard personal information under our control and to prevent unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal of your personal information.

What can I do to protect my personal information?
If you use our online banking, automated telephone banking or telephone call services, or you have a MEMBER CARD® debit card, you must select personal security codes and numbers (e.g. PAC, PIN). It is your personal responsibility to protect this information from misuse. You should safeguard your account and credit card statements, blank cheques and your personal codes and numbers at all times. You should not send confidential information to your credit union or anyone else using e-mail that is not encrypted.

You should review your account statements carefully and let us know immediately if your address changes or you find any errors in your information.

Can I view and verify my personal information?
We have always provided members and account holders with copies of account statements, cheques, transaction slips or other documents upon request, if we still have them. We may charge a fee for providing copies of documents. For more extensive information, you can complete an access to information request. You will be provided with an estimate of the fee for obtaining the information. For information and assistance, please contact our privacy officer. We'll respond within 30 days or, if we need an extension, we'll notify you of the new deadline and the reason for the extension. If you ask, we will help you contact other organizations to whom we have disclosed your information.

By law, we must not provide or may withhold some types of information. For example, we will not provide information that reveals the identity of another individual or that individual's personal information without that individual's consent, information that cannot be disclosed for legal or security reasons or information that is confidential commercial information.

If there are any errors in your information, we will correct the information wherever possible.

If you wish to verify your credit history, please contact the credit bureau directly. We will help you to contact the credit bureau.

How long do you keep my information?
We keep your personal information as long as it is needed to provide you with products and services you have applied for and to meet legal and business requirements, after which the information is destroyed or erased, or we remove your name from the information.

We may use personal information collected in the past when you apply for new products and services, in which case, we will confirm or update your information, and for marketing purposes, such as sending you information about products and services that may be of interest to you, unless you have opted out of receiving marketing information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our privacy officer.

Our privacy officer will answer your questions about privacy and provide you, if you ask, with information about our policies and practices and how we respond to complaints.The privacy officer can also help you complete an access to information request, help you access or correct your personal information and try to resolve any concerns or complaints about privacy to the satisfaction of you and the credit union.