Ratebridge Pty Ltd | ACN: 697 721 216, trading as RateBridge Finance, is firmly committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information. We take our obligations seriously to handle your personal information in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect, use and manage your personal information.

RateBridge Finance is a commercial finance broker. We operate as a Sub-Originator under Viking Asset Aggregation Pty Ltd (ACN 661 296 457, Australian credit licence 543046) and arrange commercial, business-purpose finance for ABN holders only. We do not provide credit assistance on consumer (NCCP-regulated) credit such as home loans or personal loans.

Collection and use of personal information

We collect personal information to enable us to provide our services to you and otherwise as set out in this Privacy Policy. Where we are required to comply with certain legislation to provide you with the services you choose, collection of certain personal information will be mandatory. If you are unwilling to provide us with the information we need, we may be unable to provide services to you.

Personal information obtained and held

We only collect and hold personal information about you which is reasonably necessary for our functions and activities, which include (but are not limited to):

• Arranging commercial finance, and any related insurance, on your behalf.
• Assessing and progressing a commercial finance application with a credit provider.
• Maintaining your contact details and managing our relationship with you.
• Improving how we operate and provide our services.
• Fulfilling our legal obligations under applicable laws, including those relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing.

Examples of personal information we collect and hold relating to applicants and guarantors:

• Name, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address or other contact details.
• Information required to identify you, including as required under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, which may include details or copies of passports, driver licences, utility bills or other documentary evidence of identity.
• Information relevant to the commercial finance we arrange or have been requested to arrange, including information about your business and financial position, such as:
• details of business and personal assets and liabilities, including existing debts;
• details of business income and trading performance; and
• supporting financial information, such as bank statements, BAS or tax statements.
• Details about the asset to be financed.
• Credit information, including information contained in credit reports from Credit Reporting Bodies (CRB).
• Records of our interactions with you, including by telephone, email and online.
• Your enquiries or complaints.
• Information about other parties relevant to an application (for example a co-director or guarantor). Where you provide such information, you confirm you have obtained that person’s consent and informed them of the purpose of disclosure.

Credit information is personal information that relates to credit a person has applied for or been provided. The credit information we collect may include records of credit you have applied for (including the credit provider, the type and amount of credit), default information, or any other information bearing on your creditworthiness. It also includes credit reporting information supplied to us by a credit reporting body and any information we derive from it.

We will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal and credit information to:

• Verify your identity and assess your business and financial situation.
• Assess your commercial finance application, or your suitability as a guarantor.
• Provide relevant information to a guarantor or related applicant.
• Exchange your information with a credit reporting body.
• Disclose your information to credit providers on Viking’s commercial credit panel to arrange finance.
• Disclose your information to Viking Asset Aggregation Pty Ltd as our aggregator and licensee.
• Disclose your information to an insurer to arrange insurance you wish to obtain.
• Collect from and disclose to third parties (such as accountants, suppliers, dealers, lending institutions and guarantors) where reasonably necessary to arrange finance on your behalf.

We may be unable to provide our services without the ability to collect, hold, use and disclose your personal and credit information.

We may also collect and hold sensitive information about you, including information relating to:

• Your citizenship or country of birth.
• Biometric information used for the purpose of identification or automated biometric verification.
• Information where you are a politically exposed person under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

The purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information about applicants and guarantors in order to:

• Assess your suitability for a commercial finance product.
• Arrange finance through credit providers on Viking’s commercial credit panel where your application proceeds.
• Inform you about other products and services we think may be of interest to you (see Marketing below).
• Respond to enquiries and complaints.

How personal information is collected, used and disclosed

We generally collect personal information directly from you. We may also collect personal information about you from other persons, organisations and public sources as set out below.

We may use and disclose your personal information to, and collect personal information about you from:

• Any business which provides information about the commercial creditworthiness of persons.
• A credit report obtained from a Credit Reporting Body, including information about your creditworthiness, credit history or credit capacity and any default, in accordance with the Privacy Act.
• Sources disclosed in your application, such as your accountant or business references.
• Service providers that assist in the processing of applications.
• Any joint applicants, co-applicants or guarantors (or proposed parties) in relation to an application.
• Credit providers, referrers and insurance product providers.
• Our aggregator and licensee, Viking Asset Aggregation Pty Ltd.
• Our agents, contractors and external advisers.
• Government authorities in connection with lawful information requests or to meet legal obligations.
• Issuers of identification documents via the use of third-party systems.
• Our external dispute resolution service.
• Legal and other professional advisers.

We may collect and handle information that is in the public domain, such as from websites or social media platforms (for example, if you use social media to make a complaint), or from public registers (for example, those kept by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission).

Cookies

We may use “cookies”. A cookie allows our servers to identify and interact more effectively with you and your device(s), and helps maintain the continuity of your browsing session and remember your preferences when you return.

Our systems may record information relating to interactions with our website, including software versions used, device identifiers (e.g. IP addresses), location data (where available and not disabled), dates, times, referring website, data entered and user activity such as links clicked.

In some cases, third parties may use cookies and similar technologies in connection with activities such as website and usage analytics and email campaign management.

How we hold personal information

We use security procedures and modern technology to protect the personal information we hold. We store your personal information in several ways, including in electronic systems and devices. Access to and use of this information is appropriately limited to protect against misuse or unlawful disclosure.

How you can access and seek correction of your information

You can contact us to request access to the personal information we hold about you. Subject to the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles, we will generally give you access. There may be circumstances where access is denied, in which case we will provide our reasons unless it would be unreasonable to do so.

You can also request that we correct personal information we hold about you. If we are satisfied the information is inaccurate, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, we will take reasonable steps to correct it.

Any request to access or correct personal information should be made to our Privacy Officer using the contact details below and will be dealt with in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Disclosing your information overseas

Some of the service providers we use to store information or support our systems may operate or store information overseas, including in countries such as Singapore and the United States. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient protects your information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Marketing

We may use and disclose your personal information to inform you about other products and services we think may be of interest to you in the future. We respect your right to ask us not to use your information for direct marketing, and we will not send you such information if you request this using the contact details below.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We make reasonable efforts to keep this Privacy Policy up to date. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time and, should this occur, the amendment will be posted on our website. Please check back when you return to ensure you are familiar with our current practices.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy or our handling of your information, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Addressee: The Privacy Officer
Address: PO BOX 196 Craigieburn 3064 VIC
Phone: 0402 411 154
Email: info@ratebridge.com.au