legal document that states how a company or website
collects, handles and processes data of its customers and
visitors.
Introduction
As part of our daily business operations, we need to
collect personal information from our clients and
prospective clients in order to provide them with our
products and services and ensure that we can meet their
needs when providing these products and services as well
as when providing them with the respective information.
Your privacy is of utmost importance to us and it is our
policy to safeguard and respect the confidentiality of
information and the privacy of individuals. This Privacy
Policy sets out how QFX LTD (the “Company”)
collects, uses, and manages your personal information we
receive by you or a third party in connection with our
provision of services to you or which we collect from your
use of our services and/or our website and/or any other
related websites and applications including, among others,
the Company’s Members Area. The Privacy Policy also
informs you of your rights with respect to the processing
of your personal information.
Our Privacy Policy is reviewed regularly to ensure that
any new obligations and technologies, changes to our
business operations and practices are taken into
consideration, as well as that it remains abreast of the
changing regulatory environment. Any personal information
we hold will be governed by our most recent Privacy
Policy.
Please note that if you are an existing and/or former
employee of the Company, a job applicant, a contractor to
the Company or a third party service provider, your
personal information will be used in connection with your
employment contract, or your contractual relationship.
This Privacy Policy applies to the processing activities
performed by QFX LTD to the personal data of its
clients/potential clients, website visitors and employees.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to websites operated by
any other organisations and/or other third parties.
Who we are
QFX LTD is licenced and regulated by the International
Financial Services Commission (“IFSC”).
Safeguarding the confidentiality of your personal
information and protecting your privacy
The Company respects the privacy of any users who accesses
its website(s), and it is therefore committed to taking
all reasonable steps to safeguard any existing or
prospective clients, applicants and website visitors.
The Company keeps any clients’/potential
clients’ personal data in accordance with the
applicable data protection laws and regulations.
We have the necessary and appropriate technical and
organisational measures and procedures in place to ensure
that your information remains secured at all times. We
regularly train and raise awareness to all of our
employees on the importance of maintaining, safeguarding
and respecting your personal information and privacy. We
regard breaches of individuals’ privacy very
seriously and will impose appropriate disciplinary
measures, including dismissal where necessary. The
personal information you provide us with when registering
yourself as a user of the Company’s site(s) and/or
of its services is classified as registered information,
which is protected in several different ways. You can
access your registered information after logging in to the
Members Area by entering a username and a password that
you select. It is your responsibility to make sure that
your password is only known to you and not disclosed to
anyone else. Registered information is securely stored in
a safe location and only authorised personnel have access
to it via a username and a password. All personal
information is transferred to the Company over a secure
128-bit SSL connection and thus all necessary measures are
taken to prevent unauthorised parties from viewing any
such information. Personal information provided to the
Company that does not classify as registered information
is also kept in a safe place and accessible by authorised
personnel only via a username and a password.
Transmission of information via the internet is not always
completely secure but the Company endeavors to protect
your personal data by taking serious precautions. Once we
have received your information, we will apply procedures
and security features to try to prevent unauthorised
access.
Personal information we collect
In order to open an account with us, you must first
complete and submit an application form to us by
completing the required information. By completing this
application form, you are requested to disclose personal
information in order to enable the Company to assess your
application and comply with the relevant rules and
regulations. The information you provide may also be used
by the Company to inform you regarding its services.
The information that we may collect from you includes the
following:
full name, residential address and contact details (e.g.,
email address, telephone number, fax etc.);
date of birth, place of birth, gender, citizenship;
information about your income and wealth, including
details about your and source of funds, assets and
liabilities, bank account information, trading statements,
FATCA and CRS information and financial statements;
trading account balances, trading activity, your inquiries
and our responses;
information on whether you hold a prominent public
function (PEPs);
profession and employment details;
authentication data (e.g., signature)
location data;
trading performance, knowledge and experience;
verification information, which includes information
necessary to verify your identity such as a passport or
driver’s license (examples also include background
information we receive about you from public records or
from other entities not affiliated with us); furthermore,
we may collect other identifiable information such as
identification numbers and/or Passport/Tax registration
numbers;
any other information customarily used to identify you and
about your trading experience which is relevant to us
providing our services to you.
We obtain this information in a number of ways through
your use of our services including through any of our
websites, apps, the account opening applications, our QFX LTD
sign up forms, webinar sign up forms, subscribing to news
updates and from information provided in the course of
ongoing customer service communications. We may also
collect this information about you from third parties such
as through publicly available sources. We also keep
records of your trading behaviour, including records
regarding the following:
products you trade with us and their performance;
historical data about the trades and investments you have
made including the amount invested;
your preference for certain types of products and
services.
We may ask for other personal information voluntarily from
time to time (for example, through market research or
surveys).
If you choose not to provide the information we need to
fulfil your request for a specific product or service, we
may not be able to provide you with the requested product
or service.
We may record any communications, electronic, by
telephone, in person or otherwise, that we have with you
in relation to the services we provide to you and our
business relationship with you. These recordings will be
our sole property and will constitute evidence of the
communications between us. Such telephone conversations
may be recorded without the use of a warning tone or any
other further notice. Further, if you visit any of our
offices or premises, we may have CCTV which will record
your image.
Unsolicited Personal Information
Where we receive personal information about an individual
which is unsolicited by us and not required for the
provision of our services, we will securely destroy the
information (provided it is lawful and reasonable for us
to do so).
Job applicants
Personal data is kept in personnel files or within the
Company’s Human Resources systems. We have a
separate employee non-disclosure agreement for employees,
which will be provided to you upon being recruited. The
following types of data may be held by the Company, as
appropriate, on relevant individuals:
name, address, phone numbers, date of birth, email
address, gender, marital status, etc.;
CVs and other information gathered during recruitment;
references from former employers;
National Insurance numbers;
Criminal conviction data;
job title, job descriptions and pay grades;
conduct issues such as letters of concern and disciplinary
proceedings;
internal performance information;
medical or health history/information;
tax codes;
terms and conditions of employment;
training details.
We may further ask for other personal information as we
may consider necessary for the purpose of recruitment.
If you are unsuccessful in obtaining employment, we will
seek your consent to retaining your data in case other
suitable job vacancies arise in the Company for which we
think you may wish to apply. You are free to withhold your
consent to this and there will be no consequences for
withholding consent.
Lawful basis for processing your personal information and
purposes
We may process your personal data on the following bases
and for the following purposes:
Performance of a contract
We process personal data in order to provide our services
and products, as well as information regarding our
products and services based on the contractual
relationship with our clients (i.e., so as to perform our
contractual obligations). In addition, processing of
personal data takes place to be able to complete our
client on-boarding/acceptance procedures.
In view of the above, we need to verify your identity in
order to accept you as our client and we will need to use
those details in order to effectively manage your trading
account with us to ensure that you are getting the best
possible service from us. This may include third parties
carrying out credit or identity checks on our behalf. The
use of your personal information is necessary for us to
know who you are as we have a legal obligation to comply
with certain Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence
regulatory obligations.
Compliance with a legal obligation
There are a number of legal obligations emanating from the
relevant laws to which we are subject as well as statutory
requirements (e.g., anti-money laundering laws, financial
services laws, corporation laws, privacy laws and tax
laws). There are also various supervisory authorities
whose laws and regulations we are subject to (e.g. the
IFSC). Such obligations and requirements impose on us
necessary personal data processing activities for credit
checks, identity verification, payment processing,
compliance with court orders, tax law or other reporting
obligations and anti-money laundering controls.
These obligations apply at various times, including client
on boarding/acceptance, payments and systemic checks for
risk management.
For the purposes of safeguarding legitimate interests
We process personal data so as to safeguard the legitimate
interests pursued by us or by a third party. A legitimate
interest is when we have a business or commercial reason
to use your information. Despite that, it must not
unfairly go against what is right and best for you.
Examples of such processing activities include the
following:
initiating legal claims and preparing our defence in
litigation procedures;
means and processes we undertake to provide for the
Company’s IT and system security, preventing
potential crime, asset security, admittance controls and
anti-trespassing measures;
setting up CCTV systems (e.g., at our premises for
security reasons);
measures to manage business and for further developing
products and services;
sharing your personal data within the QFX LTD for the purpose
of updating/verifying your personal data in accordance
with the relevant anti-money laundering compliance
framework;
risk management.
You have provided your consent
Our storage and use of your personal data is based on your
consent (other than for the reasons described or implied
in this policy when your consent is not required). You may
revoke consent at any time; however, any processing of
personal data prior to the receipt of your revocation will
not be affected.
To assess the appropriateness of our services/products for
the Clients
To provide you with products and services, or information
about our products and services, and to review your
ongoing needs
Once you successfully open a trading account with us, or
subscribe to an update or webinar, we will need to use
your personal information to perform our services and
comply with our obligations to you. It is also in our
legitimate interests to ensure that we are providing the
best products and services so we may periodically review
your needs to ensure that you are getting the benefit of
the best possible products and services from us.
To help us improve our products and services, including
customer services, and develop and market new products and
services
We may from time to time use personal information provided
by you through your use of the services and/or through
client surveys to help us improve our products and
services. It is in our legitimate interests to use your
personal information in this way to ensure the highest
standards when providing you with our products and
services and to continue to be a market leader in the
financial services industry.
To form a profile about you
We may from time to time use personal information provided
by you through your use of the services and/or through
client surveys to help us improve our products and
services. It is in our legitimate interests to use your
personal information in this way to try to ensure the
highest standards when providing you with our products and
services and to continue to be a market leader in the
financial services industry.
To investigate or settle enquiries or disputes
We may need to use personal information collected from you
to investigate issues and/or settle disputes with you as
it is in our legitimate interests to ensure that issues
and/or disputes get investigated and resolved in a timely
and efficient manner.
To comply with applicable laws, court orders, other
judicial process, or the requirements of any applicable
regulatory authorities
We may need to use your personal information to comply
with any applicable laws and regulations, court orders or
other judicial process, or the requirements of any
applicable regulatory authority. We do this not only to
comply with our legal obligations but because it may also
be in our legitimate interest to do so.
To send you surveys
From time to time, we may send you surveys as part of our
customer feedback process. It is in our legitimate
interest to ask for such feedback to try to ensure that we
provide our services and products at the highest
standards. However, we may, from time to time, also ask
you to participate in other surveys and if you agree to
participate in other surveys we rely on your consent to
use the personal information we collect as part of such
survey. All responses to any survey we send out whether
for customer feedback or otherwise will be aggregated and
depersonalised before survey results are shared with any
third parties.
Data analysis
Our website pages and e-mails may contain web beacons or
pixel tags or any other similar type of data analysis
tools that allow us to track receipt of correspondence and
to count the number of users that have visited our webpage
or opened our correspondence. Why may aggregate your
personal information (such as trading history) with the
personal information of our other clients on an anonymous
basis (that is, with your personal identifiers removed) so
that more rigorous statistical analysis of general
patterns may lead to us providing better products and
services.
If your personal information is completely anonymised, we
do not require a legal basis as the information will no
longer constitute personal information. If your personal
information is not in an anonymised form, it is in our
legitimate interest to continually evaluate that personal
information to ensure that the products and services we
provide are relevant to the market.
Marketing purposes
We may process your personal information to send you
marketing communications by email or phone or other agreed
forms (including social media campaigns) to ensure that
you are always kept up to date with our latest products
and services. If we send you marketing communications, we
will either do so based on your consent or if it is in our
legitimate interest.
We will not disclose your information to any outside
parties for the purpose of allowing them to directly
market to you.
Internal business purposes and record keeping
We may need to process your personal information for
internal business and research purposes as well as for
record keeping purposes. Such processing is in our own
legitimate interests and is required in order to comply
with our legal obligations. This may include any
communications that we have with you in relation to the
services and products we provide to you and our
relationship with you. We will also keep records to ensure
that you comply with your contractual obligations pursuant
to the agreement governing our relationship with you.
Legal notifications
Often the law requires us to advise you of certain changes
to products or services or laws. We may need to inform you
of changes to the terms or the features of our products or
services. We need to process your personal information to
send you these legal notifications. You will continue to
receive this information from us even if you choose not to
receive direct marketing information from us.
Corporate restructuring
If we undergo a corporate re-structuring or part, or if
all of our business is acquired by a third party, we may
need to use your personal information in association with
that re-structuring or acquisition. Such use may involve
sharing your information as part of a due diligence
enquiries or disclosures pursuant to legal agreements. It
is our legitimate interest to use your information in this
way, provided we comply with any legal/regulatory
obligation we have towards you.
Physical Security
If you enter any of our premises we may record your image
on our CCTV for security reasons. We may also take your
details to keep a record of who has entered our premises
on any given day. It is in our legitimate interest to do
this to maintain a safe and secure working environment.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
The Company shall not disclose any of its clients’
confidential information to a third party, except: (a) to
the extent that it is required to do so pursuant to any
applicable laws, rules and/or regulations; (b) if there is
a duty to the public to disclose; (c) if our legitimate
business interests require disclosure; or (d) at your
request or with your consent or to Persons described in
this policy. The Company will endeavor to make such
disclosures on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, unless
otherwise instructed by a regulatory authority. Under such
circumstances, the Company will notify the third party
regarding the confidential nature of any such information.
As part of using your personal data for the purposes set
out above, the Company may disclose your personal
information to the following:
any members of the QFX LTD, which means that any of our
ultimate holding companies and their respective
subsidiaries may receive such information;
our associates and service providers, for business
purposes, including third parties such as business service
providers and specialist advisers who have been contracted
to provide us with administrative, financial, legal, tax,
compliance, insurance, research or other services;
business introducers with whom we have a mutual business
relationship;
business parties, credit providers, courts, tribunals and
regulatory authorities as agreed or authorised by law;
payment service providers (PSPs) and/or banking
institutions in relation to issues raised regarding
deposits/withdrawals to/from trading account(s) held with
the Company and/or for the purpose of commencing an
investigation regarding such matters (e.g., third party
deposits);
anyone authorised by you.
If the Company discloses your personal information to
business parties, such as card processing companies or
banks, in order to perform the services requested by
clients, such third parties may store your information in
order to comply with their legal and other obligations.
Generally, we require that organisations outside the QFX LTD
who handle or obtain personal information to acknowledge
the confidentiality of this information, undertake to
respect any individual’s right to privacy and comply
with the all relevant data protection laws and this
Privacy Policy. Third party service providers such as
credit referencing agencies (if and when applicable) may
keep a record of any searches performed on our behalf and
may use the search details to assist other companies in
performing their searches. Please note that the use of
your personal information by external third parties who
act as data controllers of your personal information is
not covered by this Privacy Policy and is not subject to
our privacy standards and procedures.
Clients accept and consent that the Company may, from time
to time, analyse the data collected while visiting our
website(s) or by other means, such as questionnaires, for
statistical purposes in order to improve the
Company’s business activities.
Transfers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)
We may transfer your personal information outside the
European Economic Area to other QFX LTD companies as well as
service providers (i.e. processors) who are engaged on our
behalf. To the extent we transfer your information outside
the EEA, we will ensure that the transfer is lawful and
that processors in third countries are obligated to comply
with the European data protection laws or other
countries’ laws which are comparable and to provide
appropriate safeguards in relation to the transfer of your
data in accordance with GDPR Article 46. If we make
transfers to processors in the USA, we may in some cases
rely on applicable standard contractual clauses, binding
corporate rules, the EU-US Privacy Shield or any other
equivalent applicable arrangements.
In view of the above, your personal information may be
processed by staff in the QFX LTD operating outside the EEA
who work for us, another QFX LTD entity or for one of our
service providers. Such staff may be, among others,
engaged in the fulfilment of your requests, the processing
of your payment details and the provision of support
services. By submitting your personal data, you agree to
this transfer, storing and processing. The Company will
take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your
data is treated securely and in accordance with this
Privacy Policy.
Information collected from your use of our services
Tracking systems used on the Company’s website(s)
may collect your personal data in order to optimise the
services provided to clients/potential clients. The
website collects information in the following ways:
Device information
By recognizing your device used to access and use the
Company’s website(s), we can provide you with the
most appropriate version of our website(s).
Log information
Logging certain behaviors on the site enables the company
to track user action and therefore troubleshoot any issues
that may occur.
Location information
Using your IP address helps us localize our website
content, which we provide to you based on your country,
and improve your user experience on our site(s).
Cookies
Cookies are text files with a small amount of data sent
from our website(s) to your browser and stored on your
computer’s hard drive. Cookies help us improve the
performance of our website(s) and our website
visitors’ experience, track your referrer and
improve our future advertising campaigns.
Local storage
You must submit validation documents to us through the
Company’s Members Area in order to activate your
trading account. These documents are transmitted over a
secure 128-bit SSL connection and stored in a safe
location.
Cookies
Internet cookies are small pieces of data sent from our
website(s) to your browser and stored on your
computer’s hard drive when using our website(s), and
they may include a unique identification number. The
purpose of collecting this information is to provide you
with a more relevant and effective experience on our
website(s), including the presentation of our web pages
according to your needs or preferences.
Cookies are frequently used on many websites on the
internet, and you can choose if and how a cookie will be
accepted by changing your preferences and options in your
browser. You may not be able to access some parts of our
website(s) if you choose to disable the cookie acceptance
in your browser, particularly in the Company’s
Members Area and other secure parts of our website(s). We
therefore recommend you to enable cookie acceptance in
order to benefit from all our online services.
Furthermore, we use cookies for re-marketing features in
order to allow us to reach out to users who have
previously visited our website(s) and have shown an
interest in our products and services. Periodically, we
may use third party vendors, such as Google and AdRoll, to
display our ads over the internet to you, based on your
previous use of our website(s). You can opt out this
particular use of cookies at any time by visiting
Google’s Ads Settings page and the DoubleClick
opt-out page or as they later update those facilities.
The Company uses session ID cookies and persistent
cookies. A session ID cookie expires after a set amount of
time or when the browser window is closed. A persistent
cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended time
period. You can remove persistent cookies by following
directions provided in your web browser's
‘Help’ file.
For further details about our cookie policy and how our
cookies work, read our Cookies Policy here.
How we obtain your consent
Where our use of your personal information requires your
consent, such consent will be provided in accordance with
the express written terms which govern our business
relationship (which are available on our website(s) as
amended from time to time).
If we rely on your consent as our legal basis for holding
and processing your personal information, you have the
right to withdraw that consent at any time by contacting
us using the contact details set out in this Privacy
Policy.
Storage of your personal information and retention period
Safeguarding the privacy of your information is of utmost
importance to us, whether you interact with us personally,
by phone, by mail, over the internet or any other
electronic medium. We will hold personal information, for
as long as we have a business relationship with you, in a
combination of secure computer storage facilities and
paper-based files and other records and we take the
necessary measures to protect the personal information we
hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification
or disclosure.
When we consider that personal information is no longer
necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, we
will remove any details that will identify you or we will
securely destroy the records. However, we may need to
maintain records for a significant period of time. For
example, we are subject to certain anti-money laundering
laws which require us to retain the following, for a
period of five (5) years after our business relationship
with you has ended:
a copy of the documents we used in order to comply with
our customer due diligence obligations;
supporting evidence and records of transactions with you
and your relationship with us.
Also, the personal information we hold in the form of a
recorded communication, by telephone, electronically, in
person or otherwise, will be held in line with local
regulatory requirements (i.e., 5 years after our business
relationship with you has ended or longer if you have
legitimate interests (such as handling a dispute with
you). If you have opted out of receiving marketing
communications we will hold your details on our
suppression list so that we know you do not want to
receive these communications.
We may keep your data for longer than 5 years if we cannot
delete it for legal, regulatory or technical reasons.
Your rights regarding your personal information
The rights that might be available to you in relation to
the personal information we hold about you are set out
below.
Information and Access
If you ask us, we will confirm whether we are processing
your personal information and, if so, what information we
process and, if requested, provide you with a copy of that
personal information (along with certain other details)
within thirty (30) days from the date of your request. If
you require additional copies, we may need to charge a
reasonable administration fee.
Rectification
It is important to us that your personal information is up
to date. We will take all reasonable steps to make sure
that your personal information remains accurate, complete
and up-to-date. If the personal information we hold about
you is inaccurate or incomplete, you are entitled to have
it rectified. If we have disclosed your personal
information to others, we will let them know about the
rectification where possible. If you ask us, if possible
and lawful to do so, we will also inform you who we have
shared your personal information with so that you can
contact them directly.
You may inform us at any time that your personal details
have changed by sending us an e-mail. The Company will
change your personal information in accordance with your
instructions. To proceed with such requests, in some cases
we may need supporting documents from you as proof, i.e.
personal information that we are required to keep for
regulatory or legal purposes.
Erasure
You can ask us to delete or remove your personal
information in certain circumstances such as if we no
longer need it or you withdraw your consent (if
applicable) provided that we have no legal obligation to
retain that data. Such request will be subject to any
retention limits we are required to comply with in
accordance with applicable laws and regulations and
subject to section 'Storage of Your Personal Information
and Retention Period'. If we have disclosed your personal
information to others, we will let them know about the
erasure where possible. If you ask us, where possible and
lawful to do so, we will also inform you who we have
shared your personal information with so that you can
contact them directly.
Processing restrictions
You can ask us to ‘block’ or suppress the
processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
such as if you contest the accuracy of that personal
information or object to us processing it. It will not
stop us from storing your personal information. We will
inform you before we decide not to agree with any
requested restriction. If we have disclosed your personal
information to others, we will inform about the
restriction if possible. If you ask us, if possible and
lawful to do so, we will also tell you who we have shared
your personal information with so that you can contact
them directly.
Data Portability
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (679/2016),
you have the right, in certain circumstances, to obtain
personal information you have provided us with (in a
structured, commonly used and machine readable format) and
to re-use it elsewhere or ask us to transfer this to a
third party of your choice.
Objection
You can ask us to stop processing your personal
information, and we will do so, if we are:
relying on our own or someone else’s legitimate
interests to process your personal information except if
we can QFX LTDnstrate compelling legal grounds for the
processing;
processing your personal information for direct marketing;
or
processing your personal information for research unless
we reasonably believe such processing is necessary or
prudent for the performance of a task carried out in the
public interest (such as by a regulatory or enforcement
agency).
Automated decision-making and profiling
If we have made a decision about you based solely on an
automated process (e.g. through automatic profiling) that
affects your ability to use the services or has another
significant effect on you, you can request not to be
subject to such a decision unless we can QFX LTDnstrate to
you that such decision is necessary for entering into, or
the performance of, a contract between you and us. Even
where a decision is necessary for entering into or
performing a contract, you may contest the decision and
require human intervention. We may not be able to offer
our services or products with you, if we agree to such
request (i.e. end our relationship with you).
Choice to opt-out collecting your personal information
If you do not want us to use your personal information,
you must inform the Company by sending an email. If you
decide to do so, we may not be able to continue to provide
information, services and/or products requested by you and
we will have no liability to you in this respect.
Legal Disclaimer
The Company may disclose your personally identifiable
information as required by rules and regulations and when
the Company believes that disclosure is necessary to
protect our rights and/or to comply with any proceedings,
court order, legal process served or pursuant to
governmental, intergovernmental or other regulatory
bodies. The Company shall not be liable for misuse or loss
of personal information or otherwise on the
Company’s website(s) that the Company does not have
access to or control over. The Company will not be liable
for unlawful or unauthorised use of your personal
information due to misuse or misplacement of your
passwords, negligent or malicious intervention and/or
otherwise by you or due to your acts or omissions or a
person authorized by you (whether that authorization is
permitted by the terms of our legal relationship with you
or not).
Changes in this Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy is reviewed from time to time to take
into account new laws and technologies, changes to our
operations and practices, and to ensure that it remains
appropriate to the changing environment.
If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post
those changes to this Privacy Policy and other places we
deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information
we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances,
if any, we disclose it.