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Merrick Bank's Privacy Pledge
Our Privacy Pledge is provided to help you understand how we protect your financial
privacy. It provides you with an opportunity to make informed choices about the
management of personal information about you. At Merrick Bank, we maintain high
standards to safeguard Personal Information. We will remain vigilant in protecting
that information and in using it in a fair and lawful manner.
This Pledge explains our privacy commitment. It is not intended to be a contract.
It identifies the Personal Information that we collect and hold, and describes how
we use, share and secure it. It also tells you how to contact us if you have any
questions regarding this Pledge or our privacy practices.
To whom and what does this Pledge apply?
This Pledge covers the Personal Information of current and former individual Merrick
Bank customers.
Our Pledge applies to all personally identifiable financial information about you
that is obtained by Merrick Bank in connection with providing a consumer financial
product or service for personal, family or household purposes.
What Personal Information do we collect and how do we collect it?
Based on our relationship with you, we collect Personal Information from and about
you that is adequate, relevant and appropriate under the circumstances. For example,
we may collect or verify the following categories of Personal Information from or
about you in the following ways:
- From applications, forms, communications and other interactions,
information including your name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, Social
Security or other identification number, income, and source of funds.
- From transactions made with or by Merrick Bank, information including
your VISA® and MasterCard® transactions, loan performance and funds transfers.
- From entities outside of the Merrick Bank corporate family ("nonaffiliated
third parties"), information including your creditworthiness/credit history
and identity. These nonaffiliated third parties include consumer/credit-reporting
agencies, verification services, entities that provide us with mailing lists, and
publicly available reference sources.
- From your visits to our Web site, information including certain
technical information about your computer and operating systems. Our Web site practices,
including the use of "cookies," are described further on our Web site. A cookie
is a file that identifies a computer as a unique user. Cookies may be used to facilitate
your use of our Web site, to maintain site security and to improve our Web site.
Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You may be able to reset your
browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. If cookies
are disabled, however, our Web site (and other Web sites) may be harder to use.
A cookie cannot read data stored on the hard drive of a computer.
How do we use Personal Information?
We use Personal Information to operate our business in a prudent and efficient manner.
This may include, depending on the nature of your relationship with us, using it
to evaluate financial needs; offer products and services (such as our insurance
offerings); process and service transactions; respond to inquiries and requests;
fulfill our obligations to you; verify income, asset and obligation information;
resolve disputes; prevent fraud; and perform risk control. Additionally, we may
use your Personal Information to verify your identity, including, where applicable,
verification in accordance with the USA PATRIOT Act.
Where permitted and appropriate, we may also use your Personal Information for Merrick
Bank's marketing and product research and/or development purposes. Additionally,
we use your Personal Information to comply with legal requirements, and in accordance
with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
What Personal Information We Disclose and to Whom?
We may disclose all of the Personal Information (described above) that we collect
about current and former customers as described in the following section to the
following:
- Affiliates (i.e., companies related to us by common control or ownership) of Merrick
Bank Corporation and its parent, CardWorks, L.P.; and
- Nonaffiliated third parties (i.e., third parties that are not members of our corporate
family) such as financial service providers (i.e., VISA USA, Inc., MasterCard International,
Incorporated, other banks and financial institutions, and insurance companies) and
non-financial companies (i.e., retailers, direct marketers, marketing partners,
and others).
What Personal Information do we share internally among Merrick Bank companies
and why do we share it?
In connection with the uses described above, we may, depending on the nature of
your relationship with us, transfer some or all of your Personal Information to
and among Merrick Bank's "affiliates" (i.e., companies related to us by common control
or ownership such as CardWorks Servicing, LLC and CardWorks, Inc.).
Merrick Bank affiliates provide a number of crucial services to Merrick Bank in
connection with the servicing and maintenance of our customers' accounts. Merrick
Bank may share your Personal Information with affiliated third parties solely so
that such affiliates can provide those services. Our affiliates are required to
make contractual commitments to us to maintain the confidentiality of our customers'
Personal Information.
We are permitted under law to share Personal Information relating to our experiences
or transactions with you or your account (such as your account balance and your
payment history with us) with our affiliates. We also may share additional information
about your account (such as information we receive from you in applications and
information from credit reporting agencies) with our affiliates. You may direct
us not to disclose to our affiliates information that does not relate solely to
our or our affiliates' experiences or transactions with you (and your co-account
holder or authorized user) or your account by completing the online
Opt Out Form
once an account is established.
What Personal Information do we share externally with nonaffiliated third parties
and why do we share it?
Merrick Bank does not rent or sell Personal Information. In connection with the
uses described above (for example, processing your application with us), we may,
depending on the nature of your relationship with us, transfer some or all of your
Personal Information to nonaffiliated third parties. These nonaffiliated third parties
may be financial service providers (such as VISA USA, Inc., MasterCard International,
Incorporated, other banks and financial institutions, and insurance companies),
non-financial companies (such as government entities in response to subpoenas, consumer
reporting agencies or technology companies) or others (such as professional services
organizations or other service providers).
To the extent the law permits, Merrick Bank may also disclose certain Personal Information
to companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial
institutions with which we have joint marketing agreements. This Personal Information
includes:
- Information we receive from you, including information you provide on applications
or other forms, such as your name, address, social security number, assets and income;
and
- Information about your transactions with our affiliates, others, or us such as your
account balance, payment history, parties to transactions and credit card usage.
Among other things, these nonaffiliated third parties (a) help us carry out and
finalize transactions; (b) mail account statements and other information for us;
(c) help us verify information, including identity; (d) provide us with consulting,
accounting, legal and other services; (e) help us develop, operate and maintain
our services and systems; and (f) where permitted and appropriate, perform marketing
services for us or participate in joint marketing with us. These nonaffiliated third
parties are required to protect the confidentiality and security of your Personal
Information and to use it only in accordance with our instructions for the lawful
purposes agreed.
We may also transfer Personal Information (a) to government agencies, and regulatory
and law enforcement authorities as necessary or required; (b) as part of the sale,
merger or other disposition of a Merrick Bank business; (c) to other nonaffiliated
third parties as requested by you or your authorized representative; and/or (d)
as otherwise permitted or required by law, rule and/or regulation.
How do we protect the confidentiality and security of Personal Information?
- People. We educate our employees to treat Personal Information
with care, and work to limit access to this information to individuals who need
it for the purposes stated in this Pledge.
- Policies and procedures. We maintain and monitor our physical,
electronic and procedural safeguards to comply with applicable regulations, updating
them as needed so that we may protect Personal Information.
- Security. We take technical and organizational security measures,
that are generally accepted in the industry as reasonable standards, to keep Personal
Information confidential and secure against unauthorized or unlawful processing,
and to prevent loss, destruction or damage.
- Children's Online Information Privacy. Merrick Bank typically provides
consumer services to adults only and does not intend to collect or knowingly collect
any information from or about children. It is possible that a child may impersonate
an adult and attempt to apply for a Merrick Bank issued credit card or may apply
for a consumer loan or other product. In so doing, they may provide their name,
address, phone number, fax number, email address and other identifying information.
When such information is received and Merrick Bank is aware that the individual
providing the information is a child, the information is used only to reject the
child's application. Such information is never shared with third parties. Merrick
Bank cannot always determine if a visitor to its Web site or the sender of an email
is a child.
- "Cookies." Our Web site makes use of a standard feature of browser
software called a "cookie" to assign each visitor a unique, random number. Merrick
Bank uses cookies that last only through a single session when visiting our Web
site. However, to access the secured portions of the Web site, such as the Cardholder
Center, you must allow cookies to be set. Again, a cookie cannot read data stored
on the hard drive of a computer.
- Links to other sites. Our Web site contains links to other sites
whose information practices may be different than ours. You should consult the other
sites' privacy notices as Merrick Bank has no control over information that is submitted
to, or collected by, these third parties and how that information is used. Please
note that as you leave the Merrick Bank Web site, Merrick Bank does not transfer
any information to these other sites.
How can you verify that your Personal Information is accurate?
We endeavor to (a) keep Personal Information only for so long as is necessary for
business purposes or to meet legal and regulatory requirements; and (b) keep our
records of your Personal Information current and complete.
If you become aware of any discrepancies in your Personal Information, please notify
us and we will make the necessary corrections.
What if you have questions regarding this Pledge or our privacy practices?
Merrick Bank is responsible for ensuring that your questions are handled in accordance
with this Pledge and applicable laws, rules and regulations. We will ensure that
your legal rights have been protected and respected, and will address your concerns
in a fair and timely manner.
If you have any questions regarding this Pledge of our privacy-related practices,
please contact us by e-mail at privacy officer or you
can write to us at: Merrick Bank, Attn: Privacy Officer, P.O. Box 5000, Draper,
UT 84020-5000. You may also call the Privacy Officer at (800) 328-9155.
For information on Merrick Bank, please visit our Web site at
www.merrickbank.com.
Special Notice for Vermont Residents
The information sharing practices described above are in accordance with Federal
law. Vermont law places additional limits on sharing information about Vermont residents
so long as they remain residents of Vermont. In accordance with Vermont law, Merrick
Bank will not share information we collect about Vermont residents to companies
outside of Merrick Bank except:
- As permitted by law;
- To companies that perform marketing or other services on our behalf;
- Name, contact and transaction and experience information (such as your account balance
and payment history) to other financial institutions with which we have joint marketing
agreements; or
- With the authorization or consent of the Vermont resident.
Merrick Bank also will not share non-transactional information about Vermont residents
received from others within the Merrick Bank family of companies except with the
authorization or consent of the Vermont resident.
Special Notice for California Residents
We only disclose your Personal Information with our affiliates and non-affiliated
third parties in a manner that is permitted under the California Financial Information
Privacy Act (CFIPA) and federal law. In general, CFIPA requires us (1) to provide
you with notice and the right to tell us not to disclose your Personal Information
before we disclose such information to our affiliates or other financial institutions
with which we have joint marketing agreements, and (2) to seek your express consent
before we disclose your Personal Information to non-affiliated third parties for
marketing purposes. This means that unless we provide you with notice and the opportunity
to tell us not to share your Personal Information, or seek your express consent
to do so, we will not share your Personal Information with other financial service
providers and non-financial parties except for the purpose of fulfilling your request
for credit, as you may otherwise direct us to do so, or as otherwise permitted under
CFIPA and federal law. You will receive a separate notice of your rights under the
CFIPA.
Thanks for Choosing Merrick Bank
Thank you for choosing Merrick Bank to provide you with the products and services
you have selected. We appreciate your business and are committed to providing you
confidential service.
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Protecting Your Privacy
