Privacy Policy

Personal Information is any information collected that is used to identify an individual. For Valley Credit Union members, the information we collect may include, but is not limited to your name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, gender, income, marital status, employment history, financial records, Social Insurance Number (SIN) or other government issued identification numbers, and credit history. 

The law requires us to ask for your SIN when you open an interest-bearing account or when you obtain products or services that require reporting to certain government agencies. We also may use it to identify you with credit bureaus and other financial institutions for credit matching purposes and other purposes related to your ongoing relationship with us. However, providing your SIN is not a condition of service.

We use your personal information to help us provide the highest standards of financial service. 

We collect this information from you directly, with your consent, and according to the terms of the product and service arrangements you have made with or through us or your ongoing relationship with us. Personal information is also obtained with your consent from credit bureaus, other financial institutions, and from the references you provide to us. 

Your personal information is collected for one or more of the following purposes: 

• to verify your identity; 
• to understand your needs and eligibility for products and services; 
• to open, maintain and administer your accounts and provide financial services that meet your needs; 
• to obtain credit reports, evaluate your credit rating and credit worthiness, and check references; 
• to administer and manage security and risk in relation to your accounts and the financial services provided to you; 
• to comply with legal and regulatory requirements; and 
• to offer and provide you with other products and services of the credit union and of our affiliates and service suppliers. 

 

We only share your personal information with your consent or where we are required or permitted to do so by law. We never sell, rent, or lease personal information to third parties. 

We do not keep a record when personal information is disclosed through routine reporting to government agencies (for example, a T5 Statement of Investment Income and other reports to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as required by legislation or regulation. 

We use trusted, reputable suppliers to provide services such as, but not limited to the following; cheque and statement printing, data processing, member research and surveys, and payment clearing services. We provide suppliers with only the information necessary to perform the required services. To ensure confidentiality, personal information is removed from market research and survey reports provided to the credit union. 

We ensure our suppliers implement security standards for information handling that are equal to our own, and we require them to protect your information in a manner that is consistent with our Privacy Code. In the event our suppliers are located outside of Canada, they are subject to the laws of the foreign jurisdiction and may be required to disclose personal information in accordance with those laws. 

Your information is sometimes shared with our partner organizations that include co-operative companies and/ or other similar organizations to ensure we offer you a full range of financial products and services. Our partner organizations are also required to protect your information in a manner that is consistent with our Privacy Code. 

You have the right to access, verify and update your personal information at any time. For more information, contact your credit union. 

Here is a summary of the 10 Principles of the Credit Union Privacy Code. 

Accountability 
We have designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with the principles of the Privacy Code. 

Identifying Purposes
Before or at the time we ask you for personal information, we will identify the purposes for which it will be used or disclosed. 

Consent 
We require your knowledge and consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information. 

Limiting Collection 
The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purpose identified by the credit union. 

Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention
If you have provided explicit limited consent, your personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected or as required by law. We will retain your information only as long as necessary to fulfill identified purposes. 

Accuracy 
We will endeavour to keep your information accurate, complete, and up-to-date. 

Safeguards 
We will protect your personal information with appropriate security safeguards. 

Openness
We will make specific, understandable information readily available to you about our personal information policies and practices. 

Individual Access 
When you request it, we will give you access to the existence, use, and disclosure of your information. You are entitled to question its accuracy and completeness, and its uses. 

Challenging Compliance 
You are entitled to question the Privacy Officer about our compliance with any of these principles. 

We collect, use and disclose your information only with your consent, unless we are obliged to disclose your personal information by law. 

In most cases we will obtain your express consent in writing. However, on occasion, your consent may be implied. For example, we may possess and use personal information that we collected from you prior to implementing our Privacy Code and for which we do not have your express written consent. However, because the information was obtained in relation to products or services that you requested, or in relation to your ongoing relationship with the credit union, your consent to our use of such information is considered implied. In all cases, your personal information may be used for the purposes described in this brochure, including disclosure to partner organizations unless you specifically ask us in writing to stop. 

You can refuse to consent to our further collection, use or disclosure of your personal information at any time in the future by giving the credit union written notice. However, withdrawal of your consent may limit the credit unions’ ability to provide products or services to you. As a result, in order to use certain products and services of the credit union or maintain an ongoing relationship with us you cannot refuse our collection, use and disclosure of personal information required by the credit union and partner organizations that provide essential services to the credit union. 

You may withdraw your consent at any time by completing the Withdrawal of Consent form on this brochure and returning it to your credit union. 

You can visit all public areas of our site without providing any personal information about yourself. Our Web site collects only non-personal information based on a visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address (this is not personally identifiable). Information collected includes the date and time of visit, the type of Internet browser used to access the site, the referring address (the link a visitor uses to access the site). This data is used to create statistics on site usage and improve online services. 

 If you send us an e-mail, any information provided by you will only be used for the purposes of responding to your inquiry or acting on your request. We will not use your name or e-mail address for any other purposes without additional consent. 

Our web site contains links to other web sites that are part of, affiliated with, or have a business relationship with Valley Credit Union. When you leave our site to visit one of these other sites, the only information transferred to the new site is the fact that you came from the Valley Credit Union web site valleycreditunion.com. Transmission of this referring address allows other sites to monitor their own web traffic, but does not disclose any personal information about you.

Please take time to review their privacy policies (this list is subject to change, at any time, without notice):

• CUMIS Credit Union Insurance Partner: https://www-cumis.cooperators.ca/en/cumis/privacy
• Collabria Credit Union Credit Cards Partner: https://www.collabriacreditcards.ca/privacy-policy.aspx
• SONA Credit Union Merchant Payment Partner: https://sonapay.ca/privacy-policy/
• Honest Money Atlantic Credit Unions Resource Hub: https://honestmoney.ca/privacy-policy

The Privacy Officer is responsible for monitoring information collection and data security and ensures credit union employees receive appropriate training on privacy issues and their responsibilities under the Privacy Code. The Privacy Officer also handles all privacy inquiries and personal information access requests under the Privacy Code. 

Ultimate responsibility for our compliance with the Privacy Code rests with the credit union Board of Directors. 

We welcome any questions or concerns about our Privacy Statement, or the practices of this site. Please contact us by email or in writing at the following address:

Privacy Officer, Valley Credit Union Ltd.
E: privacy@valleycreditunion.com
5682 Hwy#1 PO Box 70
Waterville, NS Canada
B0P 1V0