Smartino - Advanced Finance Tools & Solutions | Professional Financial Management

Introduction and Scope

At Smartino, we understand that your personal information is valuable and deserves protection. This comprehensive privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your data when you interact with our financial platform and services at flaxethys.sbs. Our commitment goes beyond mere compliance – we believe transparency builds trust, and trust forms the foundation of every successful financial relationship.

This policy applies to all interactions you have with Smartino, whether through our website, mobile applications, email communications, or any other digital touchpoints. We've structured this document to be clear and accessible, because understanding how your data is handled shouldn't require a law degree.

Your privacy isn't negotiable. We never sell your personal data to third parties, and we only collect information that directly enhances your financial management experience.

Information We Collect

Understanding what information we collect helps you make informed decisions about sharing your data with us. We gather information through several channels, each serving specific purposes in delivering our financial services.

Data Category	Examples	Collection Method
Personal Identifiers	Name, email address, phone number, physical address	Registration forms, account setup
Financial Information	Bank account details, transaction history, income data	Account linking, financial analysis tools
Technical Data	IP address, browser type, device information	Automatic collection during website visits
Usage Analytics	Pages visited, features used, session duration	Web analytics, user interaction tracking

We also collect information indirectly through cookies and similar technologies. These small data files help us remember your preferences, maintain your session security, and improve our platform's performance. You can control cookie settings through your browser, though disabling certain cookies may limit some functionality.

How We Use Your Information

Every piece of information we collect serves a specific purpose in enhancing your financial management experience. We don't collect data simply because we can – each data point helps us deliver better, more personalized services.

Providing core financial services including account management, transaction processing, and financial analysis tools
Personalizing your experience by tailoring recommendations and insights based on your financial goals and behavior patterns
Securing your account through fraud detection algorithms and suspicious activity monitoring
Communicating important account information, security updates, and service announcements
Improving our platform through user behavior analysis and feature optimization
Complying with regulatory requirements and legal obligations in the financial services sector
Providing customer support and resolving technical or account-related issues

We use advanced data analytics to identify spending patterns and financial trends that can help you make better financial decisions. However, this analysis is always conducted with your privacy in mind – we aggregate and anonymize data whenever possible to protect individual privacy while still gaining valuable insights.

Data Sharing and Third-Party Relationships

Transparency about data sharing builds trust, so we want to be completely clear about when and why we might share your information with third parties. We never sell your personal data, but there are specific circumstances where sharing is necessary to provide our services effectively.

Service Providers: We work with carefully vetted technology partners who help us deliver our services. These include cloud hosting providers, payment processors, and security services. All third-party providers are bound by strict contractual agreements that require them to protect your data with the same level of care we do.

Financial Institutions: To provide account aggregation and transaction analysis services, we connect with banks and financial institutions through secure APIs. This connection allows us to retrieve your account information, but all data transmission is encrypted and follows banking industry security standards.

Legal Requirements: We may disclose information when required by law, such as responding to court orders, regulatory investigations, or law enforcement requests. We carefully review all such requests and only provide the minimum information necessary to comply with legal obligations.

Business Transfers: In the unlikely event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of business assets, user information may be transferred as part of the transaction. We would notify users of any such transfer and ensure the acquiring entity maintains the same privacy protections.

Your Privacy Rights and Controls

Your data belongs to you, and you should have meaningful control over how it's used. We've implemented comprehensive tools and procedures to help you exercise your privacy rights effectively.

Access Your Data

Request a complete copy of all personal information we hold about you. We'll provide this information in a portable format within 30 days of your request.

Correct Inaccuracies

Update or correct any personal information that's inaccurate or outdated. Most corrections can be made directly through your account settings.

Delete Your Information

Request deletion of your personal data, subject to certain legal and operational requirements. We'll delete what we can while retaining necessary records for compliance.

Limit Processing

Restrict how we use your data for specific purposes like marketing communications while maintaining essential account services.

Data Portability

Export your data in a standard format that you can import into other financial management platforms if you choose to switch services.

Withdraw Consent

Withdraw your consent for specific data processing activities at any time, though this may affect certain features or services.

To exercise any of these rights, simply contact our privacy team using the information provided at the end of this policy. We've streamlined our processes to handle privacy requests efficiently and will confirm receipt of your request within 72 hours.

Data Security and Protection Measures

Protecting your financial information requires multiple layers of security, and we've implemented comprehensive safeguards that meet or exceed industry standards. Our security approach combines cutting-edge technology with rigorous operational procedures.

Bank-level encryption (AES-256) for all data transmission and storage, ensuring your information remains protected even if intercepted
Multi-factor authentication requirements for account access, adding an extra layer of protection beyond passwords
Regular security audits and penetration testing by independent cybersecurity firms to identify and address potential vulnerabilities
Continuous monitoring systems that detect and respond to suspicious activity in real-time
Secure data centers with physical access controls, redundant systems, and 24/7 monitoring
Employee security training programs and background checks for all staff with data access
Incident response procedures that activate immediately if any security breach is detected

We also maintain cyber insurance coverage and work closely with financial industry security organizations to stay ahead of emerging threats. Our security team regularly reviews and updates our protection measures to address new risks in the evolving digital landscape.

Data Retention and Deletion

We don't keep your data forever. Our retention policies balance your need for service continuity with privacy protection, ensuring we only retain information as long as necessary for legitimate business purposes.

Active Account Data: While your account remains active, we retain transaction history and account information to provide ongoing services and support. This includes financial data needed for trend analysis and personalized insights.

Inactive Accounts: If you don't use your account for 24 months, we'll contact you about potential account closure. After 36 months of inactivity, we begin deleting non-essential personal information while retaining minimal records for regulatory compliance.

Legal Requirements: Financial regulations require us to retain certain transaction records for up to seven years. We securely store this information with restricted access and delete it as soon as legally permissible.

Marketing Data: If you opt out of marketing communications, we'll stop sending promotional messages but retain a record of your opt-out preference to ensure we don't accidentally re-add you to marketing lists.

International Data Transfers

While Smartino primarily operates within South Africa, our technology infrastructure includes cloud services and partners that may process data in other countries. We ensure all international data transfers maintain the same level of protection as domestic processing.

When we transfer data internationally, we use approved transfer mechanisms such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses that provide equivalent privacy protections. Our cloud providers maintain data centers in regions with strong privacy laws and robust security standards.

We regularly review our international partners and data flows to ensure compliance with South African privacy laws and international best practices. If you have concerns about international data transfers, you can contact our privacy team for more specific information about where your data is processed.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

Privacy laws and business practices evolve, so we may need to update this policy periodically. We're committed to keeping you informed about any changes that might affect how we handle your personal information.

For minor updates that don't materially change how we process your data, we'll update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy and notify you through your account dashboard. For significant changes that alter our data practices, we'll send direct email notifications and may require your explicit consent before implementing the changes.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we're protecting your privacy. If you have questions about any changes, our privacy team is always available to provide clarification and address your concerns.

Privacy Policy