Privacy Statement

Our Philosophy on Privacy

On January 1, 2004 new privacy laws governing credit unions and other businesses came into force.  Credit Unions in Canada have a long history of respecting the privacy of their customers. As a member owned financial institution, we are committed to maintaining policies, procedures and service offerings that protect your privacy.  

Our commitment means we will protect your privacy and respect your right to have a say in how we use and disclose your personal information. We have procedures in place that guide our employees in maintaining confidentiality. What has been our ongoing business practice has become our documented commitment to you.

In order to comply with privacy laws, Common Wealth Credit Union’s Board of Directors adopted the Credit Union Code for the Protection of Personal Information, established related Policies and Procedures and appointed a Privacy Officer. Our employees understand the importance of policies and procedures and follow them carefully.

To find out more, read our Privacy Code (maintain link from existing site), or contact our Privacy Officer (link to Privacy Officer info further down):

Your Personal Information

What is personal information?
Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. This includes, for example: an individual’s race, ethnic origin, colour, age, marital status, religion, education, medical information, employment history, financial records, address, telephone number, e-mail address and Social Insurance Number.  

Why do we collect personal information?
We hold personal information about members to help us meet and maintain the highest standards of financial service. This information can include your name, address, age, income, use of accounts and credit history.

We obtain this information from you directly, and from the product and service arrangements you have made with or through us. Information is also obtained with your permission from credit bureaus, other financial institutions and from the references you provide us.  

Your personal information may be collected, used or disclosed for one or more of the following purposes:

• To meet regulatory and legal requirements;
• To establish your identification;
• To protect you from illegal activity;
• To determine the suitability of products and services to you, and your eligibility for products and services (including determining your eligibility for credit on an ongoing basis with other credit suppliers and credit reporting agencies);
• To operate and administer products and services which you have requested, including providing information to related service providers involved in the operation and administration of those services on behalf of us;
• To provide you with information or advice on products and services that may be of interest to you (whether you currently have a product or service with us);
• To conduct research to assist us in designing products and services, and determining products and services that may be of interest to you, and to obtain your feedback on current products and services;
• To disclose information to third parties in connection with ongoing management of our assets (including the assignment or sale of loans), and the further subsequent collection, use or disclosure of that information by those third parties and any of their agents or assignees for the purpose of managing those assets;
• To provide ombudsman or mediation services to address concerns with credit union products or services raised by you.

(A related service supplier is a third party supplier of financial services available through your credit union.  We only deal with suppliers who have agreed to meet our standards of privacy protection).

Your SIN

The law requires us to ask for your Social Insurance Number (SIN) when you open an interest bearing account. We may also ask for your SIN to identify you with credit bureaus and other financial institutions for credit matching purposes.  Using the SIN is the best way to ensure the credit information actually refers to you, but you may withdraw your consent for the use of your SIN and still obtain loans from us.

Who do we share your personal information with?

We use trusted and reputable suppliers to provide cheque and statement printing, data processing, research and payment clearing services. They are not allowed to use this information for any other purpose than what we contract them for. Our suppliers and their employees are required to protect your information in a manner that is consistent with our privacy code.

How can you access and verify your personal information?

To gain access to this information, contact our Privacy Officer. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time frame and at a reasonable cost. Common Wealth Credit Union will, to the best of our ability, respond in a form that is generally understandable.

Should you discover upon review of your personal information that changes are required, please inform us.

The Ten Principles

The following is a summary of the 10 principles of the Credit Union Code for the Protection of Personal Information.

1. Accountability   We have designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with the principles of the Code.
2. Identifying Purposes   When we ask you for personal information, we will identify the purposes for which it will be used or disclosed.
3. Consent   We require you to acknowledge and provide express or implied consent for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information.
4. Limiting Collection   The collection of personal information is limited to the purposes we have identified for you and will be collected by fair and lawful means.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention   We will use or disclose your personal information only with your express or implied consent, or as required by law. We will retain your information for only as long as is necessary to fulfill identified purposes.
6. Accuracy   We will keep your information accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
7. Safeguards   We will protect your personal information with appropriate security safeguards.
8. Openness   We will make specific, understandable information readily available to you about our personal information policies and practices.
9. Individual Access   When you request it, we will give you access to your personal information, how we use it and who we disclose it to. You are entitled to question its accuracy, its completeness and its uses.
10. Challenging Compliance   You are entitled to question the Privacy Officer about our compliance with any of these principles.

The Privacy Officer

Common Wealth Credit Union’s Privacy Officer is your point of contact if you wish to raise any matters regarding the use of your personal information. The Privacy Officer is responsible for monitoring information collecting and data security, and ensures that Common Wealth Credit Union employees receive appropriate training on privacy issues and their responsibilities under the Code. The Privacy Officer also handles all privacy inquiries and personal information access requests under the Code. 

Ultimate responsibility for our compliance with the Code rests with Common Wealth Credit Union’s Board of Directors.

For more information, questions or concerns on credit union privacy issues, please contact:

Kim Crockett
Privacy Officer
Common Wealth Credit Union Limited
5012-49th St., PO Box 1410
Lloydminster, Alberta  S9V 1K4
Phone: 780.808.4748
Fax: 780.808.4763

Your Consent

Before we collect, use or disclose your personal information we will obtain your consent to the purpose that we ordinarily use this information for to provide you service.

We will obtain your consent in writing when you become a credit union member, or if we need information for a new purpose.

If you are currently a member we may possess personal information about you that we collected prior to implementation of our Privacy Code, for which we do not have your express consent to use. We will continue to use that information for the purposes listed in the section “Why do we collect it”, unless you ask us to stop using the information for a specified purpose. 

From time to time we may also rely on your implied consent to collect, use or disclose personal information, but we will only do this in cases where it is reasonable to assume your consent in connection with a service you are using.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, or use it in any way we have not disclosed to you.

You may contact us at any time to limit the uses and disclosures of your personal information should you choose to do so. You may limit or withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations. For example, we are required by law to provide a record of interest earned on your accounts to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, so you may not withdraw consent to the use of your Social Insurance Number for that purpose.
If you do not withdraw your consent, we will assume that we have your implied consent for the continued use of your personal information for the purposes described previously. 

Website privacy policy

On our website, we collect only personal information that is required to improve the services we offer, to improve our site content and, with your permission, to contact you with information about our services. We will not share any personal information obtained on this website with any other organization without your express knowledge and consent. 

You can visit all public areas of our site without providing any personal information. Our website 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, and 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. 

Links to other websites

Our website contains links to other websites that are part of, affiliated with or have a business relationship with Common Wealth 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 Common Wealth Credit Union website (the referring address). Transmission of this referring address allows other sites to monitor their own web traffic, but does not disclose any personal information about you. 

Notice

Common Wealth Credit Union reserves the right to amend its Internet Privacy Statement and its Privacy Code at any time with or without notice. Please check this page periodically for changes.

Deposit Protection

Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation is a provincial corporation who, along with credit unions, operates under the authority of the Credit Union Act. This legislation provides a three level system of deposit protection that guarantees 100% of all deposits.

Level One
Each credit union is expected to build and maintain capital as outlined in the Credit Union Act.  CWCU’s capital consists of retained earnings, common shares and investment shares, none of which are 100% guaranteed by the credit union deposit protection. 

Level Two
The deposit protection will provide a 100% guarantee to all deposits made within Alberta credit unions and that includes the accrued interest that was built until the date of payout.

Level Three
The Government of Alberta is responsible for seeing that the credit unions carry out their obligations to their depositors.

The Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation ensures a 100% repayment of all deposits within Alberta credit union’s and that includes the accrued interest made to the date of payout. Legislation under the Credit Union Act is carried out by the Government of Alberta to ensure that the credit union’s promise to its members is carried out.

Deposits include chequing and savings accounts, RRSP and RRIF deposits, foreign currency deposits and term deposits, including those that exceed a 5 year term.

Both your deposit and your interest earned is guaranteed to be safe and secure. The credit union guarantee is more secure than a bank’s insurance because there is no limit on the amount that you deposit.

 

• Credit union guarantee covers deposits only.
• Credit Union guarantee does not cover non-deposit investments (ie. Common shares, mutual funds.)

 

Legal

Unless otherwise posted, the content of this site is the property of Common Wealth Credit Union Limited (CWCU). We do not guarantee the confidentiality or security of information traveling through this site, or the internet; nor do we accept any liability for damages as a result of using this site. Your use of this site constitutes your acceptance of these conditions.

The information posted on this site is for informational purposes only. Information posted on this site is believed to be correct, but CWCU does not guarantee the accuracy of the information. All product and rate information is subject to change at any time, without notice. Common Wealth Credit Union does not guarantee the accuracy of the financial calculators offered on the site.

Third party sites (“Linked Sites”) are not under the control of CWCU; therefore we are not responsible for the content of these linked sites. Reference to third party products and services are not intended as an endorsement by CWCU, nor are the views expressed on these sites necessarily representative of the views of CWCU, its subsidiaries, directors, employees or members.

Identity theft can happen when someone steals your personal information whether it is your driver’s license number, credit card number, a PIN number or social insurance number for example. There are many ways that criminals can steal this type of information and it can happen to anyone. They can pose as an employer or credit union or get information through other sources such as websites that are not secure.

For more information on identity theft, visit the Government of Canada website at www.safecanada.ca/identitytheft_e.asp.

Mutual Funds are offered through Credential Asset Management Inc. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Unless otherwise stated, mutual fund securities and cash balances are not insured nor guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated.

Online brokerage is offered through Credential Direct®, a division of Credential Securities Inc., and operates as a separate business unit. Unless otherwise stated, mutual fund securities and cash balances are not covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any other government deposit insurer that insures deposits in credit unions. Credential Securities Inc. is a Member - CIPF. ® Credential Direct is a registered mark owned by Credential Financial Inc. and is used under license.

The Credential Managed Account is distributed by Credential Asset Management Inc. and Credential Securities Inc. and developed in partnership with Canaccord Capital Corporation who administers the program. The Ethical Funds Company® provides access to the program's socially responsible mandates. Referral fees, commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with managed accounts. Managed accounts are not insured nor guaranteed, their value may change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. ®The Ethical Funds Company is a registered mark owned by Ethical Funds Inc. and is used under license.

® UNPS is a registered trademark of Unified Network Payment Solutions, a general partnership comprised and consisting of general partners First Data Acquisition Corp. and CUETS Acquiring Inc.

® Member Card is a registered trademark owned by the Credit Union Central of Canada. All trademarks are used under license.

® Choice Rewards is a registered trademark of CU Electronic Transaction Services Inc.

® MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated.

® CU Credit is a registered trademark owned by Credit Union Central of Canada and is a service provided by Co-operative Trust Company of Canada. CU CREDIT is the provider of Credit Union MasterCard cards.

™ Global Payment is a trademark of CU Electronic Transaction Service.

Common Wealth Credit Union Limited is a licensed user of the following marks:

AccuLink®

ARN®

Cirrus®

cuanytime.comTM

cucardsonline.com®

Interac®

Maestro®

MasterAssist®

Master RoadAssist®

MasterLegal®

MasterPurchase®

MasterRental®

MasterTrip®

TeleService®