PRIVACY​

Privacy Code

The 10 Principles 

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

1. Accountability  - Unity Credit Union is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate a Risk and Compliance Officer who is accountable for Unity Credit Union's compliance with the principles of the Code.
2. Identifying Purposes  - The purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified by Unity Credit Union at or before the information is collected.
3. Consent  - Where clearly in the interests of the Member, the knowledge and consent of the Member are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except in specific circumstances as described within this Code.
4. Limiting Collection  - The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by Unity Credit Union. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention  - Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the Member or as required by law.  Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfilment of those purposes.
6. Accuracy  - Personal information shall be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
7. Safeguards  - Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Unity Credit Union shall apply the same standard of care as it applies to safeguard its own confidential information of a similar nature.
8. Openness  - Unity Credit Union shall make readily available to members specific, understandable information about its policies and procedures relating to the management of personal information.
9. Individual Access  - Upon request, a Member shall be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of their personal information, and shall be given access to that information.  A Member is entitled to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.  Note: In certain situations, Unity Credit Union may not be able to provide access to all the personal information it holds about a member.  Exceptions to the access requirement will be limited and specific.
10. Compliance  - A Member shall be able to question compliance with the above principles to Unity Credit Union Risk and Compliance Officer.  Unity Credit Union shall have policies and procedures in place to respond to the Member’s questions and concerns.

If you would like to receive a complete copy of the Code, please contact us.

Privacy Policy

Your Personal Information

Why do we collect it? 
We hold personal information about members to help us meet and maintain the highest standards of financial service.  We hold personal information of various forms: name, address, age, income, use of accounts, credit history and Social Insurance Number.  We obtain all required information from you directly and from the product and service arrangements you have made with or through us. Other information may also be obtained with your permission from credit bureaus, other financial institutions and references you provide to us. 

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

• 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 and evaluate your credit rating and credit worthiness
• 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
• To assist in dispute resolution
• To offer and provide you with other products and services of the credit union and of its affiliates and service suppliers 

The law requires us to ask for your Social Insurance Number (SIN) when you open an interest bearing or investment account.  We also ask for your SIN to identify you with credit bureaus and other financial institutions for credit matching purposes and are the best way to ensure the credit information is indeed the correct person.  Providing us with your SIN is not a condition of service. 

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.  We provide suppliers with only that information which is necessary to perform the required services.  They agree and comply to use this information solely for the purpose 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. 

Your information is sometimes shared within the Co-operative Financial Services Group of Companies so that we can offer you a full range of financial products and services.  These affiliates include: Credit Union Members Insurance Society (CUMIS), Co-operative Trust Company of Canada, The Co-operators Insurance, Credential Group, Credit Union Payment Services (CUPS), and Celero Solutions.  Any product or service offering that is derived from this sharing of information comes directly from us and not from our affiliates. 

For a complete list of our service suppliers contact us. 

How can you access and verify your personal information? 
You have the right to review your personal information held by the Unity Credit Union and to verify its accuracy.  To gain access to this information contact the Unity Credit Union or fill out the access request form.  You can expect that it will take up to 30 days for us to gather all the information; you may be charged a fee to cover the expense of providing you with the information. 

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

Click here to complete the Request Access Form.

Your Consent

Depending upon the sensitivity of the information, you can provide us with your consent in writing, electronically or verbally.  We will obtain your consent in writing when you become a credit union member or when you apply for a new credit union service offering.  We obtain or use your information only with your consent.  We do not sell it to third parties or use it in any way we have not told you about. 

We obtain your consent before we: 

• obtain credit reports or check references;
• contact you about other products or services of the credit union by direct mail, email or telephone;
• share your information with our affiliates so that we can offer their products and services to you;
• disclose your information to third parties unless we are obliged to do so by law or it is required for us to provide our financial services to you. 

Restriction of Consent

The Withdrawal of Consent form provides you an opportunity 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, your credit union is required by law to provide a record of your interest earning information to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.  If you wish to withdraw your consent please complete the Withdrawal of Consent form and email to the Unity Credit Union. 

If you do not withdraw your consent, we will assume that we have your consent for the continued use of your personal information for purposes described above, including disclosure to affiliated organizations.

Privacy Online

This information page describes in general terms how your personal information is collected and used within the Online Banking section of our site.  The Online Banking area of the site is the area of our website that requires you to use your Member ID and Personal Access Code (PAC) to enter.

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 web site 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 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 be used only for the purposes of responding to your inquiry or acting on your request.  We will not use your name or email address for any other purposes without additional consent.

Links to Other Sites

Our website contains links to other web sites that are part of, affiliated with, or have a business relationship with Unity Credit Union.    However, we have no control over these other websites or Internet resources and do not control their collection, use and disclosure of your personal information.  Always review the Privacy Statements of the sites that you are viewing.

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 Unity Credit Union website, http://www.unitycu.ca. Transmission of this referring address allows other sites to monitor their own web traffic, but does not disclose any personal information about you.

Controlled Access to your Information

To ensure that you are the only person accessing your personal financial information, we restrict access to the online banking section of the site by requiring that you enter your Member ID and PAC to login.  Only you know your PAC.  Our employees do not have access to your PAC, and they will not ask you to reveal it.  If someone does ask you to provide your PAC to them, we ask that you refuse to do so and contact us immediately.

Transactional Services

By nature, our Internet banking site has many transactional functions such as transfers between accounts and bill payment functions.  These transactions are all logged to ensure that your accounts are debited or credited appropriately, and a history of each transaction is available to verify your account information.  We store and use your transactional information in the same fashion as if you performed the transaction at a branch or through any other service channel.

We may also use transactional information for servicing your account — for example, billing you for the particular transactions that you perform, or for the services that you use.

Creating a Secure Channel

We create a secure channel between your browser and our server to protect your information when you use the site. To learn more about how we do this, please review our information on Internet Security.

Application Forms

To provide you with a convenient method for applying for loans and mortgages, or for purchasing other financial services products such as Registered Savings Plans, we may provide secure online application forms.  These forms capture personal information that we use to provide you with the products and services you request.  This information is processed in a similar way to application forms received through our other channels .

Website Usage Statistics

To continually improve our site, we often collect statistics about how our members are using it.  These usage statistics are only viewed in the aggregate and are not associated with you as an individual. We use this information for purposes such as improving the pages where our members are having difficulties.

The information collected may include your IP address, your browser type and your operating system, as well as data such as the number and types of pages visited, and the length of time spent per page and on the site overall.

Our use of Cookies

We also use a key web technology called cookies.  To learn more about the cookies we use, visit our Browser Requirements page.

Memorized Accounts Feature

We use a persistent cookie to store information to help you personalize the site and to make it easier to use.  For example, we allow you to make the login easier by remembering your login information within our Memorized Accounts feature.  Since the Memorized Accounts feature is optional, this cookie only contains information that you have entered into it.  We never store your Personal Access Code (PAC) in a cookie.

Logout Button

To ensure that no-one else can access your personal information, always use the logout button to end an Online Banking session.  It is located at the top of every page.  When you exit using the logout button, we delete your session cookie so that your session cannot be resumed unless your Member ID and PAC are re-entered.

Automatic Session Time-outs

In the event that you leave your computer without logging out, the online banking feature of this site has been designed to end your session automatically if our system detects that you haven't provided any instructions or used the browser buttons to navigate for several minutes.  To restart the session, you will need to provide your PAC again.

Email

When you email us your comments, questions or instructions, you provide us your email address and we use it to correspond with you.  We then store your email and our replies to you in case we correspond further.

Contact Us

We welcome any questions or concerns about your privacy relating to use of our website.  Please use the Contact Us form to submit your questions or comments.

As we continue to expand our Online Banking service to serve you better, and as new Internet technologies become available, we may update the information on this page at any time, to reflect changes.

Challenging Compliance

If you have any concerns about how your personal information is handled or distributed, please contact us.  Our Risk and Compliance Officer will be pleased to discuss your concerns with you.

See our Market Code.

If you have concerns about your privacy or the way the credit union has handled your personal information, you should try and settle the matter directly with the credit union by contacting its Privacy Officer.

If you are not satisfied with the credit union's response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.  Filing a complaint with the office is free of charge and you will be assisted throughout the process.

To contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada:

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/contact-the-opc/contact-the-information-centre/ - complete the Online Complaint Form; or

Phone:  Toll-free line at 1-800-282-1376

Mail:  30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 1H3

Privacy & Money Laundering

Money laundering claims many victims. Drug trafficking, illegal arms sales, prostitution, commercial fraud, people smuggling, corruption and organized theft threaten the safety and security of our community. 

Compliance with Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act helps detect, deter and prevent money laundering and Terrorist activities. Under this Act there is mandatory information, record keeping and reporting requirements for financial entities including credit unions. 

You will be asked to provide identification such as birth certificate, driver's license, or similar type identification at account opening or when processing specified transactions.

Risk and Compliance Officer

Questions? Ask our Risk and Compliance Officer.

The credit union Risk and Compliance Officer is your point of contact if you wish to raise any matters regarding the use of your personal information.

The Risk and Compliance 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 Code. They also handle all privacy inquiries and personal information access requests under the Code.  For information, questions or concerns on credit union privacy issues, please contact our Risk and Compliance Officer using our Contact Us Form.