Privacy Policy

EW Finance (EW GROUP LIMITED) – Privacy Policy

1. Our Commitment to Protecting Your Privacy

We understand how important it is to protect your personal information. We are committed to protecting the personal information we hold and to complying with our obligations under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and its 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs).

This Privacy Policy has been written to help you understand how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you engage with EW Finance and the financial advisers in our network.

In this Privacy Policy, “personal information” means any information about an identifiable individual. The terms “we”, “us”, and “our” are a reference to EW GROUP LIMITED (trading as EW Finance) and the financial advisers we engage. References to “you” and “your” are a reference to you, our client.

2. The Information We Collect

The type of personal information we collect will depend on the purpose for which it is collected, but it is necessary for us to provide you with our products and services.

What information we collect: We may collect the following types of personal information:

- Contact Information: such as your name, address(es), phone number(s), and email address(es).
- Identity Verification Information: such as your passport or driver’s licence, as required by law.
- Financial Information: such as your statement of position, bank statements, sources of income, expenses, and overall financial standing.
- Tax Information: such as your IRD number and tax status.
- Security Information: such as details of your residential property, vehicles, or other personal assets that may be used as security.
- Employment Information: such as your current employer, position, salary, and work history.
- Credit & Bureau Information: such as your credit history and information required for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering financing of terrorism (CFT) purposes.

How we collect your information: We collect personal information in the following ways:

- Directly from you: When you provide it to us or your financial adviser through our website, emails, phone calls, or during consultations.
- From third parties (with your authorisation): We may collect information from third parties when it is necessary to provide our service to you. This includes:

- The financial adviser you are working with in our network.
  - Lenders and insurance providers you choose to apply to.
  - Credit reporting agencies (for credit checks).
  - Identity verification agencies.
  - Referrers, such as a real estate agent who has referred you to us.

3. Why We Use Your Information

We will only collect and use your personal information for lawful purposes connected with our services. These purposes include:

To verify your identity, contact details, and employment status.
To conduct credit checks as appropriate.
To assess your financial position and ability to borrow or obtain other financial products.
To process your applications for loans and other financial products.
To communicate effectively with you and your adviser.
To assist us in developing and improving our products and services through statistical analysis.
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including our duties under the AML/CFT Act 2009.

4. Disclosure and Sharing of Your Information

To provide you with our services, we may need to share your personal information with other parties.

Who we may share your information with: With your authorisation, we may disclose your information to:

- The financial adviser you have chosen to work with.
- Lenders, banks, and other financial institutions to process your loan application.
- Insurance companies to process your insurance application.
- Other professionals, such as your solicitor or accountant, as requested by you to complement our advice.
- Credit reporting and identity verification agencies.
- Our external dispute resolution scheme (e.g., FDRS).
- Regulators and government agencies (e.g., FMA, IRD) as required by law.
- Third-party service providers who support our business, such as IT service providers and data storage companies.
Sharing with Referrers: If you were referred to us by a third party, such as a real estate agent, we may confirm to them the status of your loan application (e.g., “submitted,” “approved,” “settled”). We will not share sensitive financial details or information that might influence the outcome of a property sale.
Cross-border Disclosure: We may use third-party cloud storage solutions (such as Microsoft 365 or Amazon Web Services) to store your personal information. The servers for these services may be located outside of New Zealand. Where we do this, we will ensure that the overseas service provider is subject to comparable privacy laws to New Zealand or is required to protect your information in a way that is comparable to our own privacy laws.

5. Storage and Security of Your Information

We maintain physical, technical, and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information against loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes the use of secure servers, data encryption, access controls, and secure office premises.

While we strive to do everything reasonably possible to protect your information, the internet is inherently insecure. Accordingly, any personal information you transmit to us online is transmitted at your own risk.

We will retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements (typically a minimum of seven years).

6. Your Rights: Access and Correction of Your Information

You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong.

To exercise these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer. We will respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that your right to access your information is not absolute, and there may be instances under law where we are required or permitted to refuse access.

7. Our Website and Cookies

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain information about your device, such as your IP address, browser type, and interaction with our site. We use this information, often through the use of “cookies,” to help our website function correctly, to optimise its performance, and to understand how our visitors use it.

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings, but please note that blocking cookies may impact your user experience.

8. Changes to this Policy and How to Contact Us

Changes to our Privacy Policy: We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law or our business needs. Any changes will apply from the date we post the updated policy on our website. For any significant changes, we will provide you with reasonable notice.
How to get in touch with us: If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to request access to or correction of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Write to:
- The Privacy Officer
- EW GROUP LIMITED
- Level 11, Tower 2, 205 Queen Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010
- Email: info@ewfinance.co.nz
- Phone: +64 9 216 2988