Financial Privacy The Fundamentals of Financial Privacy

Your financial privacy is important to you. It is also important to banks, which have a responsibility to protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use.

But, how do you know what kind of information your bank is sharing with other companies? And, what can you do to limit sharing? So that you know the answers to these questions, banks are required to provide a privacy notice when a customer relationship is established. It is also generally accessible for review anytime via a bank’s website.

Privacy notices
Your bank’s privacy notice describes the basic categories of personal information it collects and what it shares with other companies. The notice is intended to help you decide whether or not you want the personal information your bank collects to be shared with other companies, some of which may not be affiliated with the bank (nonaffiliates), and enable you to limit that sharing to the extent you have the right to do so. A nonaffiliate is a company that is not related to the bank by common ownership or control.

What your bank can share
Your bank can share personal information it has from your account application, transaction information, or other sources with companies that are either affiliates or nonaffiliates of the bank. The bank’s privacy notice is required to disclose this sharing with you. The reasons a bank can share your personal information are as follows:

• The information is used for everyday business purposes such as to process your transactions, maintain your accounts, or report to credit bureaus. 
• The information protects against fraud or unauthorized transactions, or responds to a court order.
• The information is used for the bank’s marketing of additional bank products and services to you.
• The information is used as part of a marketing agreement with another financial company to jointly offer you other financial products or services. 
• The information regarding your transactions and experiences is provided to an affiliate for everyday business purposes.
• The sharing of the information complies with federal, state or local requirements.

Your right to opt out
The types of information you have the right to opt out of sharing are stated in your bank’s financial privacy notice. Your bank may allow you to opt out of sharing all information you are entitled to opt out of, or let you select which types of such information you would like to opt out of sharing. Federal law gives you the right to limit sharing only when the bank is sharing your information for affiliates or nonaffiliates to market their products and services to you or when the bank is sharing information about your creditworthiness with an affiliate. Should you wish to opt out of this information sharing, be sure to follow the instructions for opting out as provided in the bank’s privacy notice. Also, keep in mind that your bank may not always share your personal information with affiliates or nonaffiliates, even though it is permitted by law.  

Timing of privacy notices 
All consumers must receive a privacy notice when a customer relationship is established, such as when opening a deposit account or obtaining a loan. Many banks mail a privacy notice to customers each year; however, your bank may not be required to do so. For example, if the bank already limits the sharing of customer information to the exceptions listed above or the bank has not changed its privacy notice from the one previously provided to you. If your bank changes its privacy sharing practices, it is required to send you a revised privacy notice 30 days before any changes are effective. 

Your financial privacy is important. Knowing your bank’s privacy sharing practices and your financial privacy rights enables you to make informed decisions regarding the sharing of your personal information. 

Read ACNB Bank's privacy notice.

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