Site Privacy

1. Protecting our Customers

1.1 The Customer’s Choice

The choice to provide Virgin Money with certain customer information via the website is always the user's. The user should, however, be aware that in financial dealings, withholding certain details may limit the services Virgin Money is able to provide.

1.2 Our commitment to you, our customer

Virgin Money does not and will not sell or provide personal client information to third parties for independent use.

1.3 Contribute to privacy protection

The user can also help maintain the security of banking information by: 1.4 Protecting Customer Information

What is customer information?

Customer information refers to personal and private information submitted to Virgin Money via the website that identifies or relates to the user, whether the user is an individual or a business.

This information includes details such as name, age, ID numbers, registration numbers, addresses and other contact details, financial information and banking details such as account numbers.

Why does Virgin Money collect customer information?

Virgin Money uses customer information to identify the user and to offer better online service. User information is also necessary to enable Virgin Money to contact the user in the event of any query.

Virgin Money further uses customer information to bring to the user's attention details of Virgin Money's other services and products. The more we know about you the better we can serve you.

How does Virgin Money safeguard your information?

Keeping your financial information secure is one of Virgin Money's most important responsibilities. This policy governs the behaviour of employees with regard to accuracy, confidentiality and security of all customer information.

For more about security, please read VirginMoney.co.za security policy.

1.5 Sharing user information

The only instances in which Virgin Money is permitted to disclose customer information is when it is:

Authorised by the user, Virgin Money will not collect or use customer information without obtaining the user's consent.

In respect of marketing of services or products, consent to collect or use information can be expressed (for example signing an agreement) or implied (e.g. if the user is given an opportunity to opt out of a specific form of information sharing, but chooses not to do so,  the user has chosen to share this information).

The type of customer information the user will be asked to provide will vary according to the product or services required.

Virgin Money will need to share the user's data with its banking partner, for the express purposes of servicing accounts. The user's permission to do this will be confirmed whenever opening an account with Virgin Money. By sharing information about the user's accounts among different business units, Virgin Money can serve the user more efficiently.

As your underwriter, Dial Direct Insurance will, for underwriting purposes only, automatically have access to your personal information as provided to us.

Other companies routinely contact Virgin Money for credit and financial information about users. Virgin Money will, however, only share customer information in the instances where disclosure is made at the user's request or with the user's consent.

Required by law

This most often relates to government tax reporting requirements or in terms of a court order or if required in terms of legislation or in accordance with the common law. Virgin Money will, however, in all instances required by law, only disclose the information specifically requested.

Necessary to protect the Virgin Money's interest

This will not be used as a reason for disclosing information about the user or the user's accounts (including name and address) to any one else, including other companies in the Virgin Money Group for marketing purposes. However, basic procedures that protect Virgin Money's interests sometimes lead to the disclosure of specific customer information to third parties, such as returning a cheque due to insufficient funds in an account.

In the public interest

Sometimes Virgin Money is asked to disclose customer information for matters of public interest, e.g. to assist in the prevention of crimes. Before complying with these requests, Virgin Money takes every precaution to ensure the authorities involved have legitimate grounds to make such a request.

Credit reference agencies

Information about the user's personal debt owed to Virgin Money may be disclosed to credit reference agencies, where the user has fallen behind with payments and has not made proposals satisfactory to Virgin Money for repayment of debt following formal demand or where the user has given Virgin Money written consent or where the user has a cheque referred to drawer, the information is placed on a cheque verification service.

1.6 Virgin Money’s Commitment to Customer Privacy

Virgin Money provided by the Bank is committed to maintaining the privacy and security of its customers' personal and private information ("customer information") submitted to Virgin Money via the www.virginmoney.co.za website ("the/this website"). This privacy and security policy ("this policy") outlines Virgin Money's practices and commitment to the customer in this regard.

2. Other areas of Privacy

2.1 Cookies

On some parts where the so-called "cookie" technology is used Cookie technology consists of small pieces of data or a small text file which is given to the customer's browser by the web server when the customer visits the website. This data is stored on the user's browser. The cookie is sent back to the web server each time the user visits the website.

Cookies are not computer programs and do not run on a computer like programs do. It cannot gather information or function independently. It cannot collect any personal information about the user or the user's machine and cannot gather data or information about what the user does on the internet.

Cookies merely enable Virgin Money to provide a more valuable online experience to the customer. While you can set up your Internet browser to disable cookie technology, Virgin Money does not recommend that the user does this since some parts of this website and Virgin Money's online services are cookie enabled. Virgin Money cannot be held liable for a user's personalised information changing or being deleted as a result of the customer's disablement or deletion of cookies.

2.2 Right to amend this Privacy Policy

Virgin Money reserves the right to amend this policy at any time. All amendments to this policy will be posted on the website. Unless otherwise stated, the current version shall supersede and replace all previous versions of this policy.

2.3 Privacy statements: Online services

Different online services, Virgin Money businesses or subsidiaries may have their own privacy policies because the nature of the service or products demands a deviation from this policy. These specific policies will apply to and exclusively govern the user's use of the particular online service or product.

2.4 Third parties

Except as outlined in the section dealing with "Sharing Customer Information", Virgin Money will never sell or otherwise make available customer information to other organisations or parties including other companies in the Virgin Money Group. 

2.5 Email communication

Virgin Money may use customer information to send the user information on new services or products that may be of interest to the user and from time to time will mail, e-mail or SMS information to the customer about Virgin Money, Virgin Money products and services or about the Virgin Group of Companies and its products or services. The user will have the option to indicate that he/she does not want to receive such specific product communications in future, at time of receipt of the communication.

The user will, however, continue to receive other product information until the option to not receive future communications has again been selected for that specific product.  Remember, regular non-encrypted e-mail is not secure. For this reason Virgin Money will not include confidential account information in an e-mail response.  Virgin Money will further never request the user, via the use of e-mail, to provide Virgin Money with personal information, such as your account number; PIN or password.