Privacy Policy

Alt Bank values and respects the privacy of the people we deal with. Alt Bank is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (2023) and other applicable data privacy laws and regulations.

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, and how we maintain the quality and security of your personal information. Throughout this document, "Alternative", "Bank", "we", "us", "our" and/or "ours" refer to Alt Bank Limited incorporated under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with its registered office at 20 Marina, Lagos. The reference to 'you' or 'your', means you, any authorized person on your account, anyone who conducts your banking services for you or other related people (including authorized signatories, partners or any authorized third party).

2.0 Data Collection

2.1 The information we collect about you

We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our services to you. We may also collect your information at events hosted or organized by or for the bank, regardless of whether such an event is a physical or virtual one. The Personal Data we collect, fall into various categories, such as:

2.1.1 Personal Data

While using our services, providing services or seeking employment with the Bank, we may ask you to provide us with certain personal data that can be used to contact or identify you ("Personal Data"). Personal data may include, but is not limited to:

2.1.1.1 Identification Data

We collect information that can uniquely identify you or verify your identity. This includes, but is not limited to: your first, middle, and last name; date of birth; gender; nationality; biometric identifiers (where applicable); government-issued identification numbers such as National Identification Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), international passport number, driver's license number, and other similar identifiers; as well as identification documents or photographs used for verification or authentication purposes.

2.1.1.2 Contact Details

We collect information that enables us to contact you or communicate with you regarding our services. This includes your residential or mailing address, email address, phone numbers, and any other similar contact information you provide during account creation, onboarding, service usage, or customer support interactions.

2.1.1.3 Employment-Related Data

We collect information relating to your professional background, role, and suitability where required for recruitment process, service provision, due diligence, vendor management, or regulatory compliance. This includes your job title or position, employer details, work history, professional qualifications, certifications, references, and other employment-related information relevant to our business relationship or engagement processes.

2.1.2 Financial Information

We collect and process financial data necessary to provide our services, meet regulatory requirements, and facilitate transactions. This includes your bank account details, transaction history, card information (such as card number, expiry date, and security codes), tax-related information, credit or loan information, and any other financial details you provide during onboarding, service usage, or account maintenance.

Where card-related information is processed, all payment data is handled in accordance with applicable security standards, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your card and authentication credentials (such as PINs or access codes) and ensuring they are not shared with unauthorized persons.

2.1.3 Sensitive Personal Data

We may process certain categories of sensitive personal data about you where necessary and permitted by applicable law. This may include, without limitation, health information, biometric data used for unique identification (such as fingerprints, facial recognition data, or voice recordings), criminal conviction information, as well as data relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or sexual orientation.

We only collect or use sensitive personal data when it is essential for delivering our products or services to you, when required for reasons of substantial public interest, to comply with a legal obligation, or where we have obtained your explicit consent.

2.1.4 Access Credentials

When you subscribe to any of our products, particularly our e-channel products (Online/Mobile Banking, Instant Banking), you may be required to provide a User ID, a password, details from a token response device, password hints, and similar security information used for authentication and account access. You may also be required to use biometric identification to access your account and authenticate transactions. While this information is required to ensure that you carry out transactions securely, appropriate security measures have been implemented to protect this data, including encryption and storage in a secured environment if required.

2.1.5 Usage Data

We may also collect information that your browser sends whenever you access our online services or when you access the services by or through a mobile device ("Usage Data"). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol address (e.g., IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers, and other diagnostic data. When you access services on or through a mobile device, this Usage Data may include the following:

2.1.5.1 Geo-Location information

We may request access to or permission to track location-based information from your mobile device, either continuously or while you are using our mobile application, to provide location-based services. If you wish to change our access or permissions, you may do so in your device's settings.

2.1.6 Mobile Device Access

We may request access or permission to certain features on your mobile device, including your mobile device's camera, calendar, Bluetooth, contacts, storage, and other features. If you wish to change our access or permissions, you may do so in your device's settings.

2.1.7 Mobile Device Data

We may automatically collect device information (such as your mobile device ID, model, and Manufacturer), operating system, version information, IP address, and diagnostic data.

2.1.8 Use of Analytics

We may use third-party Service Providers to monitor and analyse the use of our Service. We may also collect information about your marketing preferences to provide you with information about relevant services, products, and offers that we think may be of interest to you.

Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website and mobile app traffics and events. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads on its own advertising network. For more information on the privacy policies of Google, please visit Google Privacy and Terms.

2.1.9 Tracking and Cookies Data

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Services and hold certain information. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyse our Service. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies on your browser, our online service experience to you may be degraded and you may not be able to use some portions of our Service. We may also collect information about your internet browser settings and Internet Protocol (IP) address. You can learn more in our Cookie Policy.

Examples of Cookies we use: Session Cookies (to operate our Service); Preference Cookies (to remember your preferences); Security Cookies (for security purposes); Third-party cookies (placed by third-party websites for functionality and analytics).

2.1.10 Information from social networks or online accounts

This includes information from any social media profiles or any accounts that you share with us.

2.1.11 Other personal information

Other personal data which we collect includes image recordings such as CCTV images of you at our bank branches, offices and ATMs but only for surveillance, monitoring and auditing purposes, to help forestall crime.

3.0 Purposes of Processing

We collect and process your personal data through secure systems for the following lawful and legitimate purposes:

3.1 Provision of Banking and Financial Services

To create, verify, and manage customer accounts, agent profiles, and service enrolments.
To process transactions and address technical issues.
Prevent fraud and enhance security of your account or our service platform.
Comply with and enforcing applicable legal and regulatory requirements, relevant industry standards, contractual obligations and our policies.
Provide you with tailored content and marketing messages such as recommending other products or services we believe you may be interested in.
For other purposes required by law or regulation.

6.0 How do we share your information?

We may share or disclose your personal data only as permitted by law, for legitimate business purposes, or where necessary to provide our services. All third parties we share data with are required to comply with appropriate confidentiality, data protection, and security obligations.

6.1 Internal Sharing: We may share your data within the Bank, including its branches and subsidiaries.

6.2 Government & Regulators: We may disclose your personal data to government authorities, supervisory bodies, and regulators where required for compliance, reporting, investigations, or lawful requests.

6.3 Authorized Service Providers: We share data with carefully selected third parties who process information on our behalf (technology and cloud providers, card processors, customer support, etc.).

6.4 Professional Advisers: We may disclose data to external auditors, legal advisers, tax consultants, and other professionals.

6.5 Financial Partners: Where necessary, your data may be shared with credit bureaus, correspondent banks, guarantors, and partners involved in card transactions.

6.6 Third-Party Partners: We may share personal data with approved partners for contractual, statutory, or employment-related services. We do not share data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6.7 Law Enforcement: We may disclose your information to law enforcement agencies, courts, or public authorities where required by law.

6.8 Protection of Vital Interests: Data may be shared with emergency services when necessary to protect life or safety.

6.9 Mergers/Acquisitions: If the Bank undergoes a merger, acquisition, or restructuring, your personal data may be shared with relevant parties with appropriate safeguards.

6.10 Joint Account Holders: For joint accounts, information may be shared among account holders.

6.11 Cross-Border Transfers: Where data must be transferred outside Nigeria, we ensure compliance with NDPC requirements and appropriate safeguards.

6.12 Your Consent: Where required by law, we will seek your consent before sharing your personal data. You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to contractual or legal limitations.

7.0 How we secure your Information

We have implemented appropriate organisational and technical measures to keep your Personal Information/Data confidential and secure. This includes the use of encryption, access controls and other forms of security. We require all parties including our staff and third-parties processing data on our behalf to comply with relevant policies and guidelines. Where you have a password which grants you access to specific areas on our site or to any of our services, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We request that you do not share your password or other authentication details with anyone.

Although we have taken measures to secure and keep your information confidential, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage can guarantee 100% security at all times. While we strive to use reasonable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You are responsible for securing and maintaining the privacy of your password and Account/profile registration information and verifying that the Personal Data we maintain about you is valid, accurate and up to date. If we receive instructions using your account login information, we will consider that you have authorised the instructions and process your instruction accordingly.

8.0 How long we keep your information

We retain your Information for as long as the purpose for which the information was collected continues. The information is then securely destroyed unless its retention is required to satisfy legal, regulatory, internal compliance or accounting requirements or to protect the Bank's interest. Regulations may require Alt Bank to retain your personal data for a period longer than specified even after the end of your banking relationship with us.

9.0 Information from locations outside Nigeria

If you are located outside Nigeria and choose to provide information to us, please note that the data, including Personal Data, will be processed in Nigeria. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

10.0 Accuracy and update of your Information

You are responsible for making sure the information provided to the Bank is accurate and should inform the Bank on any changes as it occurs. Any changes will affect only future uses of your Personal Information. Subject to applicable law, we will respect your wishes to correct inaccurate information. Otherwise, we will hold your Personal Information for as long as we believe it will help us achieve our objectives as detailed in this Privacy Policy.

11.0 Your Rights

You have certain rights in relation to the personal data we collect as provided by the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA 2023), including:

Right to confirmation and access – to know whether we process your personal data and to request access to that information.
Right to rectification or update – to correct or update any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") – to request the deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary or has no lawful basis for retention.
Right to restrict processing – to request that we temporarily suspend the processing of your personal data while a request or objection is being resolved.
Right to object to processing – to object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to request that your personal data be provided to you in a commonly used electronic format or transferred to another party where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent – to withdraw your consent to processing at any time.
Right to be informed of data sources – to know the origin of your data where it was not provided directly by you.
Right against automated decision-making – to be informed of, and object to, decisions made solely by automated means that significantly affect you.
Right to lodge a complaint – to make an official complaint to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.

These rights are subject to certain limitations as provided under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

12.0 Privacy of minors

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children. We do not allow children under the age of 18 to open accounts nor provide online banking services for children less than 18 years of age without the consent of a guardian. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Data without verification of parental consent, please promptly contact us.

13.0 Social Media Platforms

We operate and communicate through our designated pages on some social media platforms. Any content you post to such platforms is subject to the applicable platform's terms of use and privacy policies. We are not responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information you share publicly. We also do not control the privacy practices of third parties.

14.0 Career Platforms

As part of our recruitment process, as an applicant you explicitly consent to the collection, use, transfer, and storage of your personal data contained in application forms, CVs/resumes, identity documents, or collected through interviews/assessments by the Bank or its affiliates. This information is for the exclusive purpose of assessing applicants' suitability for employment. By providing any information on the Bank's career page, you confirm that you have read the terms and privacy statement and accept it.

15.0 Third Party Websites

Our website, related websites and mobile applications may have links to or from other websites that are not operated by us. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the security, privacy practices or content of third-party websites or services. We recommend that you always read the privacy and security statements on these websites.

16.0 Service Providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service ("Service Providers"), to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform specific Service-related roles or to assist us in analysing how our Service is used. These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

17.0 Changes to this Policy

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date stated above and will remain in effect except with respect to any changes in its provisions in the future, which will be in effect immediately after being posted on our website. We may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any change will be communicated on our website, via email or by placing a notice on our Platform. Your continued use of the Services after we post any modifications will constitute your acknowledgment of the modifications and your consent to abide and be bound by the modified Privacy Policy.

18.0 Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments or requests in relation to this Privacy Policy or objections, complaints or requirements in relation to the use of your personal data, please contact us by sending an email to help@altbank.ng or 02017000555 / 02018889090 or write to:

The Data Protection Officer
Alt Bank Limited
20 Marina, Lagos.