Notice to Customers relating to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance

1. From time to time, it is necessary for customers to supply AEON Credit Service (Asia) Co., Ltd. (“AEON”) with data in connection with the opening or continuation of accounts and the establishment or continuation of credit facilities or provision of credit and other financial services.
2. Failure to supply such data may result in AEON being unable to open or continue accounts or establish or continue credit facilities or provide credit or other financial services.
3. It is also the case that data are collected from customers in the ordinary course of the continuation of the relationship between AEON and customers, for example, when customers apply for credit, effect transactions through cards or generally communicate in writing or verbally with AEON by means of documentation or telephone recording system.
4. The purposes for which data relating to a customer may be used are as follows:
   1. the processing of applications for credit and/or other financial services and facilities;
   2. the daily operation of the services and credit facilities provided to customers;
   3. conducting credit checks at the time of application for credit and at the time of regular or special reviews which normally take place one or more times each year and carrying out matching procedures (as defined in the Ordinance);
   4. creating and maintaining AEON’s credit scoring models;
   5. assisting other financial institutions to conduct credit checks and collect debts;
   6. ensuring ongoing credit worthiness of customers;
   7. designing credit and financial services or related products for customers’ use;
   8. marketing the following services and products (in respect of which AEON may or may not be remunerated):
      1. financial, insurance, credit card, prepaid card, credit and related services and products;
      2. reward, royalty or privileges programmes and related services and products;
      3. services and products offered by AEON’s co-branding partners (the names of such co-branding partners can be found in the application form(s) for the relevant services and products, as the case may be); and
      4. services and products offered by AEON’s business partners via AEON’s e-Mall including suppliers and retailers of health and beauty products, electronic products, computers and accessories, home appliances, homeware, food and beverages, toys and baby products, pet products, gifts and premiums, and other consumer durable products and providers of health care,travel and entertainment industries; and these services or products may be provided and/or marketed by:
         1. AEON and AEON Group Companies (as defined in paragraph (e)(ii));
         2. third party financial institutions, insurers, credit card companies, securities and investment service providers;
         3. third party reward, loyalty or privileges programme or other related services and/or products providers;
         4. co-branding partners of AEON and AEON Group Companies; and
         5. business partners of AEON and AEON Group Companies;
   9. determining the amount of indebtedness owed to or by customers;
   10. collection of amounts outstanding from customers and those providing security for customers’ obligations;
   11. assessing and analyzing any insurance claim and assisting insurance companies to conduct claim checks;
   12. meeting the requirements to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on AEON or any of AEON Group Companies or under and for the purposes of any rules, regulations, codes or guidelines issued by regulatory or other authorities with which AEON or any of AEON Group Companies are expected to comply;
   13. enabling an actual or proposed assignee of AEON, or participant or sub-participant of AEON’s rights in respect of the customer to evaluate the transaction intended to be the subject of the assignment, participation or sub-participation;
   14. exchanging information with merchants accepting credit cards and/or prepaid cards issued by AEON and entities with whom AEON provides co-branded credit card services;
   15. compiling statistical information and customer profiles;
   16. comparing data of customers and other persons for credit checking, data verification or otherwise producing or verifying data, whether or not for the purpose of taking adverse action against the customers;
   17. maintaining a credit history of customers (whether or not there exists any relationship between the customer and AEON) for present and future reference;
   18. assisting in the prevention, detection and investigation of crime; and
   19. purposes relating thereto.
5. Data held by AEON relating to a customer will be kept confidential but AEON may provide such information to the following parties (whether within or outside Hong Kong) for the purposes set out in paragraph (d):
   1. any agent, contractor or third party service provider who provides administrative, telecommunications, computer, payment, securities clearing, data processing, debt collection, insurance, professional or other services to AEON in connection with the operation of its business;
   2. any of the subsidiaries, holding companies, associated companies or affiliates of AEON (“AEON Group Companies”);
   3. any other person under a duty of confidentiality to AEON including a member of AEON Group Companies which has undertaken to keep such information confidential;
   4. any financial institution and credit card issuing company with which the customer has or proposes to have dealings;
   5. any actual or proposed assignee of AEON or participant or sub-participant or transferee of AEON’s rights in respect of the customer;
   6. credit reference agencies and, in the event of default, to debt collection agencies;
   7. any party giving or proposing to give a guarantee or third party security to guarantee or secure the customer’s obligations;
   8. any person to whom AEON or any member of AEON Group Companies is under an obligation to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on AEON or any member of AEON Group Companies or under and for the purposes of any rules, regulations, codes or guidelines issued by regulatory or other authorities with which AEON or any member of AEON Group Companies are expected to comply;
   9. law enforcement agencies;
   10. third party financial institutions, insurers, credit card companies, securities and investment service providers;
   11. third party reward, loyalty and privileges programme providers;
   12. co-branding partners of AEON and AEON Group Companies (the names of such co-branding partners can be found in the application form(s) for the relevant services and products, as the case may be);
   13. business partners of AEON and AEON Group Companies; and
   14. external service providers (including but not limited to mailing houses, telecommunication companies, telemarketing and direct sales agents, call centres, gift redemption centres, data processing companies and information technology companies) that AEON engages for the purposes set out in paragraph (d)(viii).
   Such information may be transferred to a place outside Hong Kong.
6. Under and in accordance with the terms of the Code of Practice on Consumer Credit Data (the “Code”) approved and issued under the Ordinance, with respect to data in connection with any outstanding mortgages granted by AEON to a customer (whether as a borrower, mortgagor or guarantor, and whether in the customer’s sole name or in joint names with others) as a result of application(s) made by the customer before 31 March 2011, AEON may provide such data to a credit reference agency if AEON and/or other credit providers in Hong Kong have obtained express consent from the customer for doing so. If the customer refuses to give his or her express consent, such data will not be provided to the credit reference agency.
7. With respect to data in connection with mortgages applied by a customer (whether as a borrower, mortgagor or guarantor, and whether in the customer’s sole name or in joint names with others) on or after 1 April 2011, the following data relating to the customer (including any updated data of any of the following data from time to time) may be provided by AEON to a credit reference agency regardless of whether the customer provides the express consent in paragraph (f) above:
   1. full name;
   2. capacity in respect of each mortgage (as borrower, mortgagor or guarantor, and whether in the customer’s sole name or in joint names with others);
   3. Hong Kong Identity Card Number or travel document number;
   4. date of birth;
   5. correspondence address;
   6. mortgage account number in respect of each mortgage;
   7. type of facility in respect of each mortgage;
   8. mortgage account status in respect of each mortgage (e.g. active, closed, write-off); and
   9. if any, mortgage account closed date in respect of each mortgage.
The credit reference agency will use the above data supplied by AEON for the purposes of compiling a count of the number of mortgages from time to time held by the customer with the credit providers in Hong Kong, as borrower, mortgagor or guarantor respectively, and whether in the customer’s sole name or joint names with others, for sharing in the consumer credit database of the credit reference agency by credit providers.
8. Under and in accordance with the terms of the Ordinance and the Code approved and issued under the Ordinance, any customer has the right:
   1. to check whether AEON holds data about him/her and access to such data;
   2. to require AEON to correct any data relating to him/her which is inaccurate;
   3. to ascertain AEON’s policies and practices in relation to data and to be informed of the kind of personal data held by AEON;
   4. to be informed on request which items of data are routinely disclosed to credit reference agencies or debt collection agencies, and be provided with further information to enable the making of an access and correction request to the relevant credit reference agency or debt collection agency; and
   5. in relation to data relating to an account and data relating to repayments made under the account which has been provided by AEON to a credit reference agency, to instruct AEON upon termination of the account by full repayment, to make a request to the credit reference agency to delete such data from its database, as long as the instruction is given within 5 years of termination and at no time was there any default of payment in relation to the account, lasting in excess of 60 days within 5 years immediately before account termination.
9. In the event of any default of payment relating to an account, unless the amount in default is fully repaid or written off (other than due to a bankruptcy order) before the expiry of 60 days from the date such default occurred, the data relating to repayments made under the account may be retained by the credit reference agency until the expiry of 5 years from the date of final settlement of the amount in default.
10. In the event any amount in an account is written off due to a bankruptcy order being made against a customer, the data relating to repayments made under the account may be retained by the credit reference agency, regardless of whether the data relating to repayments made under the account reveal any default of payment lasting in excess of 60 days, until the expiry of 5 years from the date of final settlement of the amount in default or the expiry of 5 years from the date of discharge from a bankruptcy as notified with evidence to AEON and/or the credit reference, whichever is earlier.
11. AEON may from time to time access the personal and account information or records of a customer (including information about the number of mortgage count) held by a credit reference agency for the purpose of reviewing any of the following matters in relation to the existing credit facilities granted to the customer or a third party whose obligations are guaranteed by the customer:
    1. an increase in the credit amount;
    2. the curtailing of credit (including the cancellation of credit or a decrease in the credit amount); or
    3. the putting in place or the implementation of a scheme of arrangement with the customer or the third party.
12. AEON may have obtained a credit report on the customer from a credit reference agency in considering any application for credit. In the event the customer wishes to access the credit report, AEON will advise the contact details of the relevant credit reference agency.
13. Data of a customer may be processed, kept, transferred or disclosed in and to any country as AEON or any person who has obtained such data from AEON referred to in paragraph (e) considers appropriate. Such data may also be processed, kept, transferred or disclosed in accordance with the applicable local practices, laws, rules and regulations in such country.
14. In accordance with the terms of the Ordinance, AEON has the right to charge a reasonable fee for the processing of any data access request.
15. The person to whom requests for access to data or correction of data or for information regarding policies and practices and kinds of data held are to be addressed is as follows:
    The Data Protection Officer
    AEON Credit Service (Asia) Co., Ltd.
    20/F, Miramar Tower, 132 Nathan Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
    Fax: 3100 8406
16. Nothing in this Notice shall limit the rights of customers under the Ordinance.
17. A customer may, at any time and without charge, request AEON to cease using his/her personal data for direct marketing purposes by writing to the Data Protection Officer.
18. A customer may, at any time and without charge, choose not to receive any promotional material from AEON by informing the Data Protection Officer in writing.
19. If there is any inconsistency between the English and Chinese versions of this Notice, the English version shall prevail.

November 2011