Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how LoansPlus.co.za collects, uses, shares, stores and protects personal information when you browse our website, submit an enquiry, request a referral, contact us or interact with a business listing.
LoansPlus is a loan comparison and referral platform serving South Africa. We do not lend money, approve credit applications or determine lending terms.
1. Who is responsible for your information?
LoansPlus.co.za is operated by Profitech Credit Solutions (Pty) Ltd, registration number K2013214791. In this policy, “LoansPlus”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to this company.
We are the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) for processing where we determine its purpose and means. Lenders and other independent recipients may be separate responsible parties for their own processing.
For privacy enquiries or requests, contact us for the attention of the Information Officer at info@loansplus.co.za or write to Profitech Credit Solutions (Pty) Ltd, 1st Floor, 292 Surrey Avenue, Randburg, Johannesburg, 2194, South Africa.
This policy explains our practices and your rights. Visiting the website or reading this policy does not provide blanket consent to every form of processing or waive your rights.
2. What personal information means
Personal information includes information relating to an identifiable living individual and, where applicable, an identifiable existing juristic person, such as a company. It can include contact details, identification numbers, financial information, correspondence and online identifiers.
You can browse our informational pages without submitting a loan enquiry. Some technical information may still be collected when you visit, as explained below.
3. Information we collect
Enquiries and referrals: Depending on the form and service requested, we may collect your name, South African identity number, date of birth, telephone number, email address, city, preferred contact time, loan type and requested amount. Relevant forms may also request employment details, monthly income, work contact details, credit history or debt review status.
Business finance enquiries: Where relevant, we may collect business contact details, registration information, trading history, turnover and details of the person authorised to act for the business.
Communications and administration: We may keep correspondence, complaints, listing enquiries, advertising enquiries, referral records, consent records and communication preferences.
Website usage: Technical information may include your IP address, browser and device information, pages viewed, referring website, visit times, interactions and cookie or similar identifiers. Such information is not necessarily anonymous, particularly where it can be linked to a person or device.
Business listings: A listing may contain a representative’s name, role and published business contact details. Information about sole traders and some information about companies may also constitute personal information.
We limit collection to information reasonably needed for an identified purpose. Please do not send passwords, online banking credentials, payment card security codes or unnecessary identity documents. Do not provide information about another person unless you are authorised or otherwise lawfully entitled to do so.
4. Where information comes from
We collect information directly from you through forms, correspondence and website interactions. Where lawful and relevant, we may also obtain information from your authorised representative, referral partners, providers, official business websites and other public business sources.
A referral partner may provide limited information about the progress or outcome of an enquiry where needed to administer the referral, reconcile a referral payment, resolve a complaint or meet a legal obligation.
When collecting information indirectly, we take reasonable steps to explain the source, purpose and other relevant processing details before collection or as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards, unless a lawful exception applies. Public availability does not remove our privacy obligations.
5. Why we process information and our lawful grounds
We process relevant information to respond to enquiries, provide requested referrals, communicate about those requests, administer commercial relationships, maintain business listings, investigate complaints, protect the website and comply with applicable legal obligations.
We may also use website and referral information to understand traffic, measure referral performance, improve content and identify misuse. Where we use aggregated or de-identified information, we take steps to prevent it from being linked back to an identifiable person.
The lawful ground depends on the activity. It may be your consent, steps requested before entering a contract, performance of a contract, compliance with a legal obligation, or a legitimate interest recognised by POPIA. For example, proportionate security monitoring and complaint handling may support our legitimate interests, subject to your rights and reasonable expectations.
We do not treat legitimate interests as permission for unrestricted processing or unsolicited electronic marketing. Consent-based activities, including optional marketing, are explained separately.
Forms and accompanying notices identify information needed for the requested service and the consequences of not supplying it. You may choose not to provide information, but we may be unable to process the enquiry or make the referral. Optional marketing consent is not a condition of submitting a loan enquiry. Where collection is required by a particular law, we will identify that requirement.
Further use must be compatible with the original purpose or otherwise lawfully authorised. We will provide additional information and obtain fresh consent where required.
6. Loan referrals and paid introductions
If you request a referral, we may share relevant enquiry information with the lender, referral network or other provider identified in the form or accompanying notice. Before submission, that notice will explain the recipient or meaningful recipient categories, the purpose of sharing and any choices available to you.
LoansPlus may receive a fee or commission for a referral, introduction or resulting transaction. This commercial arrangement does not authorise unrelated marketing or unrestricted onward distribution of your information.
Recipients may contact you about the enquiry and process information under their own privacy notices and legal obligations. They are responsible for their lending assessments, identity checks, affordability assessments and any credit bureau enquiries they conduct.
This policy does not itself authorise a credit check. Any party conducting such a check must have the necessary lawful authority and obtain any required authorisation.
You may contact us to ask which recipients received your information or to stop future consent-based referrals. Withdrawal does not reverse a disclosure already lawfully made, and a recipient may have a separate lawful reason to retain information. We can help identify the relevant recipient so you can exercise your rights with it.
7. Other recipients of information
We may use service providers for hosting, storage, security, communications, analytics and website maintenance. Where they process information on our behalf as operators under POPIA, we require written arrangements covering confidentiality, authorised use and appropriate security safeguards.
Information may be disclosed to professional advisers, regulators, courts or other authorised parties where necessary and lawful, including to comply with a legal obligation or establish, exercise or defend legal rights. Disclosures are limited to what is justified for that purpose.
If our business undergoes a proposed sale, merger or restructuring, relevant information may be reviewed or transferred under appropriate confidentiality and privacy safeguards. We will minimise disclosure during due diligence and provide notice of a change in responsible party where required. Such a transaction does not remove your rights.
8. Cookies, analytics and similar technologies
We may use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, maintain security, remember preferences, understand usage and attribute referrals. LoansPlus uses Google Analytics 4 for website traffic analysis. Advertising or third-party content may involve additional technologies where disclosed.
These technologies may process device information, online identifiers and browsing activity. We do not assume that analytics information is anonymous simply because it does not display your name. Third-party providers may process information under their own privacy notices, subject to applicable law.
Where consent is required, we obtain it before the relevant processing. Continuing to browse does not by itself provide blanket consent. You can manage cookies through your browser and any privacy controls offered on the website. Blocking some technologies may affect functionality.
See our Cookie Policy for further information. Cookie notices and controls should be read with this policy and cannot override your statutory rights.
9. Direct marketing and your choices
We send unsolicited electronic direct marketing only with valid consent or where POPIA’s limited existing-customer exception applies. That exception concerns our own similar products or services and requires an opportunity to object when contact details are collected and in each marketing communication.
Submitting an enquiry does not automatically make you eligible for that exception or give unlimited permission for marketing by LoansPlus or other businesses. Where consent is needed, we request it separately and in the prescribed manner. Any approach solely to request marketing consent must comply with POPIA’s restrictions, including the restriction on repeated requests.
Marketing communications identify the sender and provide a way to unsubscribe or object. You can also contact info@loansplus.co.za. We do not charge for opting out and will stop processing your information for the marketing you have declined.
Necessary, non-promotional communications about an enquiry, complaint or legal matter may continue. Independent providers manage their own marketing preferences, and you may need to contact them directly.
10. Transfers outside South Africa
Some hosting, communications, analytics or other service providers may process information outside South Africa. Overseas access and storage are subject to POPIA’s requirements for international transfers, including section 72.
Where a transfer occurs, we must establish an applicable lawful transfer ground. This may include adequate protection through the recipient’s law, a binding agreement or binding corporate rules, or another ground specifically permitted by POPIA. Relevant safeguards must also address onward transfers.
We provide information about intended overseas processing and the level of protection as required. You may contact our Information Officer for details relevant to your information. Where we rely on your consent for a transfer, we request informed, specific consent; acceptance of this policy is not blanket permission for overseas transfers.
11. Business listings and publicly available information
Our provider profiles and business listings may include information drawn from official websites, public business sources or submissions from authorised representatives. POPIA can protect information about juristic persons as well as individuals, so business information is not automatically outside its scope.
We seek to publish information that is relevant, accurate and proportionate to the listing’s purpose. A publicly available personal telephone number, residential address or other detail is not automatically appropriate for republication.
You can request correction, removal or another appropriate remedy for personal information in a listing. Where appropriate, a personal contact detail may be replaced with a general business contact. A request concerning one detail does not automatically require removal of an entire listing; we assess the lawful basis and your rights in the circumstances.
Our terms for business listings do not override POPIA or permit indefinite retention of information without a lawful basis.
12. Security and security compromises
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised destruction and unlawful access or processing. Measures must reflect the sensitivity of the information, foreseeable risks and the nature of the processing.
We restrict access according to responsibilities, require confidentiality from authorised personnel and operators, and review safeguards as risks change. No internet transmission or storage system is completely secure, but this does not reduce our legal obligations.
Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that an unauthorised person has accessed or acquired personal information, we will notify the Information Regulator and affected data subjects as soon as reasonably possible in accordance with POPIA. Notification is not limited to incidents assessed as causing serious harm.
Any permitted delay or exception must meet the law’s requirements. Notices will explain relevant consequences, our response and protective steps affected people can take, together with other information required by law.
If you suspect a security problem involving LoansPlus, contact info@loansplus.co.za without sending passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.
13. How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as we are lawfully entitled to keep it. Relevant considerations include the purpose of collection, the progress of an enquiry, referral administration, payment reconciliation, complaints, applicable recordkeeping duties and legal claims.
Different records may require different retention periods. An enquiry record, a marketing preference and information in a public business listing are assessed separately. A commercial relationship does not justify keeping every associated record indefinitely.
We may retain a minimal record of an objection or unsubscribe request to respect your preferences. Such a record is not used to restart the marketing you declined.
When retention is no longer authorised, we delete, destroy or appropriately de-identify the information. Information awaiting removal from backups remains subject to access restrictions and retention controls. Contact us if you need the retention period or criteria applicable to a particular record.
14. Access, correction, objection and other rights
You may ask us to confirm, free of charge, whether we hold personal information about you. You may also request access to that information and information about the third parties, or categories of third parties, that have had access to it.
You may request correction or deletion of information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, outdated, incomplete, misleading or unlawfully obtained. You may also request destruction or deletion of records we are no longer authorised to retain. These requests are free of charge.
You may withdraw consent for consent-based processing. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing. You may also object to processing on the grounds available under POPIA, including objections relating to your particular situation, and object to direct marketing.
POPIA also provides protections concerning decisions based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly substantial effects. LoansPlus does not make lending decisions. You can ask us about any automated processing relevant to your enquiry and exercise applicable rights.
Contact our Information Officer using the details in section 1. We will help you identify any applicable form or procedure, including under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”). We may request proportionate proof of identity or authority before releasing or changing information.
We respond within the time required by applicable law and deal with correction or deletion requests as soon as reasonably practicable. Where an access fee is lawfully prescribed, we will explain it and provide a written estimate before undertaking the chargeable service.
If a request is refused or information must be retained, we will explain the applicable grounds and available remedies, subject to lawful restrictions. Where only part of an access request may lawfully be refused, the remaining information will be provided.
If a requested correction remains disputed, you may ask us to attach an indication of that dispute to the information. Where a correction affects decisions concerning you, we will take reasonable steps to notify previous recipients as required by POPIA. These rights do not create an unconditional right to erase information that must or may lawfully be retained.
15. Children’s information
Our loan enquiry and referral services are intended for people aged 18 or older. Children should not submit loan enquiries or personal information through these services.
If we discover that a child’s information has been collected without the authorisation required by POPIA, we will stop the relevant processing and take appropriate steps to delete it or otherwise deal with it lawfully. A parent, guardian or other competent person may contact our Information Officer about such information. Children retain the protections available to them under law.
16. Other websites and providers
Our website contains links to lenders, referral partners and other external websites. Their collection and use of information are governed by their own notices and legal obligations.
Review the relevant provider’s privacy notice before submitting information or accepting a service. An external link does not remove our responsibility for information we collect or disclose ourselves.
17. Complaints and changes to this policy
If you have a privacy concern, contact our Information Officer at info@loansplus.co.za. Please describe the issue and identify the relevant page, enquiry or communication, without including unnecessary sensitive information. We will investigate and respond within applicable legal timeframes.
You may also complain to South Africa’s Information Regulator. Information about complaints is available at inforegulator.org.za and through its eServices portal.
POPIA complaints can be directed to POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za. PAIA complaints can be directed to PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za. The Regulator’s general telephone number is +27 10 023 5200.
The Regulator’s physical address is Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191, South Africa. Check its contact page for current details and complaint procedures.
We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services, processing activities or legal obligations. The date above identifies the latest revision. We will provide additional notice of material changes where appropriate and obtain new consent where required. An updated policy does not retrospectively authorise processing that was unlawful.