Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Approved Finance

Approved Finance (Pty) Ltd

Approved Finance (Pty) Ltd ("Approved Finance", "we", "us", or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with applicable South African data protection laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when you visit our website, interact with us, submit enquiries, or use our services, including where you apply for vehicle finance or related services.

By using our website or providing your personal information to us, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy and understand how your personal information will be handled.

1. Who this policy applies to

This Policy applies to:

visitors to our website;

individuals who contact us for information or support;

customers or prospective customers who submit applications, enquiries, or supporting documents to us; and

representatives of businesses or other juristic people who engage with us.

For purposes of this Policy, "personal information" has the meaning given to it in POPIA and includes information relating to an identifiable, living natural person and, where applicable under South African law, an identifiable existing juristic person.

2. What personal information we collect

Depending on how you use our website or services, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

Identity information, such as your name, surname, South African ID number, date of birth, or company details.

Contact information, such as your email address, telephone number, and physical address.

Application information, such as information you provide when requesting finance, quotations, pre-approval, or related services.

Financial information, where relevant to a finance application, including income, employment details, banking-related information, affordability information, and credit-related information permitted by law.

Vehicle or transaction information, such as details about the vehicle you are interested in financing, trading in, or otherwise dealing with through us.

Technical information, such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, session activity, and website usage data.

Communication records, including emails, web form submissions, messages, and call records where permitted by law.

Marketing preference information, including whether you have opted in or out of receiving promotional communications.

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our business activities and the services we provide.

3. How we collect your information

We may collect personal information in the following ways:

directly from you when you complete forms on our website;

when you contact us by email, phone, WhatsApp, or other channels;

when you request a quote, apply for finance, or submit supporting documents;

automatically through your use of our website, including through cookies and similar technologies; and

from third parties where lawful and necessary, such as credit bureaux, banks, finance providers, verification agencies, dealers, service providers, or public sources.

Where we collect information from third parties, we will do so in accordance with POPIA and only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

4. Why we process personal information

We may process your personal information for one or more of the following purposes:

to provide our services to you;

to assess, process, and manage finance applications or related requests;

to communicate with you about your enquiry, application, or account;

to verify your identity and the accuracy of information provided;

to perform affordability, risk, fraud-prevention, compliance, and credit-related assessments where permitted by law;

to refer your application to banks, credit providers, or other financial institutions at your request or where necessary to provide the service;

to improve our website, systems, products, and customer experience;

to maintain internal records and administer our business;

to comply with legal, regulatory, reporting, and risk-management obligations; and

to send you marketing communications where you have consented, where you are an existing customer and applicable law permits it, or where we otherwise have a lawful basis to do so.

We will process personal information only where we have an appropriate justification under applicable law, including where processing is necessary to provide services you requested, comply with legal obligations, protect legitimate business interests, or where you have given consent.

5. When we share personal information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share your personal information with trusted third parties where necessary for legitimate business or legal purposes, including:

banks, credit providers, and financial institutions for the purpose of assessing or processing finance applications;

credit bureau and verification agencies, where permitted by law;

service providers and operators who assist us with hosting, technology, communications, analytics, document handling, customer support, and administration;

professional advisers, including legal, audit, compliance, and accounting advisers;

regulators, government bodies, law enforcement, or courts where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and

business partners or counterparties where disclosure is necessary to provide the service you requested.

Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we require them to apply appropriate security safeguards and process the information only for authorized purposes.

6. Cookies and website usage data

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to collect certain technical and usage information.

These technologies help us:

keep the website functioning properly;

understand how visitors use the website;

improve website performance and user experience;

remember preferences where applicable; and

support analytics, security, and fraud prevention.

You can usually manage cookie settings through your browser. Disabling cookies may affect certain website features or functionality.

If you use our website, certain information such as your IP address, browser type, referring pages, and visit activity may be collected automatically through server logs or analytics tools.

7. Direct marketing

We may send you information about our products, services, promotions, or updates where this is permitted by law.

Where required, we will ask for your consent before sending direct marketing communications. You may opt out of marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe option in the communication or by contacting us using the details set out below.

We will respect your marketing preferences.

8. How we protect your personal information

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to secure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information in our possession or under our control.

These measures may include:

access controls and user authentication;

secure storage systems;

encryption or other appropriate safeguards where reasonable;

internal confidentiality requirements;

monitoring and risk management procedures; and

contractual safeguards with third-party operators.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Retention of personal information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, or to enforce our agreements.

Once personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete, destroy, or de-identify it in accordance with applicable law and our internal retention practices.

10. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

request access to the personal information we hold about you;

request correction or updating of inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or outdated personal information;

request deletion or destruction of personal information where permitted by law;

object to certain types of processing;

withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;

object to direct marketing; and

lodge a complaint with the relevant regulator if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully.

We may ask you to verify your identity before acting on certain requests.

11. Children's information

Our website and services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children unless permitted by law and authorized by a competent person where required.

12. Cross-border transfers

In some cases, personal information may be stored or processed outside South Africa, including through cloud-based systems or service providers located in other countries.

Where personal information is transferred across borders, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and that the transfer is lawful under POPIA.

13. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of those third-party sites. We encourage you to review their privacy notices before providing personal information to them.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, legal obligations, or website functionality.

The latest version of the Privacy Policy will be published on our website with the effective date shown below. Your continued use of the website or services after any updates are posted will be subject to the revised Policy.

Effective date: [19 August 2026]

15. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal information, or how we process information, you can contact us at:

Approved Finance (Pty) Ltd
Website: www.approvedfinance.co.za
Email: [[email protected]]
Telephone: [021-949 0002]
Address: [62 Strand Road, Bellville, Cape Town]

If applicable, you may also contact our Information Officer:

Information Officer: [Petrus Hayes]
Email: [[email protected]]

16. Complaints

If you believe that we have used your personal information in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy or applicable law, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to submit a complaint to the Information Regulator (South Africa).