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Scotiabank Privacy Agreement

How we will protect your privacy

Your privacy is important to Scotiabank. This Scotiabank Privacy Agreement (the "Privacy Agreement"), as amended from time to time, sets out the information practices for the Scotiabank Group* of companies, including the type of information collected, how the information is used, and with whom the information is shared. It applies to each individual that has applied for, signed an application, enrolled in or uses any personal or business banking, insurance, brokerage or financial product or service offered by us ("service") including any co-applicant(s), guarantor(s) and personal representatives.

This Privacy Agreement replaces all previous agreements, either written or oral, between you and us regarding the collection, use and disclosure of your personal and financial information.

In this Privacy Agreement:
"we", "our", "us", "Scotiabank", and the "Bank" mean, as applicable, The Bank of Nova Scotia and its branches and subsidiaries and affiliates operating outside of Canada, including but not limited to, its agencies and branches in the United States, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Panama, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and its subsidiaries, Scotiabank Brazil S.A. Banco Múltiplo, The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited, Scotiabank Anguilla Limited, Scotiabank (Bahamas) Limited, Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., Scotiabank (British Virgin Islands) Limited, Scotiabank & Trust (Cayman) Ltd., Scotiabank de Costa Rica, S.A., Scotiabank El Salvador, S.A., Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, Scotiabank (Turks and Caicos) Ltd., and Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited.

Scotiabank Group of companies means collectively, The Bank of Nova Scotia and all its subsidiaries and affiliates.

Scotiabank Group Member means The Bank of Nova Scotia or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.

"you" and "your" mean an individual that has applied for, signed an application, has enrolled in or uses any service and includes any co-applicants, guarantors and personal representatives.

Collecting, using and disclosing your information

Scotiabank is a global organization with legal entities, business processes, management structures and technical systems that cross borders. Our privacy practices are designed to provide protection for your personal and financial information within the Scotiabank Group of companies all over the world.

When you apply for, or provide a guarantee in respect of, or use any service and while you are our customer, you agree that we may collect certain personal and financial information from you and about you such as:

  • your full name, address, date of birth and occupation and the nature and type of business you operate (if applicable), which is required by law in many of the countries that Scotiabank does business,
  • at least one piece of government-issued identification with a picture, such as a valid passport, national identification card, voter's card or driver's license, as well as other documents or means of confirming your identity that are acceptable to us. We may also ask for documents such as a recent utility bill to verify your name and address,
  • your annual income, assets and liabilities and credit history,
  • information about your transactions, including payment history, account activity, how you intend to use the account, products or services and the source of any incoming funds or assets,
  • information we may need in order to provide you with a service, such as asking you for health information if you are applying for certain insurance products. In some instances, providing this information is optional,
  • information about third parties such as your spouse if you are applying for certain services, where this information is permitted by law, and
  • information about beneficial owners, intermediaries and other third parties which is required by law.

For legal entities such as companies, partnerships, trusts, estates, organizations or clubs, we may collect the information referred to above for each authorized person, partner, trustee, executor and club member, as appropriate.

We may collect from, use and disclose this personal and financial information to, any person or organization for the following purposes:

  • to confirm your identity,
  • to understand your needs,
  • to determine the suitability of our services for you,
  • to determine your eligibility for our services,
  • to set up, manage and offer services that meet your needs,
  • to provide you with ongoing services,
  • to meet our legal and regulatory requirements,
  • to help us collect a debt or enforce an obligation owed to us by you,
  • to respond to a court order, search warrant or other lawful demand or request that we believe to be valid or to comply with the rules of production of a court,
  • to manage and assess our risks,
  • to investigate and adjudicate insurance claims, and
  • to prevent or detect fraud or criminal activity or to manage and settle any actual or potential loss in connection with fraud or criminal activity.

When we collect your health information for the purpose of providing an insurance service, we will use that information strictly for that purpose. (See below for more information.)

We do not provide directly all the services related to your relationship with us. We may use third party service providers to process or handle personal and financial information on our behalf and to assist us with various services such as printing, mail distribution, data processing, marketing, providing customer support or performing statistical analysis of our services and you acknowledge and agree that we can release personal and financial information about you to them.

Our service providers are located all over the world. As a result, your personal and financial information may be accessible to regulatory authorities in accordance with the laws of the countries where our service providers operate. We will require our service providers to protect the personal and financial information they receive from us in a manner that is consistent with Scotiabank Group of companies' privacy policies and practices.

We may share your personal and financial information within the Scotiabank Group of companies for any of the purposes set out above and you agree that we may transfer it to countries in the world where we do business. This means that your personal and financial information may be accessible to regulatory authorities in these countries in accordance with the laws of these countries.

You agree that we may collect, use and disclose your national identification number or any other type of tax or other government-issued personal identification number for income tax reporting purposes, as required by local law. In addition, we may ask you for your social security number, national identification number or other tax or other government-issued personal identification information, where permitted by law, to verify and report credit information to credit bureaus and credit reporting agencies as well as to confirm your identity. This allows us to keep your personal and financial information separate from that of other clients, particularly those with similar names and helps maintain the integrity and accuracy of your personal and financial information.

We may verify relevant information you give us with your employer, your references or other reliable independent sources and you authorize any person whom we contact in this regard to provide such information to us.

We may refuse to enter into or continue relationships or conduct transactions with you for certain legal reasons, or if you insist on anonymity or provide false, inconsistent or conflicting information where the inconsistency or conflict cannot be resolved to our satisfaction after reasonable inquiry.

You agree that we may monitor your account(s) to meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including using automated surveillance systems to prevent or detect fraud or criminal activity such as money laundering or terrorist financing. You agree that we may share your information within the Scotiabank Group of companies for these purposes, including monitoring account activity, investigating unusual or suspicious activity and, if necessary, reporting such activity to law enforcement agencies.

You agree that we may monitor or record any telephone call we have with you. The content of the call may also be retained. We may inform you before proceeding with the call of this possibility. This is to establish a record of the information you provide, to ensure that your instructions are followed properly and to ensure customer service levels are maintained. You also agree that a copy of our permanent business record(s) (in any form, including microfilm, photocopy, CD-ROM or image) of any communication may be substituted for an original document. You agree that such records, or any recorded verbal communication, may be used, to the extent permitted by law, as conclusive evidence of the content of that communication in any legal or other proceedings.

If you have a service with us, you agree that we may use, disclose to and collect from credit bureaus, credit reporting agencies or financial service industry databases (where applicable), credit and other information about you in order to offer you pre-approved credit products or margin facilities. We may also do this after the service has ended.

When you apply for, accept, or guarantee a loan or credit facility or otherwise become indebted to us, and from time to time during the course of the loan or credit facility, you agree that we may use, give to, obtain, verify, share and exchange credit and other information (except health information) about you with others including credit bureaus, mortgage insurers, creditor insurers, registries, other companies in the Scotiabank Group of companies and other persons with whom you may have financial dealings, as well as any other person as may be permitted or required by law. You agree that, subject to applicable law, we may do this throughout the relationship we have with you and we can continue to disclose your personal and financial information to credit bureaus even after the loan or credit facility has been retired and, subject to applicable law, you may not withdraw your consent to our doing so.

If you have a service with us such as a ScotiaCard* banking card, credit card or line of credit product, you agree that we may give information (except health information) about you to electronic payment service providers, credit or charge card associations, loyalty program partners and their employees and agents for the purpose of processing, authorizing and authenticating your transactions (as the case may be), providing you with customer assistance services and for other purposes related to your services. We may also give this information in respect of your participation in contests and promotions administered by the electronic payment service providers, credit or charge card associations and loyalty program partners on our behalf.

You agree that we may give personal and financial information (except health information) about you to other members of the Scotiabank Group of companies (where the law allows this) so that these companies may tell you directly about their products and services. The Scotiabank Group of companies includes companies engaged in services to the public such as deposits, loans and other personal financial services, credit, charge, debit and payment card services, full-service and discount brokerage services, mortgage loans, trust and custodial services, insurance services, investment management and financial planning services and mutual funds investment services. This consent will apply to any companies that form part of the Scotiabank Group of companies in the future. You also agree that we may provide you with information from third parties we select.

We may ask you for contact information such as your telephone, mobile, fax number or e-mail address and you agree that we may keep and use this information as well as disclose it to other members of the Scotiabank Group of companies so that we or any of these companies may contact you directly through these channels for the purpose of marketing, including telemarketing. This consent will also apply to any companies that form a part of the Scotiabank Group of companies in the future.

If we sell a company in the Scotiabank Group of companies or a portion of the business of a Scotiabank Group Member, you agree that we may release the information we hold about you to the prospective purchaser. We will require any prospective purchaser to protect the information provided and to use it in a manner that is consistent with Scotiabank Group of companies' privacy policies and practices.

You agree that we may keep and use information about you in our records for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this Privacy Agreement, even if you cease to be a customer. However, we will only keep the information for as long as permitted by local law.

All information that you give us will, at any time, shall be true and complete. If any personal or financial information changes or becomes inaccurate or out of date, you are required to advise us so we can update our records.

If you apply for an insurance service with us

(Only applicable in countries where we are legally entitled to offer insurance services to you)

When you apply for, or sign an application in respect of or accept an insurance service from us you agree that, we may use, give to, obtain, verify, share and exchange information about you with others including references you have provided, from hospitals and health practitioners, from government health insurance plans, from other insurers, from medical information and insurance service bureaus, from law enforcement representatives, from private investigators, and from other groups or companies where collection is necessary to underwrite or otherwise administer the service requested, including the assessment of claims. You also authorize any person whom we contact in this regard to provide such information to us.

If you accept an insurance service with us or if an insurance service is issued on your life, you agree that you may only withdraw your consent as indicated above so long as the consent does not relate to the underwriting or claims where the Scotiabank Group Member must collect and report information to insurance service bureaus after the application has been underwritten or the claim has been adjudicated. This is necessary to maintain the integrity of the underwriting and claims systems.

Changes to this Privacy Agreement

You acknowledge and agree that we can amend, modify, change or replace this Privacy Agreement at any time to take into consideration changes in laws or other issues that may arise. We will post the revised Privacy Agreement on our public website and make it available at our branches. We may also notify you of any changes to this Privacy Agreement in accordance with applicable law, which may be in any of the following ways:

  • a notice addressed to you at your last address in our records,
  • an announcement through the Voice-Response-Unit (VRU),
  • a notice on our public website,
  • a notice in our branches,
  • a notice in your monthly statement, or
  • a notice prominently displayed at our ATMs or on our ATM screens.

We consider you to have received the notice: (i) on the same day that it was sent if sent by fax or by electronic communication, (ii) on the day it was hand delivered, (iii) when it is posted in our branches, posted on our website, displayed at our ATMs or on our ATM screens or announced on our voice-response-unit, and (iv) on the fifth (5th) calendar day if sent by regular mail. If your address is in The Bahamas, St. Maarten or in Grenada we consider you to have received the notice on the fourteenth (14th) day of it being mailed.

Your continued use of the account, product or service or if you have funds on deposit with us in the account following notice of such change means that you agree to and accept the new terms and conditions of the Privacy Agreement as amended. If you do not agree with any of the changes made, you must immediately stop using the account and/or services and notify us that you are terminating your respective agreement with us.