Privacy Policy

Last updated: [FILL IN — date of publication]

1. Who we are (Responsible Party)

This Privacy Policy is issued by [FILL IN — registered business/trading name], trading as FundClear ("FundClear", "we", "us"), the responsible party for processing your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

  • Registration number: [FILL IN — CIPC registration number, or "sole proprietorship" if not yet registered]
  • Physical/registered address: [FILL IN]
  • Contact email: [FILL IN — e.g. privacy@fundclear.co.za]
  • Information Officer: [FILL IN — name, required under POPIA once you process personal information at scale]

2. What information we collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

  • Account information: name, email address, phone number, password (hashed by our authentication provider).
  • Business profile information: business name, registration number, industry, financial position, B-BBEE status, and funding requirements — provided by you to generate your documents.
  • Diagnostic responses: answers you give in the free Fund Readiness Diagnostic, whether or not you create an account.
  • Payment information: processed directly by Paystack. We do not store your card details.
  • Usage information: pages visited, documents ordered, and support interactions.
  • Communications: emails, WhatsApp messages, or testimonials you send us.

3. Why we process your information

  • To generate the funding application documents you order.
  • To process payments and prevent fraud.
  • To send transactional emails (order confirmations, document-ready notices, diagnostic results).
  • To provide customer support.
  • To improve our services and document quality.
  • To send marketing communications, only where you have opted in — you may withdraw consent at any time.

4. Who we share information with

We use the following third-party processors to operate FundClear. Each processes data under its own terms and security standards:

  • Supabase — database hosting and authentication.
  • Anthropic — AI document generation. Your business profile data is sent to Anthropic's API to generate your documents.
  • Paystack — payment processing.
  • Resend — transactional email delivery.
  • [FILL IN — WhatsApp/CallMeBot provider, if enabled]

Some of these providers may process or store data outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we rely on the safeguards required by section 72 of POPIA (e.g. the recipient country having adequate data protection laws, or contractual safeguards with the processor). We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. How long we keep your information

We retain your account and business profile information for as long as your account is active, and for [FILL IN — e.g. 5 years] after account closure to meet tax, accounting, and legal recordkeeping obligations. Diagnostic responses submitted as a guest (without an account) are retained for [FILL IN — e.g. 12 months] and then deleted or anonymised.

6. Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

  • Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
  • Request correction or deletion of your personal information.
  • Object to processing of your personal information for direct marketing.
  • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
  • Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have not complied with POPIA (inforegulator.org.za).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [FILL IN — privacy contact email].

7. Security

We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), database-level access controls (row-level security), and restricted access to personal information on a need-to-know basis. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted to us.

8. Cookies

We use essential cookies to operate the site and, with your consent, analytics cookies to understand how the site is used. You can accept or reject non-essential cookies via the cookie banner shown on your first visit, and change your preference at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site.

9. Children

FundClear is intended for business owners and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children as defined under POPIA.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by updating the "Last updated" date above.

11. Contact us

For any privacy-related question or request, contact [FILL IN — privacy contact email].