Westpac legal information
Commitment to website privacy and responsible use of information
At Westpac, we are committed to ensuring the privacy of your information. We understand as a user of a Westpac website, how important the privacy of your personal information is to you.
The following statement has been developed in recognition that Internet technologies, and specifically Westpac's application of these, are rapidly evolving. This statement addresses privacy issues relevant to the Westpac website.
Should we change our website privacy statement for any reason, such changes will always be posted to this page. However, if you have any further questions relating to this privacy statement, please do not hesitate to email us.
Information we collect
We may gather three types of information about our website users:
1. personal information, provided voluntarily when you complete an online form or request for service
2. specific information to identify the computers or devices you use to access Westpac Online Banking and the manner by which you use them
3. aggregated information collected by our web server or third party systems we subscribe to for site traffic information.
Our web server collects the following types of information:
- the number and location of site visitors (gathered via IP address logs and device id logs )
- the date and time of visits
- the number of pages viewed
- technical information on browser connections
- traffic patterns
- audit logs of all activity.
In normal circumstances, this is anonymous statistical data and no attempt is made to identify users or their individual browsing activities. We use this aggregate data to evaluate our website performance and measure the interest in various areas of our site.
In the event of a fraud, dispute, or other extraordinary circumstances, audit logs of Online Banking activity, and IP address information may be analysed for troubleshooting purposes. If we come across a suspicious looking transaction, we will investigate it to ensure there is no breach of security. Occasionally, this may involve one of our staff members contacting you to verify a transaction.
Information disclosure
We may release information about you when required to, or permitted by law.
We may also disclose information where you have authorised us to, or where disclosure is connected to the purpose for which it was collected - eg. online applications. You have the right to access and correct this information subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1993.
We will not however, use your personal information for any purpose that is not related to the products or services we provide to you, or for any purpose for which you would not reasonably expect us to use the information. For example, your information may be used by Westpac and its related companies, to enable us to offer you other products and services that may enhance your relationship with us. It's your decision whether you wish us to provide this service to you or not.
We may share the information we gather in aggregate form, eg. survey or tracking information, with advertisers and other partners. However, we will not sell or disclose personal information about you as an individual to any third party or entity outside Westpac or its related companies for marketing purposes.
Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of information which can be stored on your hard drive (persistent cookies) or in memory (session cookies). The cookies we send to your PC cannot read your hard drive or command your computer to perform any action.
We use two types of cookies:
- Persistent cookies - used to identify and provide personalised features such as choosing which page you would like to make your Westpac start page, as part of our Online Guardian Challenge service, and for tracking traffic patterns to and from our site. For more information on the tracking we use, refer to the Google Analytics section below.
- Session cookies - used as an integral part of the identification process for our Online Banking service. This is for security purposes to determine that you are who you say you are and to provide you with your confidential account information during an Online Banking session. No personal information is kept in the cookie and the cookie is not written to your hard drive. When you log out of your Online Banking session the cookie is no longer valid and is discarded when you close your browser.
Google Analytics
Westpac uses Google Analytics website measurement software to help measure traffic patterns to, from, and within our public website. Note: we do not include this measurement software on any secure site Online Banking screens. The services are used to anonymously aggregate website statistics, such as number of page views, the number of unique visitors, time spent on our site, when visitors browse, and common entry and exit points into and from the website. On occasion, random short surveys may also be used to collect further information about our users– participation in these surveys will be entirely voluntary.
All information is aggregated by Google Analytics and provided to us to help us better understand usage of our public website – no individual visitors are identified. Google Analytics has been adopted as an accepted interactive measurement standard amongst major Internet sites.
For further information about Google Analytics click here, and for details of Google's Privacy Policy click here.
How does Google Analytics work?
All our public website pages are coded with a small piece of Google Analytics code that is transparent to you when you read that page. These pieces of code store cookies in your browser (if you have cookies enabled) which contain unique identifiers to allow us to track the number of unique visitors to the website. This information is collected and aggregated by Google Analytics and in no way can you be identified personally and no personal information is stored about you.
The Google Analytics code is not included on any of our secure Online Banking screens.
Online Advertising
Westpac uses third party vendors, including Google, to display advertising on websites across the internet. These third party vendors may also use cookies to anonymously track and target advertising based on your browsing behaviour. For further information and details of how you can opt out of these third party cookies via the Network Advertising Initiative, click here.
When you provide information
When submitting an online form relating to a Westpac product or service, we will request specific personal information such as your name and address, title, existing bank relationship, your email address and a contact phone number. This information is necessary in order for us to action your request, and so that we can contact you if needed on issues relating directly to the product or service. Where confidential information is included in the form, we will use encryption to ensure that the information you send to us across the Internet is secure.
As part of our Online Banking registration process, we invite you to provide additional information, namely your email address, marketing email preferences, and a name with which you would like to be greeted during future Online Banking sessions. Providing this information is optional for you, and you can change or remove these details at any time via a permanent link in our Online Banking navigation bar.
From time to time, Westpac may collect additional personal information from website users in connection with optional competitions, surveys, or special offers.
Email address
If you are a registered customer for Online Banking, we may use your email address to advise you of any upgrades or changes to this service, and if necessary to contact you with important information about any accounts or services you have with us that require your urgent attention.
You may choose to receive by email promotional messages, surveys, special offers or information about product and services from Westpac that are relevant to you. You can select to receive these email communications via the Name and email preferences feature within Online Banking.
Security of captured data
To prevent unauthorised access, maintain data accuracy and ensure appropriate use of any customer supplied information, we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial processes to protect the information we collect via our website.
For example, when capturing customer information through our Online Banking services, it is passed through a secure Westpac server using encryption technology to ensure that this information is protected when being sent over the Internet.
Additionally, all stored customer information is protected from unauthorised access through the use of secure passwords, user log-ons and other security procedures.
Additional information
Products referred to on this site are only offered to people in New Zealand.
The information appearing on this site is for preliminary and general information only and is not to be relied on as being complete, accurate and up–to-date, and it is subject to change. Full details of up-to-date terms and conditions, product information, charges and interest rates are available from any Westpac branch in New Zealand.
You can get a copy of the current disclosure statement for Westpac New Zealand Limited and a copy of the investment statement for any securities for which an investment statement is required from any Westpac branch in New Zealand free of charge.
All applications for finance are subject to Westpac's applicable lending criteria.
Westpac shall not be responsible for the content of any other site accessed via the Westpac site. Links to other sites are provided for convenience only and do not represent any endorsement by Westpac of products offered by the site owner. Westpac New Zealand Limited.
Information you must read before proceeding into the Westpac Website.
(If you proceed to any other page of the Westpac Website, you will be treated as having read and accepted the information on this page)
1. This Website is presented by the Westpac New Zealand Limited, however some of the products on the website are provided by Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 (New Zealand division).
2. Any references on this Website to Westpac are references to Westpac New Zealand Limited.
3. The information on this Website is preliminary and general information only. It is subject to change at any time. You must not rely on it as being complete, accurate, or up to date. You should obtain independent professional legal and/or financial advice before you rely on any of the information.
4. Information on this site has been prepared in accordance with New Zealand law for the supply of services in New Zealand only. Therefore, any services referred to in this site are only offered to persons resident in New Zealand.
5. Westpac is not, in this Website, making any offer to enter into any transaction or relationship with you. For full details of up to date service information, charges, interest rates, terms and conditions, and any special offers you should visit a Westpac branch in New Zealand, or telephone your Westpac branch.
6. Westpac is not responsible for the information on any other Website accessed via this site other than the Westpac NZ site; that information is the responsibility of the owner of that Website. Westpac has no control over it. Links to other Websites are provided for convenience only and do not represent any endorsement by Westpac of the services offered by the site owner.
7. Please contact Westpac for prior permission if you wish to create a hypertext link to any page on this Westpac Website. If you create a link to the Westpac Website, you remain fully responsible for any consequences of that link, whether direct or indirect and you will protect Westpac against all loss, damage, liability, costs or expense arising from or in connection with the link.
8. When transmitting your personal information over the Internet, you should remember that the Internet is not a secure environment. Any personal information you transmit to Westpac may be used by Westpac to provide information to you about the full range of financial services offered by Westpac and its related companies, as well as to assist Westpac create a statistical picture of its customers. Westpac will take steps to ensure your personal information is held securely by Westpac, and you may request access to, and correction of, all such information by contacting Westpac's privacy officer.
9. The copyright in this site is owned by Westpac New Zealand Limited. You may electronically reproduce and store the site’s contents solely for the purposes of viewing the site, or saving its content. However, if you want to display or distribute the content or any of the pages of the site in public or in such a way that they will be accessible to the public (including reproduction in any form on the Internet), you must first obtain Westpac’s permission.
10. Access to the Westpac Online Banking service is restricted to authorised users only. Unauthorised users may be subject to criminal or civil prosecution under the laws of New Zealand or under the laws of the country from which unauthorised access took place.
16 February 2012