Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This website is operated by MerchantRates, an Australian Merchant Payment Advisory (AMPA) initiative ("MerchantRates", "we", "us", "our"). We provide an independent service that compares merchant payment rates across Australian providers. You can contact us at any time at info@merchantrates.com.au.

2. The information we collect

When you submit an enquiry through our website, we collect the personal and business information you provide, which may include:

• Your name;
• Your business name;
• Your phone number;
• Your email address;
• Your industry;
• Your approximate monthly card turnover (as a range);
• Your current merchant rate (if you choose to provide it); and
• Any other details you include in your enquiry.

We may also collect limited technical information automatically when you visit the site (such as your device, browser and pages viewed) where analytics tools are in use — see section 7.

3. How we collect it

We collect personal information directly from you when you complete and submit the enquiry form on this website. We do not purchase contact lists or collect your information from third parties for the purpose of generating enquiries.

4. Why we collect it

We collect your information so that we can:

• Prepare a merchant rate comparison for your business;
• Assess your eligibility for our service and the $100 Guarantee;
• Contact you about your enquiry and the options available to you; and
• Improve and operate our service.

We only use your information for the purposes for which it was provided, for related purposes you would reasonably expect, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

5. Disclosure to payment providers

This is important, so we want to be clear about it:

• At the enquiry stage, your information is not shared with payment providers. When you submit the form, your details are collected and stored in our systems so that we can prepare your comparison and contact you.
• Your information is only sent to a third-party payment provider once you choose to proceed and an application to switch or set up a merchant facility is completed. In other words, nothing is passed to a provider unless and until you decide to go ahead.

6. Service providers

We use trusted third-party service providers to help us operate — for example, website hosting and customer-relationship/CRM tools that store enquiry records on our behalf. These providers may process your information only to provide services to us, and are required to keep it secure and confidential. Some service providers may store data outside Australia; where that occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled consistently with the APPs.

7. Cookies and analytics

Our website may use cookies and analytics tools (such as website analytics and advertising pixels) to understand how visitors use the site and to measure the performance of our campaigns. These tools may set cookies on your device. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings; note that some site features may not work as intended if cookies are disabled. Where analytics or advertising tools are active, they are only enabled when configured, and they collect aggregate usage information rather than the contents of your enquiry.

8. How we store and protect your information

Your information is stored in our systems and those of our service providers, protected by reasonable technical and organisational measures including access controls. We retain personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law, after which we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

9. Accessing, correcting or deleting your information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, to ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, and to request that we delete it. To make a request, email info@merchantrates.com.au. We will respond within a reasonable period and may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

10. Making a complaint

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first at info@merchantrates.com.au so we can try to resolve it. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page, with the "Last updated" date shown above.

12. Contact us

For any privacy question or request, contact us at info@merchantrates.com.au.