Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Friend Circle Cooperative (FCC) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of its members. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you use the FCC Savings & Loans portal.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information from our members:

• Personal Information: Full name, date of birth, gender, citizenship number, and photograph.
• Contact Information: Phone number, email address, and home/office address.
• Financial Information: Savings deposits, loan records, repayment history, interest calculations, and transaction IDs.
• Account Information: Username, password (encrypted), and account activity logs.
• Technical Information: IP address, browser type, and device information when you access our portal.

3. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used solely for the following purposes:

• Processing savings deposits, loan applications, and repayments.
• Calculating interest, penalties, and profit distributions.
• Sending account notifications, payment reminders, and official communications.
• Verifying your identity and preventing fraud.
• Complying with legal and regulatory requirements in Nepal.
• Improving the functionality and security of our portal.

4. Data Sharing

FCC does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to any third party. Your data may be shared only in the following limited circumstances:

• Legal Requirements: If required by law, court order, or government authority.
• Cooperative Administration: With authorised FCC committee members for internal audit and record-keeping purposes.
• Service Providers: With trusted technology providers (such as email and OCR services) strictly for operating the portal — they are bound by confidentiality obligations.

5. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously. We implement the following measures to protect your data:

• All passwords are stored using strong encryption — they are never stored in plain text.
• Payment receipts and documents are stored securely on our servers.
• Access to member data is restricted to authorised administrators only.
• We use secure HTTPS connections for all data transmitted through our portal.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal and financial records for as long as your membership is active and for a minimum of 7 years after membership termination, in accordance with cooperative financial regulations in Nepal. After this period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Your Rights

As an FCC member, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: You may request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information via the profile update feature or by contacting admin.
• Deletion: You may request deletion of your data, subject to legal and financial record-keeping obligations.
• Objection: You may raise concerns about how your data is being used by contacting us directly.

8. Cookies and Tracking

The FCC portal uses session cookies strictly for authentication and securit