Privacy Policy
Last Updated March 5, 2024
Your privacy is important to Southern First Bank. Please read this disclosure carefully. We recommend that you print and retain a copy for your records.
The Privacy Policy ("Policy") applies to use of online services offered or owned by Southern First Bank (“Bank”, “we”, “us” and “our”) including, but not limited to our website, online advertisements, social media sites (branded by the bank), and mobile banking applications, hereinafter known as (collectively, “Online Services”) which are intended for access by authorized users located in the United States.
By using our Sites and Mobile Banking Applications, you consent to the collection, use and sharing of your personal information subject to applicable laws, regulatory requirements, and other notices you may have received based on your requests or relationship with us. You also confirm your agreement to the terms and conditions within this Policy and consent to our use of cookies or similar technologies, when you visit or use our sites for example to:
- Apply for or open a new account, or services.
- Request information about a product or service.
- Register or Participate in a bank event, or an event that is sponsored by the bank.
- Survey, or other promotional information, etc.
Be advised that personal information you share on our managed social media pages, (Facebook, Twitter (“X”), LinkedIn, and Instagram, etc.) are subject to the privacy policies, including the terms and conditions of their individual sites or platforms. It is recommended that you review their policies before posting any content. The bank does not recommend sharing personal information through public social media pages.
Definitions:
- Affiliates - Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and non-financial companies. Southern First Bank has no affiliates.
- Nonaffiliates - Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and non-financial companies. Southern First Bank does not share with non-affiliates.
- Joint Marketing with other financial companies - A formal written agreement between non-affiliated financial companies that together market financial products or services to you. Southern First Bank doesn't have joint marketing agreements with non-affiliated financial companies.
Children Using Online Banking Services:
The safety and privacy protection of children is especially important to the Bank. Our Online Services are not intended for minor children. Children should always ask their parent or guardian for permission before sending personal information to anyone online. Our sites are not directed towards children, and we do not knowingly collect personal, nor locational information for a minor child without written consent from the parent or legal guardian. If you permit a minor child under the age of 13 or up to 17 to use Online Banking Services, or give the minor child your User ID, Password, or access, you understand that you are responsible for all activity the child initiates from or to any of your accounts, even if he/she exceeds your authorization. Additional information about Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act can be found by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s website at https://www.ftc.gov/.
Policy Updates:
The bank may make updates to this Policy, if we make revisions, we will revise the Policy and the “Last Updated Date” posted at the top of this Policy. These changes are effective as soon as they are published. Your use of our Online Services following any updates is your acceptance of the updated Policy.
Who chooses what gets shared?
Financial companies may choose how they share your personal information. Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some of the information that is allowed to be shared, but not all information. Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information.
What personal information do we collect?
The types of Personal Information we may collect, and share depend on the product or service you have with us. This information may include, but not limited to: (1) name, social security number, (2) mailing or email address, (3) telephone number(s), (4) account number(s), (5) financial information such as (account balance(s), or account transactions, or transaction history or credit history), (6) geolocation, (7) contact lists, (8) photographs, (9) biometric and other personal information you may provide.
We may collect your personal information, for example, when you: (1) open an account, (2) give us your contact information, (3) pay us by check, (4) make a wire transfer, and (5) show your valid state issued driver's license or a US Government photo identification.
The types of Non-Personal Information we may collect include: (1) your IP address, (2) Browser and/or device locator within your mobile device, if enabled.
When Southern First Bank Shares:
| Reasons we can share your personal information | Does Southern First Bank share? | Can you limit this sharing? |
|---|---|---|
| For our everyday business purposes - such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus | Yes | No |
| For our marketing purposes - to offer our products and services to you | No | We don't share |
| For joint marketing with other financial companies | No | We don't share |
| For our affiliates' everyday business purposes - information about your transactions and experiences | No | We don't share |
| For our affiliates' everyday business purposes - information about your creditworthiness | No | We don't share |
| For nonaffiliates to market to you | No | We don't share |
When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your information as described in this policy.
How does Southern First Bank Collect Information:
We may collect information through various means, including the information you provide directly to our Online Services, or information collected by our third-party providers, or through your browser, cookies, and other similar technology. The internet browser may allow you to choose not to have your activities tracked by either adjusting your browser’s cookie settings or permanently using a browser plugin. If you refuse to use the cookies, this may result in you being unable to or limited access to certain components of our Online Services. If you have any concerns or problems, please feel free to contact any member of our Client Services team at any office location or call us at 1-877-679-9646.
The Bank may also use a third-party provider to process personal information for business purposes on our behalf. Third-party providers are contractually obligated to comply with our policies to protect the information we share with them, or when it is collected on the Bank’s behalf.
Additionally, we may obtain personal information from onboarding via a Commercial Credit Card Program with us. If we combine such personal information with information collected through the Mobile Services, we will treat the combined information as personal information in accordance with this disclosure. This policy does not replace or substitute the terms and conditions of individual products or services offered by the bank.
We may also collect information about you from other online and offline sources, including credit reporting agencies and other third-party sources as permitted by law.
How Does Southern First Bank Use Your Personal Information:
We collect information from you to improve your ClientFirst service and to improve your experience with our Online Services. We may use your information: (1) To ensure we comply with applicable regulatory requirements and state, local laws, (2) We may verify your identity using location-based data technology, (3) Systemically recognize you when you return to our Online Services, (4) Allow you the appropriate access your online accounts, (5) Provide continuous updates on your accounts, products, and services, such as changes to terms, conditions, or policies, including notifications, (6) Ensure accurate processing of requests, transactions, applications, and inquiries for products and services, (7) To allow you to open a depository account or apply for other financial products, and services including determining your eligibility for promotional services, (8) Monitoring usage and/or performance, improve your ClientFirst experience as it relates to our Online Services, ensure technological compatibility with your mobile device or software capabilities, (9) Perform reviews of your use of our Online Services, including the pages and advertisements you view utilizing Google Analytics and/or other third-party tools, (10) To ensure appropriate risk controls, for fraud detection and prevention, and to increase security of our Online Services.
How much personal information do we share?
All financial companies need to share clients' personal information to run their everyday business. In the section below, we list the reasons Southern First Bank chooses to share; and whether you can limit this sharing.
We may share your personal information with the following:
Service Providers - We may disclose certain personal and non-personal information we collect from the use of our Online Services to providers that perform services on our behalf, including those who assist us in processing depository or loan transactions, preparing, and mailing statements, and responding to user inquiries, etc.
The Service Providers may also collect additional information, like your IP address, device, or browser information directly or indirectly through your interactions with the bank's sites, or other products or services, such as: (1) internet address or referral site, (2) the type of devices you used to access our sites, (3) information from Web Beacons, Cookies, and other mobile applications.
Additionally, we may disclose information to service providers that perform third party marketing services on behalf of the bank. Our third-party advertising service providers, including network advertising companies, may use certain information about your online activities, such as websites visited and search key words entered, to help determine which of our advertisements may be of interest to you. Also, information about how Google uses data through Google Analytics, and how to set your preferences for Google advertising are provided to you, by reviewing https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and “Google Analytics terms of service”.
If you choose to leave our Online Services and visit a third-party site, your visit is governed by the privacy policies of their site, and the bank is not responsible for its contents. We recommend that you review the terms and conditions, including their privacy policy prior to accessing a third-party site.
Non-Affiliates. The bank doesn’t share with non-affiliates. Unless it is required or permitted by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, respond to inquiries from government authorities or defend legal actions.
Why can't I limit all sharing?
Federal law gives you the right to limit only:
- Sharing for affiliates' everyday business purposes - information about your creditworthiness
- Affiliates from using your information to market to you
- Sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you
It is important to review state laws and/or the individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing.
How does Southern First Bank protect my personal information?
To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings.
We also maintain other physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect this information and we limit access to information to those employees for whom access is appropriate.
You play a critical role in protecting your personal information from suspicious acts. In order to protect yourself against fraud, you should adhere to the following guidelines:
- Do not give out your account information, Password, or User ID.
- Do not leave your PC unattended while you are in the Bank's Online Banking site.
- Never leave your Account information within range of others; and
- Do not send privileged account information (account number, Password, etc.) in any public or general email system.
Southern First will never contact you directly to request personal information, such as social security numbers, account numbers, PINs, or passwords, by email, phone calls or texts. If you receive a suspicious request via email, call, or text which appears to be from the bank, please contact our Client Services at 1-877-679-9646.
Mobile Privacy Disclosure
What does Southern First Bank do with your personal information from the mobile application?
The mobile application requests access to information stored on your device such as location, camera, contacts, or other features you are enrolled in to enrich and simplify your own user experience and improve our services, as well as provide additional security to protect your account.
It is important for you to understand that:
- Before granting access to this information, you will be prompted to give the application that permission.
- If you do not wish to grant that permission, you may decline.
- If you later change your mind, those permissions can be updated in your device's settings.
Permissions: iOS (Mobile Operating System) and Android Applications
When downloading the Southern First Bank’s online banking app on your mobile devices, you will be prompted to accept certain permissions available, depending on your software application or version. If you decide to decline access to some of the features, it may not be fully functional within the online services.
The following are examples of certain mobile features:
- Location – The bank may need this information for security purposes, regulatory requirements or to provide location-based data options for locating our offices or ATM/ITM services. If you enable the location services on your cell phone, we will collect your location data when you use the Online Services, even when the app is closed or not in use. This is to provide our fraud detection services. If you do not want us to collect your location, you may decline this service on your mobile device.
- Contacts – We may need this information to process certain transactions (such as: peer-to-peer payment which is a transaction that allows you to send money directly to — or receive money from — another person).
- Camera/Media/Photos – We will request your consent to enable us to capture or populate information for certain types of transactions including mobile deposits. It will also allow you to scan documents or images for opening accounts.
- Biometrics – We will request your consent to enable us to capture Facial recognition, that maps an individual’s facial features, or Fingerprint recognition to authenticate the user.
- Device or Application History - This information will be used to, (1) determine your device eligibility, (2) multi- factor authentication (MFA), and (3) Communications (push notifications).
- Wearable Technology – If you choose to allow access to wearable devices such as smartwatches, your consent will permit access to account balances, etc.
To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings. The bank secures your transactions and personal information online by using sophisticated technology and monitoring techniques, intricate firewalls along with encryption software, multifactor authentication, anomaly detection, and stringent privacy policies and training to meet or exceed federal and state mandates.
The application information is retained in accordance with state and federal record retention laws. Please contact us to determine specific timeframes for your personal stored information and if that information may be deleted.
Please contact Southern First Bank at 877-679-9646 regarding questions about the information included in this Mobile Privacy Policy or questions about our online services.
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