Federal privacy laws give you the right to stop (opt out of) some sharing of your personal financial information. These laws balance your right to privacy with financial companies’ need to provide information for normal business purposes. You have the right to opt out of some information sharing with companies that are:
- Part of the same corporate group as your financial company (oraffiliates)
- Not part of the same corporate group as your financial company (ornon-affiliates).
But you cannot opt out and completely stop the flow of all your personal financial information. The law permits your financial companies to share certain information about you without giving you the right to opt out. Among other things, your financial company can provide to non-affiliates:
- Information about you to firms that help promote and market the company’s own products or products offered under a joint agreement between two financial companies
- Records of your transactions–such as your loan payments, credit card or debit card purchases, and checking and savings account statements–to firms that provide data processing and mailing services for your company
- Information about you in response to a court order
- Your payment history on loans and credit cards to credit bureaus.
What Opting Out MeansIf you opt out, you limit the extent to which the company can provide your personal financial information to non-affiliates.If you do not opt out within a “reasonable period of time”–generally about 30 days after the company mails the notice– then the company is free to share certain personal financial information. If you didn’t opt out the first time you received a privacy notice from a financial company, it’s not too late. You can always change your mind and opt out of certain information sharing. Contact your financial company and ask for instructions on how to opt out. Remember, however, that any personal financial information that was shared before you opted out cannot be retrieved. |
