Privacy Policy
Effective date: 20 January 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how First Credit Union (“FCU”, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects, stores, uses, and discloses your personal information.
“Personal information” means any information that identifies you or could reasonably identify you, including your name, contact details, financial information, and credit information.
1 COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Information you provide to us
Most personal information we collect comes directly from you when you interact with us in person, online, through our mobile applications, by phone, or in writing. This may include:
- your name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, IRD number, and specimen signature
- usernames, login credentials, device information, and activity logs when using our websites, mobile apps, and ATMs
- employment details, financial information, credit history, and banking transaction history
- insurance related information (e.g., policy details, beneficiaries, health or claims information)
- any information we are required by law to collect
Information we collect from third parties
We may also receive your personal information from:
- credit reporting agencies and identity verification providers
- market researchers and analytics partners
- your authorised representatives (e.g., legal or financial advisers)
- parents or guardians (where you are under 18)
- your employer (for verification purposes)
- insurance providers, underwriters, claims assessors, and investigators
2 MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTER (MVR) ACCESS
First Credit Union may access your personal information from the Motor Vehicle Register (MVR) under an approved access authorisation issued by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
We access MVR information only for authorised purposes, including:
- verifying your identity
- confirming vehicle ownership
- preventing fraud
- administering your account or applications
- meeting our legal and regulatory obligations
If we access your information from the MVR, it is used solely for these purposes.
You have the right to opt out of having your name and address publicly available on the Motor Vehicle Register by applying for the Confidentiality option with Waka Kotahi. More information is available at:
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/maintaining-vehicle/correct-your-details/
3 COOKIES
We use cookies to understand how visitors use our websites and to improve user experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.
You can change your browser settings to manage or block cookies if you prefer.
4 THIRD PARTY PARTNERS AND ANALYTICS
We use third party services (such as Google) for advertising, analytics, and improving the functionality of our digital services. These providers may use cookies to display FCU promotions on websites you visit and to help us understand site usage trends.
You may opt out of Google Analytics data collection by visiting the Google Analytics opt out page.
5 EXTERNAL LINKS
Our website may contain links to third party websites. FCU is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or privacy practices of these external sites.
6 DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may disclose your personal information to:
- service providers acting on our behalf (e.g., card providers, IT service providers)
- regulators, government agencies, courts, or Police
- other financial institutions
- credit reporting agencies and debt recovery agencies
- dispute resolution schemes
- insurers and industry bodies
- payment system operators
- third parties bound by confidentiality obligations
We may disclose your information for the following reasons:
To provide our products and services
- assessing your applications
- administering and operating your accounts
- communicating changes to products or services
- assisting with online applications
- sharing relevant information with joint account holders
To comply with laws and regulations
- meeting obligations under New Zealand law
- supporting investigations into fraud, money laundering, or criminal activity
To understand your credit position
- conducting credit checks
- providing information to credit reporting agencies
- enabling agencies to update their databases and share credit information with others
For research and marketing
- conducting market research
- providing you with information about FCU products, services, and offers (unless you opt out)
7 STORAGE AND SECURITY OF INFORMATION
Your personal information may be stored in paper files or electronic systems. Electronic information is stored on FCU servers and backed up daily to secure offsite storage.
We use physical, technical, and organisational security measures to protect your information from loss, unauthorised access, misuse, and disclosure.
8 ACCESSING AND CORRECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. Please notify us promptly of any changes.
You may request access to, or correction of, your personal information at any time. A reasonable fee may apply to cover the cost of processing your request (e.g., retrieval or collation of records).
In certain circumstances, the Privacy Act allows us to decline access or correction requests. If we do so, we will explain why.
9 RESOLVING PRIVACY CONCERNS OR COMPLAINTS
If you have a privacy concern or complaint, please contact us and we will do our best to resolve it as quickly as possible.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to our independent external dispute resolution provider, Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL). FSCL is a free service for our members and provides an independent process to help resolve complaints.
You can contact FSCL at:
Website: www.fscl.org.nz
Phone: 0800 347 257
Email: complaints@fscl.org.nz
Postal Address: PO Box 5967, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145
10 HOW TO CONTACT US
- Visit any FCU branch
- Call or email us
- Write to:
Privacy Officer
First Credit Union
PO Box 585
Waikato Mail Centre
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand
11 CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in how we handle personal information. We will give at least 14 days’ notice by posting the updated version on our website. Continued use of our services after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
This Privacy Policy is governed by New Zealand law and is current as at 20 January 2026.