1. Who We Are
ADVISOR-LINK (Pty) Ltd ("ADVISOR-LINK", "we", "us", or "our") operates the ADVISOR-LINK platform at advisorlink.co.za. We connect South African consumers seeking financial advice with FAIS-registered Financial Advisors. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and all applicable South African law.
2. Information We Collect
We collect personal information in two ways:
Information you provide directly: name, email address, phone number, province, income bracket, financial advice category, and any other details you submit when completing a lead-matching form or registering as a Financial Advisor.
Information collected automatically: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages visited, and interaction events collected via analytics tools to improve our service.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information to:
- Match you with suitable FAIS-registered Financial Advisors in your area.
- Verify the identity and credentials of registered Financial Advisors.
- Process subscription payments and issue invoices.
- Send transactional emails (OTP codes, lead notifications, billing receipts).
- Improve the platform through anonymised usage analytics.
- Comply with our legal obligations under POPIA, the FAIS Act, and FSCA regulations.
4. Sharing Your Information
We share your personal information only in the following circumstances:
- With matched Financial Advisors: Consumer lead details (name, contact number, email, advice category, province) are shared exclusively with the Financial Advisor(s) to whom the lead is allocated.
- With service providers: Payment processors, email delivery services, and cloud infrastructure providers who are contractually bound to protect your data.
- With regulators: Where required by law, court order, or the FSCA.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.
5. Data Retention
Consumer lead data is retained for a maximum of 24 months from the date of submission, after which it is permanently deleted. Financial Advisor account data is retained for the duration of the subscription and for 5 years thereafter as required by FSCA record-keeping obligations. You may request deletion of your data at any time (see Section 8).
6. Cookies and Tracking
We use strictly necessary cookies to maintain your login session and preference cookies to remember your settings. We use analytics cookies (anonymised) to understand how the platform is used. You may disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings; this will not affect core functionality.
7. Security
We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information, including TLS encryption in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, role-based access controls, and regular security audits. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security but we take all reasonable precautions.
8. Your Rights Under POPIA
You have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention obligations).
- Object to the processing of your personal information.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users and by posting a notice on this page. Your continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact Us
ADVISOR-LINK (Pty) Ltd
Information Officer: [email protected]
General enquiries: [email protected]