1. OVERVIEW OF THE GIFS GROUP
This notice relates to the GIFS group of companies. References to GIFS or the group are to GIFS Group and its subsidiary entities, including divisions, segments, business units and branches. Certain subsidiary entities may be excluded from the group description of this notice (such as where the group is involved in private equity investments). The various entities in the group offer Shariah financial and non-financial solutions. These Shariah solutions include Shariah transactional, lending, investment, insurance, telecommunication, technology and consumer products, goods and services. In this notice, solution means any product, service or goods offered by a group company, whether financial or non-financial in nature.
2. INTRODUCTION
Privacy is important to the group. This cookie notice applies to all websites that belong to the
group (hereinafter referred to as "websites"), and which are authorised on behalf of the group. This cookie notice is available on GIFS Groups website.
3. WHAT IS A COOKIE?
A cookie is a small piece of data that is placed (usually in the form of a text file) on a user's
device, such as a computer, smart phone or tablet, when the user visits a website. A cookie may be labelled with an ID unique to the user and their device. However, the group may not necessarily be able to directly identify the user from the cookie. The purpose of a cookie is to
provide a reliable mechanism to remember user behaviour (e.g. remembering the contents of an online shopping cart), stateful information (i.e. information which enables the site to keep track of previous actions), and actions the user performed while browsing when not signed up or logged into their online account.
The group does not necessarily know the identity of the user of the device but does see the
behaviour recorded on the device. Multiple users of the same device would not necessarily
be distinguishable from one another. Cookies could, however, be used to identify the device
and, if the device is linked to a specific user, the user would also be identifiable. For
example, cookies collected from a device registered to an app will be linked to the user.
In this notice, the term cookie; can also mean similar tracking technologies that collect data
while a user uses GIFS Group websites or applications.
4. UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT COOKIES
First-party and third-party cookies refer to the website or domain using the cookie. Cookies
are set by the website that the user is visiting. All cookies are either session cookies or
persistent cookies.
First-party cookies
First-party cookies are directly stored by the website (or domain) visited by a user. These
cookies allow website owners to collect analytics and data, remember language settings or
perform other useful functions that provide a good user experience.
Third-party cookies
Third-party cookies are also set by the website visited but are sent when the user visits the
third-party site. Third-party cookies are created by domains separate/different from the
website (or domain) that the user is visiting.
These cookies are usually used for online advertising and cross-site tracking and are
accessible on any website that loads the third partys server code, e.g. when a user visits a
site and clicks a button, this could be stored in a cookie and, upon visiting the third- party site, the cookie will be used to action the request.
Another example is when a user browses online for a specific product, finds an advert of
interest, clicks on the advert and thereafter closes their browser. Several hours later, the
user will notice advertising for the same product that they were browsing for earlier
Sessional cookies sessional cookie lasts for the length of a users visit to a website or application. These cookies delete themselves when the user closes their browser or the application, and it can help with security. For example, it can assist in keeping a user logged in as they move around a website.
Persistent cookies
A persistent cookie stays on the users device when a user closes their browser or
application and serves a number of purposes. For example, it can remember certain
important information for websites where users have logged in or store their choices for
when they revisit a website
5. WHICH COOKIES CAN BE FOUND ON THE GROUP WEBSITES?
When a user visits a group website, the group may include any of the cookies listed in the
table below. The table explains what the cookies are used for and the time period for which
the cookie could remain valid. Where cookies are only valid for a single session, the cookie
will be erased when the user closes their browser. Where cookies persist, the cookie will be
stored by the users browser until deleted by the user.
Types of cookies are outlined in the table below.
- Origin
- Use
- Service
- Duration
- First-party cookies
- Browser/device identification
- Enable the group to identify the device/browser.
- Persist beyond a single session.
- Authentication
- Upon logging into a web server, a cookie will be returned that identifies that the user has
been successfully logged in. - Only valid for the single session.
- First- and third-party cookies
- Analytics
- To collect information about how visitors use group websites. This can provide the group with insight on website performance and metrics.
- Persist beyond a single session.
- Third-party cookies
- Marketing and other
- Used for tracking, online advertising and marketing purposes.
- Persist beyond a single session.
- Other terms relevant to cookie usage are outlined in the following table.
- Option
- Description
- HTTP only
- Makes the cookie secure by ensuring it is only sent over HTTP protocol. HTTP here only
refers to the protocol and communicates clear text as http or https over an encrypted
This prevents attackers from secretly extracting it. - Same-site cookie
- Makes the cookie secure by limiting the sites to which the cookie is allowed to be sent.
- Expiry
- Sets the duration a cookie will last before it expires.
- Secure
- Makes a cookie secure by ensuring it is only sent over a securely encrypted channel.
- Path
- Helps to protect a cookie by restricting the location where it is allowed to be sent.
6. WHEN WILL THE GROUP USE COOKIES?
The group will only process cookies which identify users for lawful purposes:
- if a user has consented thereto;
- if a person legally authorised by the user, the law or a court has consented thereto on the
user’s behalf; - if it is necessary to conclude or perform under a contract that the group has with the user;
- if the law requires or permits it;
- if it is required to protect or pursue the user’s, the group’s or a third party’s legitimate interest (e.g. for fraud prevention); or
- if the user is a child and a competent person (like a parent) would need to consent thereto
on the child’s behalf.
The group may use cookies for reasons including but not limited to:
- fraud, financial crime and other crime prevention, detection or reporting;
managing and improving security for the group and users (for example to prevent fraudulent
use of login details); - various analytical reasons, for example, how group websites are used so that improvements
can be made, for example when users click on an advert for a specific product or solution
the number of users interested in such product or solution can be noted; - tailoring the marketing and advertising users see on social media, applications and websites;
- determining which of the group’s products or solutions may be relevant to a user, for
example, to decide which Shariah solutions users may be interested in and to customise
marketing on various applications and websites, for example when a user clicks on an advert
for a current account on the FNB website and such a user interacts with the GIFS Group
page, the group will be able to identify that the user is interested in a current account and the
user will therefore be shown more current account advertisements; or - recognising users of group websites, or devices which return to group websites.
7. WHAT HAPPENS IF A USER DOES NOT WANT COOKIES?
All browsers allow users to refuse to accept cookies and to remove current cookies. The
methods for doing so vary between different browsers and versions. Users can block
cookies on group websites if desired. Blocking certain cookies may have a negative impact on the usability of group websites. For example, the group requires cookies to allow users to
log in. By removing first-party cookies, a users banking experience may be affected as they may be prevented from logging in to the online banking platform.
8. Cookie Consent/Cookie Preference
For the sake of convenience on certain sites (e.g. www.fnb.co.za) a user may self-manage
certain cookie preferences (permissions on how the group may use cookies), which means
users have the choice to disable first-party and third-party cookie collection.
Users should be aware that necessary cookies cannot be changed (if a cookie preference
option is available), as this is a prerequisite for security and functionality purposes.
Should the option be available, users can locate cookie preferences under the legal section
of the relevant website.
9. FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT COOKIES
Users’ browsers store cookies and group websites cannot access any data on a user’s
device.
As cookies are stored in text files, they cannot be used to distribute viruses to a device.
On a single device with multiple users the experience of group websites would be
customised based on the behaviour of all users using the device and not only an individual
user.
If users disable cookies, previous cookies collected will not be deleted, however, this will
prevent the creation of new cookies.
Expired cookies will be removed automatically.
A user may delete historically collected cookies via the browser.