Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how The Finance Block (“the Company”) collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable laws of South Africa.
1. Company Information
Website address: https://thefinanceblock.co.za
Company: The Finance Block
Information Officer: Jannie Griesel
Email address: info@thefinanceblock.co.za
2. Definitions
“Policy” means this Website Privacy Policy.
“Company” refers to The Finance Block.
“Information Officer” refers to the individual named in Clause 1.
“POPIA” means the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
“Personal Information” means all information relating to an identifiable natural or juristic person as defined in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA), the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), and POPIA.
“User”, “you”, or “your” refers to any person who uses this Website.
3. Commitment to Your Privacy
The Company respects and protects your privacy and is committed to lawful processing of personal information.
This Policy forms part of the Website’s terms and conditions and applies to all personal data collected through the Website.
The Company collects, uses, and retains personal information only for legitimate business purposes and with consent where required by law.
4. What Personal Information We Collect and Why
The Company may collect personal information during ordinary business operations and through its Website, including:
- Name, contact details, and email address when users contact us, complete forms, or make a booking;
- Appointment details selected when a user schedules a meeting;
- IP address and browser information where required for website security, spam prevention, and analytics.
Website Forms (Forminator)
When visitors submit a form, we collect personal information such as name, email address, and IP address. This data is used only to respond to inquiries, provide requested services, and prevent spam. Form submissions are stored securely and retained for 30 days unless a longer period is required for business or legal reasons.
Google reCAPTCHA
We use Google reCAPTCHA to protect our Website from spam and automated abuse. reCAPTCHA collects hardware and software information, such as device and application data, and sends it to Google for analysis. Use of reCAPTCHA is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
The Finance Block Booking and Google Calendar
The Finance Block Booking allows users to view available appointment times and schedule meetings with The Finance Block. The booking service integrates with Google Calendar to provide this functionality.
A designated The Finance Block Google account authorises the booking application through Google OAuth. The application accesses only the Google Calendar information required to provide the booking service, including calendar information needed to identify the authorised calendar and free/busy availability needed to determine available appointment times.
When a booking is confirmed, the information supplied by the person making the booking, including information required to arrange the appointment, may be transmitted to Google Calendar to create a private calendar event, invite the attendee, and create Google Meet conferencing details for the meeting.
The Google Calendar information accessed through the Google APIs is used only to provide and operate the booking functionality. It is not used for advertising, personalised advertising, profiling, sale to third parties, determining creditworthiness, or training artificial intelligence or machine-learning models.
The Finance Block Booking’s use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy , including the Limited Use requirements.
Booking functionality does not depend on a visitor granting analytics or marketing consent.
Purpose of Processing: Personal information is collected for communication, service delivery, appointment scheduling, marketing (with consent), security, legal compliance, and website improvement.
5. Obtaining Consent
The Company does not collect, store, or disclose personal information without consent, except where permitted or required by law. Users provide consent by voluntarily submitting their information through the Website or other communication channels.
6. Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
The Company processes personal information in accordance with South African legislation and only for lawful purposes. Where information is stored or processed outside South Africa, including through approved cloud services such as Google, appropriate safeguards are applied in accordance with applicable law.
Information submitted when making a booking is disclosed to Google only to the extent necessary to provide the requested booking functionality, including checking availability, creating the private calendar appointment, inviting the attendee, and providing Google Meet conferencing details.
Google user data obtained through Google APIs is not sold, transferred, or used for advertising, profiling, or other unrelated commercial purposes. Access to Google Calendar data is limited to providing and maintaining the user-facing booking functionality described in this Policy.
7. Retention of Personal Information
Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law.
Form data collected via Forminator is retained for 30 days, after which it is securely deleted unless longer retention is required for administrative, legal, or security reasons.
Booking and Google Calendar Data
The Finance Block Booking does not intentionally retain customer booking details in the Website’s WordPress database, ordinary application logs, browser storage, cookies, URLs, or analytics data layer.
Information required to fulfil a confirmed booking is transferred to the authorised Google Calendar and is retained there as part of the private calendar appointment. Calendar appointments are managed and retained within the authorised The Finance Block Google account in accordance with the Company’s operational requirements and Google’s applicable policies.
Google OAuth connection credentials required to maintain the authorised Calendar connection are stored securely in encrypted form and are used only to maintain the authorised Google Calendar integration.
8. Your Rights
- Confirm whether the Company holds your personal information;
- Access, correct, or delete personal data;
- Object to processing; and
- Lodge complaints with the Information Regulator (inforeg@justice.gov.za).
Requests must include proof of identity and may be subject to a prescribed fee as per POPIA.
9. Security
The Company uses industry-standard technical and organisational security measures; firewalls, encryption, password controls, and antivirus protection, to safeguard personal data.
All employees and suppliers handling personal information are bound by confidentiality and security obligations.
10. Cookies and Caching
The Website uses cookies to enhance user experience and analyse traffic. Session cookies may track pages visited and expire after your session ends.
Caching: This site utilizes caching to facilitate faster response times and improved performance. Caching may temporarily store duplicate copies of web pages; cached files are never shared with third parties except where necessary for technical support. Cache files expire automatically or may be manually purged. We may use QUIC.cloud services to process and cache data temporarily. Please see https://quic.cloud/privacy-policy/ for more details.
11. Third-Party Services
The Website may integrate with or link to third-party services. Only relevant services are active at any time.
- Google Calendar and Google Meet (for appointment availability, scheduling, invitations, and online meeting details): Google Privacy Policy
- Google API Services: Google API Services User Data Policy
- Google reCAPTCHA (for spam protection): Google Privacy Policy
- QUIC.cloud (for caching and CDN services): Privacy Policy
The Company uses third-party services only where necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Users should review the applicable provider’s privacy terms for further information about how those providers process data.
12. Direct Marketing
If you are a client or subscriber, the Company may send information about products or services that may interest you. You can opt out at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in any message.
13. Updating of Privacy Policy
This Policy may be updated or amended from time to time without notice. Users are encouraged to review it periodically. The latest version will supersede all previous versions.
14. Contact Information
For questions or complaints about this Policy or how we handle personal information, contact:
Email: info@thefinanceblock.co.za
You may also contact the Information Regulator of South Africa at
inforeg@justice.gov.za.