This Privacy Policy has been updated effective March 1, 2023
Borrower Privacy Policy
This privacy policy (this “Privacy Policy”) governs the collection, storage, and use of information and data collected by Equity Box, LLC. or any of our U.S. affiliates (collectively, “Equity Box,” “we”, “us”, or “our”), via our website at www.smallbyzloans.com and its subdomains, by our mobile application, or by telephone, facsimile, email, or other means (collectively, and together with our website, “smallbyzloans.com”).
We have prepared this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use, protect, and disclose information and data when you use our website or any other Equity Box Services.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By accessing and using this website or any other Equity Box Services, you confirm that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy in its entirety. You understand and acknowledge that we reserve the right to change or amend this Privacy Policy at any time, which will be reflected by the “effective” date above. Please check this webpage regularly to stay informed of updates to this Privacy Policy. If any material changes are made to this Privacy Policy, advance notice of the changes will be posted in the first section of this webpage as required by applicable law. You understand that you will be deemed to have accepted the updated Privacy Policy if you continue to use the Services after the new Privacy Policy takes effect.
Please also visit our Terms of Use which establish the rules, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing your use of our website.
- What information do we collect from you?
- Information provided by you directly or by your agent
Equity Box collects information when you use Equity Box Services and supplied by you or your designated agent during the application process, including but not limited to, the following information (as applicable):
| Borrowers |
| Individual and business names |
| Mailing address |
| Business address |
| Phone and e-mail details, including passwords |
| Bank account information |
| Date of birth |
| Social security number, drivers’ license, or other government IDs |
| Income, assets, debt, and other personal and business data |
| Other information provided in correspondence with us, including by email, post facsimile, and telephone |
- Cookies and tracking technologies
When you use Equity Box, we and our third-party service providers may utilize cookies and other similar technologies (such as web beacons or pixel tags) to capture and remember certain information (collectively, “Technologies”). These Technologies help us to improve your website experience, provide you with better tools, and operate our business in other ways described under the heading “Why do we collect this information” below. You have the ability to disable cookies in your browser settings; however, doing so may affect the functionality of certain features of our website.
Analytics. We may also use Google Analytics and other service providers to collect information regarding visitor behavior and visitor demographics on our Services, to provide tailored advertising, and to evaluate our marketing efforts. For more information about Google Analytics, please visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You can opt out of Google’s collection and processing of data generated by your use of the Services by going to http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. We do not process “do not track” (DNT) signals. For more information on our use of cookies, including instructions on how to opt out, please email us [email protected]
You may stop or restrict the placement of tracking technologies on your device or remove them by adjusting your preferences as your browser or device permits. The online advertising industry also provides websites from which you may opt out of receiving targeted ads from data partners and other advertising partners that participate in self-regulatory programs. You can access these and learn more about targeted advertising and consumer choice and privacy, at www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp, http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/, https://youradchoices.ca/choices/, and www.aboutads.info/choices/. To separately make choices for mobile apps on a mobile device, you can download DAA’s AppChoices application from your device’s app store. Alternatively, for some devices you may use your device’s platform controls in your settings menu to exercise this choice.
Please note you must separately opt out in each browser and on each device. Advertisements on third party websites that contain the AdChoices link may have been directed to you based on information collected by advertising partners over time and across websites. These advertisements provide a mechanism to opt out of the advertising partners’ use of this information for interest-based advertising purposes.
- Device specific information and tracking technologies
When you use Equity Box Services, we and our third-party service providers may collect device specific information. This information, including but not limited to your internet protocol address, geographical location, browser type, operating system, MAC address, mobile carrier, mobile advertising and other unique identifiers, details about your browser, operating system or device, length of visit, and pages viewed, is saved automatically in log files. We use the information in these files to improve the functionality of our services and in other ways described under the heading “Why do we collect this information” below.
- Information obtained from third parties
Information from Other Sources. We may obtain information about you from other sources, including through third party services and organizations to supplement information provided by you. For example, if you access our Services through a third-party application, such as an app store, a third-party login service, or a social networking site, we may collect information about you from that third-party application that you have made public via your privacy settings. Information we collect through these services may include your name, your user identification number, your user name, location, gender, birth date, email, profile picture, and your contacts stored in that service. This supplemental information allows us to verify information that you have provided to us and to enhance our ability to provide you with information about our business, products, and Services.
Information from financial partners to process your loan. In addition to collecting personal information supplied by you or your designated agent, we use unaffiliated third parties to gather data on borrowers and prospective borrowers, from financial institutions, consumer reporting agencies, and other information service providers for purposes described under the heading “Why do we collect this information” below. This information includes the categories of information described above, and also includes:
- Government IDs
- Criminal records
- Household records
- Employment information, such as visa permit number
By using Equity Box Services and applying for a loan, you acknowledge that our unaffiliated, third-party providers will have the right, power, and authority to act on your behalf to access and transmit your personal and financial information from the relevant financial institution or consumer reporting agency, according to the terms of such third-party provider’s privacy policy.
- Why do we collect this information?
Equity Box may use information we collect about you to:
- determine your eligibility for a loan;
- obtain, upon your authorization, a credit report, references, and other information from credit bureaus or other third parties in connection with your loan application;
- verify your identity;
- detect and guard against potential fraud and identity theft;
- manage and monitor your Equity Box account and update your records;
- create a marketplace loan listing on the Equity Box website, which includes a Equity Box credit grade that is based on your credit history and financial circumstances;
- process your payments and other transactions;
- develop, maintain and improve our website, products, and services;
- detect security incidents and protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity;
- improve customer acquisition through the use of advertising campaigns and other means, such as targeted marketing;
- enforce our agreements;
- carry out statistical analysis and market research and testing;
- comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, and carry out regulatory checks;
- make our website available to you and identify products and services you may be interested in; and/or
- send or facilitate communications with you.
Important Information About Procedures for Opening a New Account
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.
What this means for you:
When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver’s license or other identifying documents.
- How and when is your information shared with other parties?
We do not “sell” your personal information as the term is defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), nor have we sold personal information in the preceding 12 months. Your information, as collected by or provided to us, may be shared by us (currently and in the preceding 12 months) with the following categories of third parties:
| Category | Examples | Category of Third Parties Information is Disclosed to |
| Identifiers | A real name, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers. |
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| Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)) | A name, signature, Social Security number, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, bank account information, |
|
| Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law | Age (40 years or older). |
|
| Commercial information | Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies. |
|
| Internet or other electronic network activity | Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with an internet website, application, or advertisement. |
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| Professional or employment-related information | Current or past job history or performance evaluations. |
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| Inferences drawn from other personal information to create a profile about a consumer | Profile reflecting a consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes. |
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For more information on this sharing, see below:
- Sharing with Investors. We share information about your business and financial situation (as described in more detail in Section 4 below) in order to operate our marketplace lending platform, including:
- To make available a loan listing to prospective investors.
- To make available additional loan and/or borrower information to investors who invest in a loan.
- To otherwise make information available to prospective investors who are contractually required to implement safeguards to protect and maintain the confidentiality of the information we share.
- Sharing with Service Providers. In order to provide, operate, and improve Equity Box Services for accredited investors, we may share your information with service providers who assist us in operating our website, providing market research and marketing our products and services, or servicing our loans, so long as the service provider contractually agrees to only use the data on our behalf.
- Service providers may also include your representative(s), to the extent such a representative assists or assisted with the investor eligibility process. Information shared with your representative may include, among others, information about your loan performance.
- Sharing with Loan partners. In order to enable Equity Box to carry out our services and conduct our businesses, such as marketing, lending, loan servicing, and collections activities, including, but not limited to:
- With credit bureaus, consumer reporting agencies, financial institutions, collections agencies, and fraud prevention agencies in order to, among other things, perform various checks, locate borrowers, or recover debts.
- With business credit bureaus to report loan performance.
- Sharing with Advertising partners. We may allow third-party advertising partners to set cookies and other tracking tools described in “Cookies and tracking technologies” above to collect information regarding your activities and your device (e.g., your IP address, mobile identifiers, page(s) visited, location, time of day). These advertising partners may use this information (and similar information collected from other websites) for purposes of delivering targeted advertisements to you when you visit third-party websites within their networks. This practice is commonly referred to as “interest-based advertising” or “online behavioral advertising. We may allow access to other data collected by the Services to share information that may be useful, relevant, valuable or otherwise of interest to you. If you prefer not to share your personal information with third party advertising partners, you may follow the instructions in “Cookies and tracking technologies” above to opt out, or email us at: [email protected]
In addition to the sharing outlined above, we may share any information we maintain about you with the following parties:
- With our company affiliates in the US and UK;
- With any third party who acquires some or all of our business and/or assets in connection with an acquisition or merger, as permitted under applicable law;
- When required by applicable law, including, but not limited to:
- With law enforcement or other government bodies, such as to comply with subpoenas, bankruptcy proceedings, or similar legal processes or for the purposes of limiting fraud.
- When we believe in good faith that sharing such information is necessary to enforce our site policies or any loan agreement, protect our or other’s rights, property, or safety, and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process.; and
- With other third parties in de-identified or aggregated form, for marketing, advertising, research, or other business purposes.
- We may continue to process your information as described in this Privacy Policy after your use of Equity Box Services has ended, for example to protect our rights as described above. For example, if you opt in to the “Equity Box Marketplace” program, we will share your name, email address, phone number, loan request information (including but not limited to loan amount requested and use of proceeds), and business information (including but not limited to company name and the number of years in business) with unaffiliated third parties who are in the business of arranging or providing financing. We may receive financial compensation from these third parties in connection with the sharing of this information.
International Data Transfers. You agree that all information processed by us may be transferred, processed, and stored anywhere in the world, including but not limited to, the United States or other countries, which may have data protection laws that are different from the laws where you live. We have taken appropriate safeguards to require that your personal information will remain protected and require our third-party service providers and partners to have appropriate safeguards as well. Further details can be provided upon request.
- What will be displayed when a borrower’s loan lists on the Equity Box website?
When a loan is approved, we will make available certain information about the loan and the borrower to prospective investors of future receivables. This information may include business information, business Financials, loan terms, and other loan information, as shown below.
| Business Information | Loan Information |
| Business Name | Business Bankruptcy |
| “Friendly” Listing Name | Date of Business Bankruptcy |
| Years of Operation | Debt Coverage Ratio |
| Industry | Asset Coverage Ratio |
| NAICS Code | Number of Guarantors |
| Business Location–City & State | Credit Score of Guarantor |
| Business activity | Part of Franchise Network |
| State of Incorporation | Prior Loan(s) |
| Number of Employees | Amortization Table |
| Business Financials | Loan Terms |
| Income Statement | Loan Principal Amount |
| Balance Sheet | Interest Rate |
| Term |
- Storage and security
While we take appropriate physical, technical and organizational measures to safeguard the personal information that you provide to us, unfortunately no system is 100% secure. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we accept no liability if communications are unintentionally disclosed, intercepted by third parties, incorrectly delivered, or fail to deliver.
The personally identifiable information that you provide and that we collect will be stored and maintained by Equity Box for so long as we, in our sole discretion, believe is necessary or appropriate (a) to carry out the purpose(s) for which such information was collected, in accordance with this Investor Privacy Policy, or (b) to comply with applicable laws, contracts or other rules or regulations.
- Your rights
In accordance with applicable law, you may have the right, subject to verification of your identity:
- To update and correct any out-of-date or incorrect personal information that we hold about you free of charge; and
- To opt out of any marketing communications that we or any service provider to whom we have disclosed your personal information may send you.
- To request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law.
- To request restriction of or object to processing of your personal information, including the right to opt in or opt out of the sale of your Personal Data to third parties, if applicable, where such requests are permitted by law.
If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please contact us using the details specified under the heading “Contacting us” below. Note that we will require you to take steps to verify your identity before you may exercise the rights listed above, such as by requesting you provide us with your account information, or asking you to answer questions regarding your activities on our Services. Once you have verified your identity, you may also designate an authorized agent to exercise your rights on your behalf by providing the agent’s contact information to out customer support staff, as required by applicable law.
You may have a right not to receive discriminatory treatment as a result of your exercise of these rights.
Please note that the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. For more information, visit: https://www.ftc.gov.
- Links to other sites
Our websites may offer links to sites of other companies and associations. While we monitor the quality of content provided on these sites, these external sites are not subject to this Investor Privacy Policy and we have no control over their content. Please carefully review the policies of these sites before providing any personal information
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
We comply with the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of the 13, nor do we have actual knowledge of any sale of personal information of minors under 16 years of age, as the term “sale” is defined under the CCPA. Our websites, products, and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years of age or older.
If you learn that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, you may contact us as set forth below. If we learn that we have collected any personal information in violation of applicable law, we will promptly take steps to delete such information and terminate the child’s account.
- Supervisory authority
If you are located in the European Economic Area or the UK, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe our processing of your personal information violates applicable law.
- Contacting us
If you have any questions regarding this Investor Privacy Policy, you may contact us using the information below.
Address:
Equity Box, LLC.
Attn: Data Protection Officer
8 The Green STE R, Dover DE 19901
USA
Telephone: 888-572-6737 (Mon – Fri, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm EST)
Email: [email protected]
- Third Party Monitoring
This site is being monitored by one or more third-party monitoring software (s), and may capture information about your visit that will help us improve the quality of our service. You may opt-out from the data that https://dashboard-datatracker.com is collecting on your visit through a universal consumer options page located at https://dashboard-datatracker.com/Unsub/unsub.html