Cluster Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Cluster Systems, with its registered address at 8585 Decarie Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec, H4P 2J4, doing business as Cluster ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you use our services, in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable provincial privacy laws, such as Quebec’s Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector (ARPPIPS). This Privacy Policy applies to any use of our services through the Cluster website (https://www.clusterpos.com) (the “Site”) or any mobile applications or platforms we make available to you (the “Services”).

PLEASE READ THIS POLICY CAREFULLY. By creating an account and clicking on ‘I agree’ or by accessing the Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to be legally bound by this Privacy Policy, and other policies incorporated herein by reference. 

‍

2. Definitions

• Personal Information: Information about an identifiable individual, including but not limited to name, address, financial information, and identification numbers. This is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person.
• Processing: Any operation performed on personal information, including collection, storage, use, and disclosure.
• Consent: Voluntary agreement to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information.

‍

3. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:Data collected includes:


• Identity Information: Name, date of birth, company name, Social Insurance Number (SIN), driver's license, or passport details.
• Contact Information: Email address, physical address, and phone number.
• Financial Information: Bank account details, credit card information, transaction history, and credit reports.
• Usage Data: IP addresses, browser type, access times, and device information.
• Transaction Information: Details of payments, transfers, account activities, and currency exchanges.

‍

4. How We Collect Your Information

When you visit our Site, or use our Services, sign up or set up an account with us or contact us, you may directly provide, and we may collect a variety of personal information about you. If you authorize us or third parties to do so, we may also collect information about you from other sources such as third-party service providers, our partners or affiliates, public databases, identity verification providers, merchants who use the Services, advertising networks, analytics providers, social media platforms.

We may also use third party providers to store your information safely. Third party providers may also help us review your use of the Services and accounts for fraud or other concerns.

We collect personal information through the following methods:

• Directly from you when you contact us, apply for a merchant account, purchase or rent payment equipment, complete a transaction, or engage with our Services in any way.
• Automatically through cookies and analytics tools when you visit our website or platform.
• From third-party sources, such as financial institutions, credit bureaus, and regulatory bodies.

‍

5. Purpose of Collection

We collect your personal information to:

• Provide and maintain our services.
• Contact you, send you messages.
• Verify your identity and prevent fraud.
• Advertise and market our Services to you.
• Process transactions and manage accounts.
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
• Improve our services and personalize your experience.

‍

6. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on:

• Consent: When you provide us with your information.
• Contractual Necessity: To deliver services you have requested.
• Legal Obligations: Compliance with laws and regulations.
• Legitimate Interests: Enhancing our services and ensuring security.

We process your data using computers or IT tools, in a manner consistent with organizational procedures, and strictly for the purpose your personal information was collected. In addition to the data owner, your personal information may be accessible, on a need to know basis, by different levels of persons working for or with us (such as, administration, sales, marketing, legal service, system administration). If you would like clarification as to the purpose of processing your personal information, please contact the Data Owner at the contact information below.

‍

7. Consent and Withdrawal

We require your consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at [Contact Information], but this may affect our ability to provide certain services.

‍

8. Sharing and Disclosure

There are situations where we may share your personal information with our third party service providers, our partners or affiliates and other parties as described in our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy. By entering into our Terms of Service and agreeing to this Privacy Policy, you are affirmatively opting into this sharing of your personal information. 

Our service providers and affiliates are required to handle personal information consistent with this Privacy Policy and according to our instructions. They cannot use your personal information shared by us for their own purposes and must delete or return shared personal information once they have completed our request.

We may also disclose personal information if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance where disclosure is necessary or appropriate. We may also disclose personal information where there is a lawful basis for doing so, if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our Terms of Service or to protect our operations or users, or in the event of a reorganization, merger, or sale of Cluster.

We may share your information with:

• Service Providers: For identity verification, payment processing, cloud storage, and IT services.
• Regulatory Authorities: To comply with legal obligations (e.g. Revenu Quebec, CRA).
• Business Partners: With your consent, if necessary for services.

‍

9. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect your personal information, taking into account the nature of your personal information, processing of this data and threats posed. We conduct periodic reviews of these safeguards and work to improve our safeguards to keep your information safe. 

We use reasonable measures designed to limit access to your personal information only to the persons, employees, or affiliates who have a need to access such information. 

However, as a business with an online electronic system, we cannot guarantee that there will be no loss, misuse, unauthorized access or acquisition, or alteration of your personal information. Notwithstanding our efforts, no security measure is perfect or impenetrable and no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security of the transmission or storage of your personal information. We cannot ensure the security or confidentiality of any information that you transmit or receive from us by internet or wireless connection, as we do not control the methods of transmission.  If you believe that any of your personal information has been compromised, please contact us immediately. 

It is important that you maintain the security and control of your account credentials and not share your password with anyone.

We will notify you if there is a breach of our security where required by law or deemed necessary.

‍

10. Data Retention and Record Keeping

We retain your personal information for as long as required for the purpose for which it was collected. Secure methods are used for data destruction when it is no longer needed.

The Data Owner may be allowed to retain personal information for longer periods than solely for the purpose it was collected, if you have given consent to such processing and as long as this consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the Data Owner may be required to retain personal information for a longer period whenever required for the performance of a legal obligation or by an order of an authority.

Once your personal information has been destroyed, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification, and the right to data portability cannot be exercised.

If you share your Personal Information with a third party, that information will be governed under the third party’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third party, including merchants who use the Services. We recommend reading and understanding how these external entities process and use your personal information. 

‍

11. Cross-Border Data Transfers

We are based in Quebec, Canada and have business relationships with third party suppliers in other locations. Your personal information may be transferred, stored or processed in or outside of the province of Quebec and Canada. Our operations are supported by a network of computers, servers, information technology, and other infrastructure that includes, but is not limited to third party service providers.  While we are based in Canada, we and our third party service providers may store and process your personal information in locations around the world, including but not limited to the United States and the European Union.  You consent to processing and transfer of information in and to the United States, and to other countries, where you may not have the same rights.

In connection with providing the Services, it may be necessary for us to transfer your personal information to third parties that are outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”).  If your personal information is subject to such transfer, we shall take reasonable measures, including appropriate physical, technical, and administrative practices to protect your information, and will have appropriate contractual protections in place with any third parties.  By using our Services, you consent to your personal information being transferred to other countries, even if those countries have different data protection rules than your country.

‍

12. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access your personal information.
• Request corrections to inaccurate information.
• Withdraw consent for certain uses of your information.
• Request for the retrieval and transfer of your personal information.
• Object to the processing of your personal information.
• Limit the processing of your personal information.
• Request deletion or erasure of your personal information.
• Lodge a complaint.

To view, change or update your personal information, you may log into your account to make such changes.

Where you have provided your consent to the collection, use, and transfer of your personal information, you may have the legal right to withdraw your consent under certain circumstances. Please note that if you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with a particular product or service. 

There may also be situations where we cannot grant your request, for example if you ask us to delete your personal information and we are legally obligated to keep a copy of it to comply with applicable law. We may also decline to grant a request where doing so would undermine our legitimate use of the personal information for anti-fraud or security purposes. Other reasons we may decline your request if it jeopardizes the privacy of others, is frivolous or would be extremely impractical. 

If you are unable to make said changes in your account or do not have an account with us, to request that your information be deleted, to withdraw consent for use of your personal information, or for other changes, you may email us at [INSERT EMAIL]. We may be required to verify your identity before proceeding with a request and will explain the impact on your use of the Services at the time of the request to help you with your decision.

To exercise any of your rights with relation to the processing of your personal information, please contact the Data Owner or Privacy Officer at the contact information below.

‍

13. Automated Decision-Making

If we use automated decision-making, you have the right to request human intervention or challenge the decision.

‍

14. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small data files that are stored in your device memory or on your hard drive when you visit a website. We may use cookies or other automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns to enhance user experience.  Cookies may be used as a mechanism to recognize you, record behavior, and/or customize your experience with the Site and Services. They can also be used to monitor Site activity, mitigate risk, measure the effectiveness of promotions and prevent potential fraud. If you choose to disable cookies, your use of the Site or Services may be limited or otherwise limited or unavailable. 

‍

15. SMS Communications

We may collect your phone number to send you SMS messages related to account activity, security authentication (e.g., two-factor login codes), our point of sale products, software, peripherals or marketing communications. You will only receive marketing messages if you have provided express consent. You may unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP. Frequency of SMS messages may vary and you may receive 0-1 messages per week relating to account notifications and customer care. For all SMS communications standard message and data rates may apply. By default, messages are sent in French in accordance with Quebec law, unless you have opted to receive communications in English.

By opting in to receive SMS messages from Cluster Systems, you agree to receive messages related to account notifications and customer care. An example of such a message could be:“Thank you for reaching out to Cluster Systems. Per your request for an appointment, please provide a suitable time for us to contact you and discuss our options in more detail. Thank you. To discontinue receiving messages, please reply STOP to opt-out.”

Your phone number will not be shared, sold or rented to third parties for marketing or any other purpose. We reserve the right to share your phone number with third parties or affiliates as required by law or as necessary to fulfill the purpose of sending SMS communications.

‍

16. Privacy of Minor Children

We do not knowingly request or collect personal information from any person under the age of 18 or the legal age of the province in which you reside, or where the Services may be used (a “Minor”).  Use of the Services by a Minor is expressly prohibited by our Terms of Service.  If we learn that we have inadvertently collected the personal information of a Minor, we shall immediately take steps to delete the information as soon as possible.

‍

17. Communication Preferences

You may manage your receipt of marketing and communication emails from us by clicking the unsubscribe link located at the bottom of our marketing emails. You may also specify your communication preferences in your account. You may not opt out of receiving emails or notifications for certain elements of the Services, including those that are essential to the Services.  

‍

18. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on our website with the "Last Updated" date. We strongly recommend that you frequently review the Privacy Policy to ensure that you understand it, and how it applies to your access to and use of the Services. All updates to the Privacy Policy take effect from the last update date listed above, unless otherwise indicated in the Privacy Policy. By continuing to use or access the Services you confirm your agreement to the modified Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree, your sole remedy is to discontinue use of the Services and close your account.

‍

19. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy or your personal information, please contact us at:

Privacy Officer
‍Lucas Atem
[PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS]
[PHONE NUMBER]

Data Owner and Controller
‍Cluster Systems
8585 Boulevard Decarie
Montreal, Quebec
H4P 2J4
info@clusterpos.com

‍

20. Complaints

If you are not satisfied with our handling of your personal information, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) at 1-800-282-1376 or contact the Commission d'acces a l'information du Québec (CAI).

‍