Privacy statement

​Last updated: 21 May 2018

Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs) understands the importance of protecting your personal information. Personal information is information that can identify you e.g. your email address. Bacs owns and operates the sort code information website.

This privacy policy sets out how and why we collect and use your personal information and your rights in relation to your personal information, when you interact with us via the sort code information website only.

If you need any further details, have a query or complaint about our use of your personal information please contact our Data Protection Officer:

  • by email at privacyaware@bacs.co.uk or
  • by post at 2 Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YN.

We review our privacy policy regularly. Where the policy has been updated this will be clearly identified by reference to the date of the policy above.
If you complete any of our online forms, the personal information you submit is stored on our servers located in the UK.

Where we provide links to a third party websites, Bacs accepts no liability for the privacy practices or content of these websites.

  • How we obtain and collect your personal information
    Visiting our website

    When you visit our website, we place cookies on your device (e.g. computer hard drive, mobile phone) which collect unique identifiers relating to your device automatically. We do this so that we can improve our website’s functionality and performance. For example, enabling the site to load quickly, remembering you have been shown one off messages etc.

    Our cookie policy has more detail.

    Contacting us

    Any individual can contact Bacs about the sort code information website by using our contact us form. If you wish to get in touch with us in this way, we ask you to provide as a minimum, your name, email address and information about your enquiry so that we can help you.
  • Who do we share your personal information with?

    ​In relation to the performance and operation of our website we share your personal information with the following third party service suppliers who support the delivery of this service in accordance with the contractual arrangements we have in place with them:

    • Website hosting supplier
    • Website development and maintenance agency
    • Consultants who provide website management support.

    Where you contact us with a query which relates to a payment scheme other than Bacs, we may share your personal information with that payment scheme for whom we operate the sort code information website.

    Where required by law or competent authority we may also share your personal information with regulators, courts, government departments and law enforcement agencies. We will inform you before we share your personal information unless we are legally prevented from doing so.

    Bacs does not, nor do any of the third party service suppliers with whom your personal information is shared by us, transfer any of your personal information outside the European Economic Area.

  • How long do we keep your personal information for?

    Your personal information is kept in accordance with our data retention policy which categorises personal data and applies retention periods according to use. Retention periods are determined by reference to applicable data protection laws and the purpose for which the personal information was collected and is used. Legal and regulatory retention requirements, contractual obligations and limitation periods are also part of the retention period determination process.

  • How we protect your personal information

    Bacs understands the importance of ensuring its systems are secure from unauthorised access, use or disclosure so that emails and forms that contain your personal information are safe. It has internal policies, procedures and controls in place to ensure this.

  • Your rights

    The law entitles you:

    • To receive a copy of any of your personal information which we have collected
    • To request that we correct and / or complete personal information we have collected
    • To request that we permanently delete, stop using or storing any of your and / or restrict our use of your personal information when we no longer need it for the purpose you provided it to us
    • To object to the processing of your personal information by us unless we can demonstrate that we need to continue processing it
    • In some circumstances to request that we transfer your personal information to a third party.

​If you would like to exercise any of these choices, please get in touch via our Data Protection Officer or use the contact us form on our website. Where we have shared your personal information with other companies, we will let them know if you exercise any of these choices.

If you believe that we have not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at www.ico.org.uk or by telephone on 0303 123 1113.