Privacy Policy

Last modified: September 18, 2023

The Clearing House (“TCH,” “we,” or “us”) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this Privacy Policy (the “Policy”). This Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you when you visit the website https://www.theclearinghouse.org or https://www.ecchoonline.org (collectively, the “Site”); in email, text messages, or any other electronic communications between you and TCH (collectively, the “Services”) and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

By accessing or using this Site, you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by the terms of, this Policy and the Terms and Conditions. TCH reserves the right to change this Policy from time to time by updating this page, so please periodically review this page. If you do not agree or are not comfortable with any part of this Policy, your remedy is to discontinue your use of this Site.

Please note that if you are a TCH customer, additional privacy notices may apply to you as a customer of a particular TCH business, and this Policy does not replace any other privacy notice that may be applicable to Personal Information collected or used by TCH through that customer relationship with us.

If you are a California resident, the California Privacy Rights Act may give you certain privacy rights related to your Personal Information, which are in addition to any rights set forth in this Policy. Please read the California Supplemental Provision below for additional information.

CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18

We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18 unless we first obtain permission from that child’s parent or legal guardian.

Our Site is not intended for children under 18 years of age. No one under age 18 may provide any Personal Information on the Site. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 18. If you are under 18, do not use or provide any information on this Site. If we learn we have collected or received Personal Information from a child under 18 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 18, please contact us.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU AND HOW WE COLLECT IT

We collect Personal Information that you voluntarily provide to us when you use the Services. We collect two types of information: Personal Information and Other Information.

"Personal Information" is sometimes also referred to as personal data, personally identifiable information or other like terms to mean any information that directly or indirectly identifies you or is reasonably capable of being associated with you or your household.

"Other Information" is information that does not and cannot reveal an individual's specific identity, such as information that has been de-identified or aggregated.

We collect and use certain Personal Information to operate and provide you with access to the Services. This includes Personal Information that you provide to us and Personal Information that we collect automatically when you visit or interact with the Services.

Types of Personal Information. We may collect the following types of Personal Information (defined below) from and about users of our Services, including:

Contact Information. Your name, email address, physical address, phone number, or other contact information;
Account Information. Your login and related account details, including email address, registrations, account status and age;
Device Information. Data from which your device could be identified, such as device serial number, or about your device, such as browser type;
Payment Information. Data about your billing address and method of payment, such as bank details, credit, debit, or other payment card information;
Transaction Information. Data about purchases, services or transactions facilitated by TCH, including bank routing and transit numbers;
Usage Data. Data about your activity on the Site, the use of our Services, including browsing history; search history; product interaction; crash data, performance and other diagnostic data; and other usage data;
Location Information. Precise location only to support us in providing the Site;
Other Information You Provide to Us. Details such as the content of your communications with TCH, including interactions with customer support and contacts through social media channels. We may also collect information you provide to us when registering for events and conferences.

We primarily collect this Personal Information either directly from you when you provide it to us or automatically as you navigate through the Site. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, or other tracking technologies. We may also collect information about you from third parties, including but not limited to our business partners.

AUTOMATIC COLLECTION TECHNOLOGY

As you navigate through and interact with our Site, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

Details of your visits to our Site, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Site.
Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, the URLs of sites from which you arrive or leave the Services, your type of browser, and your internet provider.

TCH does not track its customers over time and across third-party Sites to provide targeted advertising and therefore does not respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals or other mechanisms that provide you the ability to opt-out of having your Personal Information and/or online activities collected and/or tracked by third parties. Thus, third parties may collect and/or track your Personal Information and/or online activities over time and across different websites when you use this Site.

Automatic Data Collection Technologies. The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:

Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Site.

Locally Stored Objects. Certain features of our Site may use locally stored objects to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on our Site. Locally stored objects may or may not be managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies. For information about managing your privacy and security settings for locally stored objects, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.

Web Beacons. Pages of the Site and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit TCH, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related Site statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain Site content and verifying system and server integrity).

THIRD-PARTY USE OF COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

We may allow others to provide analytics services and serve advertisements on our behalf across the web and in mobile apps. These entities may use cookies, web beacons, device identifiers, and other technologies to collect information about your use of our Services and other Sites and applications, including your IP address, web browser, mobile network information, pages viewed, time spent on pages or in mobile apps, links clicked, and conversion information. This information may be used by us and others to, among other things, analyze and track data, determine the popularity of certain content, deliver advertising and content targeted to your interests on our Services and other websites, and better understand your online activity. For more information about interest-based ads, or to opt out of having your web browsing information used for behavioral advertising purposes, please visit www.aboutads.info/choices. Your device may also include a feature ("Limit Ad Tracking" on iOS or "Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads" or "Opt Out of Ads Personalization" on Android) that allows you to opt out of having certain information collected through mobile apps used for behavioral advertising purposes.

We use Google Analytics, to analyze the use of and improve the functionality of our Site. By way of example, Google Analytics gathers information about the Site use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our Site is used to create reports about the use of our Site for marketing and improvement purposes.

We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly. For information about how you can opt-out of receiving targeted advertising from many providers, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We will only use your Personal Information when the law allows us to do so and to provide you the Services you request. Most commonly we may use your Personal Information in the following circumstances:

Send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages (such as changes to our terms, conditions, and policies) and to respond to your comments, questions, and customer service requests;
Communicate with you about products, services, and events offered by TCH and others, and provide news and information we think will be of interest to you (see “Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information” below about how to opt out of these communications at any time);
Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Services;
Develop new products and services and enhance current products and Services;
Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities, and protect the rights and property of TCH and others;
Carry out any other purpose described to you at the time the information was collected;
Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation;
To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection;
Internal recordkeeping, reporting, and data analysis; and
Communicating with you.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

Personal Information. We may disclose Personal Information that we collect, or you provide as described in this Policy:

To our subsidiaries and affiliates;
To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep Personal Information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them;
To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of TCH’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by TCH about our Site users is among the assets transferred;
To cooperate with public and government authorities and law enforcement, and to respond to their requests, or to provide them with information as required;
For other legal reasons, such as to monitor compliance with and enforce our terms and conditions, to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you or others, to protect against fraud, crime, illegal activity, anti-money laundering, or anti-terrorism, and for risk management purposes;
To third parties (such as event and conference sponsors) to market their products or services to you if you have not opted out of these disclosures. We contractually require these third parties to keep Personal Information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.
To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it;
For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.

We may also disclose aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you to help deliver products, services, and content that are tailored to the users of our Services and for other purposes.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

The Services may contain links to other websites. Please note that TCH is not responsible for the privacy or information security practices of other websites. You should carefully review the applicable privacy and information security policies and notices for any other websites you click through to via the Services.

CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Please note however that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal. We strive to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information.

Correcting, updating, and deleting your account;
Choosing or changing your choices for subscriptions, newsletters, and alerts;
Choosing whether to receive from us offers and promotions for our products and services, or products and services that we think may be of interest to you;
Choosing whether we share your Personal Information with other companies so they can send you offers and promotions about their products and services;
Controlling targeted advertising from many ad networks and partners; data exchanges; and marketing analytics and digital advertising and marketing service providers (by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance);
Choosing to control targeted advertising you receive within applications by using the settings and choices made available to you through your device(s), for example, by re-setting your device’s advertising identifier and/or opting out of interest based ads;
Requesting removal of your Personal Information from a public forum on one of our Sites or; and
Requesting access to the Personal Information we hold about you and that we amend or delete it.

You can opt-out by by sending us an email stating your request to TCH.Legal.Notices@theclearinghouse.org

EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to know, access, delete or demand that we do not sell or share Personal Information we collect. However, we are required to verify such request before we can honor the request. Also, please note that we do not sell your Personal Information.

To exercise your rights to know, access or delete described above, please submit a request by either:

US mail at:

The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C.
Attention: Legal Department
1114 Avenue of the Americas; 17th Floor
New York, New York 10036

Emailing us at: TCH.Legal.Notices@theclearinghouse.org

Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a request to know or delete related to your Personal Information. You may only submit a request to know twice within a 12-month period. Your request to know or delete must provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected Personal Information or an authorized representative. Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with Personal Information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the Personal Information relates to you.

You do not need to create an account with us to submit a request to know or delete. However, we do consider requests made through your password protected account sufficiently verified when the request relates to Personal Information associated with that specific account.

We will only use Personal Information provided in the request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make it.

Response Timing and Format

We will confirm receipt of your request within ten (10) business days. If you do not receive confirmation within the 10-day timeframe, please contact us at the email address or phone number provided below. We endeavor to substantively respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to another 45 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.

If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option.

Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding our receipt of your request. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your Personal Information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.

We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights. We will not:

Charge you different prices or rates for services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties;
Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.

SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISION APPLICABLE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

This California Supplemental Provision (the "Supplement") supplements the information contained in the above Policy and applies solely to residents of California who have rights under the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA") ("consumers" or "you"). Unless otherwise defined in the Policy, any terms defined in this Supplement have the meaning used in the CPRA.

We do not collect other forms of Personal Information called "sensitive" Personal Information, which are subject to additional protections under applicable data privacy laws. Because we do not collect "sensitive" Personal Information, we do not need to provide a Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information right under the CPRA. Further, we do not sell your Personal Information for monetary consideration.

Summary of Personal Information Handling Practices

We provide in the chart below a summary of our prior 12-month Personal Information handling practices. We do not sell your Personal Information to third parties for monetary consideration. However, we may share your Personal Information with third parties for advertising purposes. We do not have actual knowledge of any collection, use, sale, or sharing of Personal Information of consumers under 16 years of age.

Categories of Personal Information	Purpose of Processing	Recipients of Personal Information
Identifiers, such as first name and last name, Internet Protocol address, email address, or other similar identifiers.	To fulfill your requests and request your feedback; To recognize you, your device or your browser when you use the Sites/services so that we can facilitate navigation, display information more effectively, store your preferences and otherwise personalize your experience and enhance the use of the Sites/Services; To manage our business, such as for data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, information security, ensuring that the Sites/services function properly and otherwise administering and improving them, developing new products and services, identifying usage trends, and expanding our business activities; To review statistical information about use of the Sites/services in order to improve their design and functionality, to understand how they are used, and to assist us with resolving questions about the Site/Services; and To fulfill our compliance or legal obligations or as otherwise permitted by applicable laws.	Sold We have not sold your identifiers to third parties for monetary consideration. Shared We may have shared your identifiers with third party cookie and tracker providers for targeted advertising purposes. Service Providers We have disclosed your identifiers to our affiliates and to other parties that provide services to us or act on our behalf in connection with the operation of our business. See the How Personal Information is Disclosed section in the Privacy Policy for more details.
Internet or other electronic network activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with an internet Site application, or advertisement.	To recognize you, your device or your browser when you use the Sites/services so that we can facilitate navigation, display information more effectively, store your preferences and otherwise personalize your experience and enhance the use of the Site/Services; To manage our business, such as for data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, information security, ensuring that the Sites/services function properly and otherwise administering and improving them, developing new products and services, identifying usage trends, and expanding our business activities; To review statistical information about use of the Sites/services in order to improve their design and functionality, to understand how they are used, and to assist us with resolving questions about the Site/Services; and To fulfill our compliance or legal obligations or as otherwise permitted by applicable laws.	Sold We have not sold this information to third parties for monetary consideration. Shared We may have shared this information with third party cookie and tracker providers for targeted advertising purposes. Service Providers We have disclosed this information to our affiliates and to other parties that provide services to us or act on our behalf in connection with the operation of our business. See the How Personal Information is Disclosed section in the Privacy Policy for more details.
Geolocation data.	To recognize you, your device or your browser when you use the Sites/services and enhance the use of the Sites/services; To manage our business, such as for data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, information security, ensuring that the Sites/services function properly and otherwise administering and improving them, developing new products and services, identifying usage trends, and expanding our business activities; To review statistical information about use of the Sites/services in order to improve their design and functionality, to understand how they are used, and to assist us with resolving questions about the Site/Services; and To fulfill our compliance or legal obligations or as otherwise permitted by applicable laws.	Sold We have not sold this information to third parties for monetary consideration. Shared We have not shared this information with third parties for targeted advertising purposes. Service Providers We have disclosed this information to our affiliates and to other parties that provide services to us or act on our behalf in connection with the operation of our business. See the How Personal Information is Disclosed section in the Privacy Policy for more details.

Retention of Personal Information

We store Personal Information for as long as necessary to carry out the purposes for which we originally collected it and for other legitimate business purposes, including to meet our legal, regulatory, or other compliance obligations.

Your Rights and Choices

The CPRA affords consumers residing in California certain rights with respect to their Personal Information, subject to certain exceptions. Subject to certain limitations, you have the following rights in California:

Right to Delete. You have the right to request us to delete the Personal Information we have collected about you.
Right to Correct. You have the right to request us to correct inaccurate Personal Information we maintain about you.
Right to Know and Access. You have the right to know and access the Personal Information we have collected about you, including the categories of Personal Information, the categories of sources from which the Personal Information is collected, the business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing Personal Information, the categories of third parties to whom we disclose Personal Information, and the specific pieces of Personal Information we have collected about you.
Data Portability. You have the right to receive the information under right (3) in a format, to the extent technically feasible, that is portable, usable, and allows you to transmit the Personal Information to a person without impediment, where the processing is carried out by automated means.
Right to Opt-Out. You have the right to opt out of certain processing, such as opting out of profiling or our sale or sharing of your Personal Information.
Right to No Discrimination. You have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of your privacy rights. This includes us not: (a) denying you goods or services; (b) charging you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties; (c) providing you a different level or quality of goods or services; and (d) suggesting to you that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

Exercising Your Rights

To exercise your rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us at the email address or physical address below.

Except for the right to opt-out related to selling or sharing your Personal Information, we will need to verify your identity before honoring your privacy right request. Subject to certain limitations, we will honor your privacy rights request within 45 calendar days of receipt of your request, unless we request an extension as permitted by data privacy laws. However, we will honor opt-out of sale and sharing requests within 15 business days.

You may exercise your privacy rights through an authorized agent. If we receive your request from an authorized agent, we may ask for evidence that you have provided such agent with a power of attorney or that the agent otherwise has valid written authority to submit requests to exercise rights on your behalf.

DATA SECURITY

We have implemented measures designed to secure your Personal Information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers behind firewalls. Any payment transactions will be encrypted.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Site like message boards. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Site.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transmitted to our Site. Any transmission of Personal Information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site.

CONTACT INFORMATION

To ask questions or comment about this privacy policy and our privacy practices, or to exercise your rights described above, please contact us at:

TCH.Legal.Notices@theclearinghouse.org; or

By US mail at: