Privacy Notice

We, at Etihad Export Credit Insurance Company PJSC (“ECI”), a company established in the United Arab Emirates ("UAE") and having its registered head office address at Level 29, Rolex Tower, Shiekh Zayed Rd., care about your personal information. 

We will process your personal information in accordance with all applicable data protection laws, including the United Arab Emirates Decree-Law No.45 of 2021 on Personal Data Protection. “Personal information” is information that relates to you or allows us to identify you. This includes information such as your name, address and telephone number, but can also include information such as analysis of your use of our website.

This privacy notice (“Privacy Notice”) explains the type of personal information collected about you, the methods used to collect your personal information and the way it is processed. It also explains the methods of data keeping. We further explain your rights to access, correct, or object to the processing of the information (including requesting deletion, subject to applicable laws and regulations).

Please read this Privacy Notice carefully before providing us with your personal information.

It is your choice to provide us with personal information. You may refrain from providing us with personal information. However, this may result in preventing us from providing any service to you or affect our ability to provide you with our services. By using this website, found at eci.gov.ae, providing your personal information, or making an application to avail yourself of any of our services, you give your consent to the collection, use, disclosure, retention, handling and processing of your personal information for the purposes of processing your applications and providing the services.

If you do not agree with the content of this Privacy Notice or Terms of Use do not provide us with your personal information. Without granting us your consent to collect, store, use, process and disclose your personal information for the purposes. This Privacy Notice shall be subject to the laws and regulations of the UAE.

Who is the “data controller”?

ECI is the “data controller” which means that ECI is the legal entity in control of the personal information it collects and is required by law to ensure policies, processes and procedures are in place to safeguard this information and respect the rights of the individuals whose personal information is collected. This means that we are responsible for ensuring that we comply with relevant data protection laws when processing your personal information.

What kind of personal information do we collect about you?

Depending on the information you provide or preferences you select, ECI may collect different types of personal information about you, which includes:

• your name, email address, telephone number, job title, company name.
• when visiting our website, we collect information about you by using cookies (please refer to the section below about cookies).
• Information we obtain from third parties who have such information (e.g. information services providers) or publicly available sources (e.g. commercial registers, stock exchange, credit information bureau).

For the purposes of providing our services, we collect information about:

• In respect of commercial entities: trade sectors, trade names, names of the legal representatives such as directors and general managers, and information regarding your creditworthiness (e.g. payment and risk incidents).
• Sole traders, sole establishments or other closely held businesses: name of the owner of the business, his email address, physical address, trade sector, legal form, names of the representatives such as the general manager and power of attorney holders, and information regarding your creditworthiness (e.g. payment and risk incidents).
• The above mentioned information may be collected through third parties such as credit rating agencies and government agencies.

Why ECI needs to collect and use your personal information?

ECI collects your personal information to ensure effective communication with you and maintain proper records about its customers for the purposes of providing its services and further developing such services to better serve its customers. We use your personal information on the basis of your consent, to:

• provide, improve, and develop our services;
• communicate with you;
• keep you updated on our products and services;
• prepare offers for our products, deliver the services to you and comply with the contractual provisions;
• set up and maintain your account with us;
• provide technical support and other related purposes; and
• comply with law enforcement procedures, or where required comply with court orders, government regulations, or government authorities.

On what basis do we use your personal information?

Our use of your personal information will always have a lawful basis. We use your personal information on the following bases: 

• to enter into or perform a contract;
• because you have given your consent (if we expressly ask for consent to process your personal information for a specific purpose);
• you have made your personal information publicly available;
• where we need to carry out our legal obligations or exercise rights; 
• to comply with our legal, regulatory and risk management obligations; 
• to ensure the protection of your interests; and
• where it is needed in the public interest.

Sharing your personal information

We will only share your personal information if we are required to do so by law and where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you. We may share your personal information with the following entities:

• our third-party service providers (for example, payroll, benefits provision and administration, and IT service providers); 
• our partner companies within the ECI group, where the entity provides us with relevant services, as part of our regular reporting activities on company performance, in the context of a business reorganization or group restructuring exercise, for system maintenance support or hosting of data; and 
• a regulator or otherwise to comply with the law. 

ECI may share your personal information with other third parties, for example in the context of the possible sale or restructuring of the business. In this situation we will, so far as possible, share only anonymised or pseudonymised data with the other parties before the transaction completes. Once the transaction is completed, we will share your personal information with the other parties if and to the extent required under the terms of transaction.

Security

We are committed to protecting the information you provide us. We have implemented security policies, rules and technical measures to protect the personal information that we have under our control, in accordance with applicable data protection laws. The security measures are designed to prevent unauthorised access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification and unlawful destruction or accidental loss.  

All our third-party service providers and other entities within the ECI group are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal information for their own purposes. We will only permit them to process your personal information for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

We train people who work for us on how to handle personal information appropriately and we restrict access to what is necessary for specific job functions. In addition, our employees and third-party service providers are subject to confidentiality and may not disclose your personal information unlawfully or unnecessarily.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

Where will the personal information be processed?

Your personal information may be processed both inside and outside of the UAE. Such processing will always be subject to contractual restrictions regarding confidentiality and security in line with applicable data protection laws and regulations. ECI will not disclose your personal information to any party who is not authorized to process them. All credit/debit cards details and personally identifiable information will NOT be stored, sold, shared, rented or leased to any third parties.

ECI will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure your personal information is processed fairly and lawfully, in accordance with applicable laws and this Privacy Notice.

When sharing your personal information with our service providers or our partner companies as set out in this Privacy Notice, some of the recipients may be located outside the UAE or the country in which you are residing, and your personal information may be transferred to countries which do not have data protection laws or to countries where your privacy will not be protected as extensively. These and all other transmissions will remain secure and under our control.

We will only transfer your personal information outside the UAE on one of the following bases:

• the country / jurisdiction where we send the personal information is providing an adequate level of protection for personal information as approved by the UAE Data Office;
• the third party to which the data is transferred has provided appropriate safeguards that ensure the security of your personal information, in line with applicable laws; and
• the transfer is necessary for us to perform a contract with you (e.g. employment contract).

We will implement appropriate measures to ensure that your personal information remains protected and secure when it is transferred outside the UAE.

For how long will ECI keep your personal information?

ECI will retain your personal information for so long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected, or if you enter into a contract with ECI, for so long as you have a contractual relationship with ECI and thereafter to defend legal claims. 

[To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information and whether we can achieve such purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.]

In all cases, your personal information may be retained for the statutory period during which business records are required to be maintained in accordance with the applicable laws of the United Arab Emirates. Thereafter, ECI will delete your personal information.

What are the rights you have in respect of your personal information?

To the extent permitted by applicable data protection laws and regulations, you may have the right to:

• access your personal information;
• request the update or correction of your personal information so that it remains updated and accurate;
• obtain your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format for you or for another controller, otherwise known as “data portability”;
• restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, for example, where you have contested the accuracy of your personal information, for the period enabling us to verify its accuracy;
• object to certain processing, including direct marketing;
• withdraw your consent at any time to the use of your personal information for a particular purpose (where we have asked you for consent to use your information for that particular purpose); 
• where applicable, file a complaint with the data controller and/or the relevant data protection authority i.e. the UAE Data Office.
• you may exercise these rights by contacting us and providing your name and email address as well as the purpose of your request. Subject to any overriding legal obligations, requirements and/or exemptions, we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible. In the event your request is particularly complex, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Please note: We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

Which methods are used to collect personal information?

We collect only the personal information that you voluntarily provide through the website by filling out online forms or that you otherwise allow us to collect according to the cookie preferences you selected when you first accessed website. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, and if you do so we will discontinue the processing of your data collected on this website. You can withdraw your consent by sending an official communication to info@eci.gov.ae.

What are the cookies?

A cookie is a small file of data that is stored on your computer or mobile device and it allows the website to recognize you when you first access our website and when you re-visit. It also recognizes your actions or preferences over time. ECI uses cookies to ensure the proper function of the website and to facilitate your access to it by collecting information on your device and preferences (e.g. your device and your browser). Moreover, the use cookies allows to us to understand your preferences, which help us develop the services. Please note that you can still use the website without cookies. However, you will not be able to use our website fully and conveniently if you refuse to accept those cookies.

There are different types of cookies as follows:

• Session Cookies

A session cookie allows ECI to store your actions during your browsing session (e.g. your log-in data). Session cookies are erased when you close your browser or exit our website.

• Persistent Cookie (or “tracking cookies”)

A persistent cookie is stored on your device. These cookies help us to remember your preferences or actions every time you visit the website until the expiry date of the cookie. These cookies are also used to keep you logged on to our website. As soon as the cookie is deleted, you need to enter your log-in credentials again.

Contact for queries

If you have any queries about your personal information, you can contact us at support@eci.gov.ae

Do we update this privacy notice?

ECI regularly reviews and updates it privacy notice and make changes to it from time to time, to ensure compliance with the relevant laws. This is in particular applicable to ensure compliance with the data privacy rules and regulations. We will ensure the most recent version of this privacy notice is uploaded to the website and we may also notify you directly via email in the event of changes to our privacy notice. This privacy notice was last updated on 16/01/2024.