Privacy Policy

1Who We Are

1.1betternow is a "buy-now-pay-later" service that lets you pay a merchant for goods or services over two or three instalments. For the purposes of POPIA, betternow is the Responsible Party for the Personal Information described in this policy.

1.2In some instances we act as an Operator, Processing Personal Information on behalf of a Merchant that uses our services. In those cases, that Merchant’s own privacy policy applies to your use of their services.

1.3We do not knowingly Process the Personal Information of minors (persons under 18), and our services are not offered to minors. We also do not Process special categories of Personal Information (such as information about health, race, religious beliefs, or biometric data). Please do not provide us with any such information.

1.4Our full details, and how to reach our Information Officer, are set out in section 12.

2Information We Collect

2.1We collect the following categories of Personal Information, from you directly and from the sources described in clause 2.2:

2.2We collect Personal Information: (a) directly from you when you register, apply for or use a Payment Plan, or contact us; (b) from credit bureaux and other lawful sources when we assess your application and manage your account; (c) from the merchant you are transacting with; and (d) automatically when you use our website or app.

2.3Providing your Personal Information is voluntary; however, we may be unable to provide our services to you if you do not provide the information we reasonably require.

2.4Your South African ID number and card details are sensitive. We hold ID numbers in encrypted form, and your full card details are captured and stored by our PCI-compliant payment processor rather than by us.

3How We Use Your Information

3.1We Process your Personal Information for the following purposes:

3.1.1to verify your identity and the information you give us;

3.1.2to assess your application, determine and review your spending limit, and decide whether to approve a Payment Plan;

3.1.3to provide the Payment Services, manage your account, and collect the instalments you owe;

3.1.4to communicate with you, including sending payment reminders, failed-payment notices and other service messages;

3.1.5to detect, prevent and investigate fraud and other unlawful activity, and to comply with anti-money-laundering obligations;

3.1.6to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including under the National Credit Act and the requirements of regulators, courts and tax authorities;

3.1.7to develop, test and improve our products and services, and for research and statistical purposes using de-identified information;

3.1.8to send you marketing where you have not opted out (see clause 3.3); and

3.1.9for security, identification, and internal operational purposes such as staff training and monitoring.

3.2We rely on the following lawful bases under POPIA: your consent; the performance of our agreement with you; compliance with our legal obligations; and our (or a third party’s) legitimate interests.

3.3We may send you direct marketing about our products and services. You can opt out at any time using the unsubscribe mechanism in the message or by contacting us. Service messages relating to an active Payment Plan are not marketing and cannot be opted out of while the plan is active.

3.4We will only use your Personal Information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose. If we need to use it for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the lawful basis for doing so, except where we are permitted or required by law to Process it without your knowledge or consent.

4Credit Checks and Automated Decisions

4.1When you register, and at any time while you have an account with us, we may request and obtain information about you from registered credit bureaux and other lawful sources to assess your application, verify your information, and set and review your spending limit.

4.2Our assessment uses paid credit-bureau products, which may include a credit score, default-indicator and warning information, and an affordability assessment based on your income and existing financial obligations. A credit bureau may keep a record of our enquiry. You have the right to contact the bureau, obtain your credit record, and challenge inaccurate information.

4.3We may transmit to registered credit bureaux information about your agreement with us, its termination, and any non-compliance by you with its terms.

4.4Decisions about your application, spending limit and eligibility may be made by automated means — that is, by our systems without human intervention in the decision itself — based on the credit-bureau and affordability information described above. You have the right to request information about, and to make representations regarding, any such automated decision, and you may ask us to review it.

5Sharing Your Information

5.1We may share your Personal Information with:

5.1.1Service providers (Operators) who Process information on our behalf under contract — including our payment processor, credit bureaux, cloud-hosting provider, and communication providers (SMS, email and push) — who are bound to Process it only as instructed and to protect it;

5.1.2Credit bureaux, as described in section 4;

5.1.3The merchant you are transacting with, to the extent necessary to process and manage your Payment Plan;

5.1.4Regulators, courts, law-enforcement and other authorities, where required or permitted by law; and

5.1.5A successor or acquirer, if we cede, sell or transfer our business or the receivables under your Payment Plan.

5.2We do not sell your Personal Information.

6Storing Information Outside South Africa

6.1Your Personal Information may be transferred to, stored on, or Processed on servers located outside South Africa, where some of our service providers or suppliers may Process it on our behalf.

6.2Where this happens, we do so in accordance with section 72 of POPIA. Your Personal Information will only be transferred to and stored in a country that has data-protection legislation that is equivalent to, or better than, that of South Africa, or with a service provider that is subject to an agreement requiring it to comply with data-protection requirements equivalent to, or better than, those applicable in South Africa. By accepting this policy and submitting your Personal Information to us, you consent to such transfer.

7How Long We Keep Your Information

7.1We keep your Personal Information for as long as you have an account or an active Payment Plan with us, and thereafter for as long as we are required to by law (for example, financial, tax and credit-related record-keeping obligations) or as necessary to resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

7.2When we no longer need your Personal Information and are no longer required to keep it, we will delete or de-identify it.

8How We Protect Your Information

8.1We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your Personal Information against loss, unauthorised access and misuse. These include encryption of sensitive data such as ID numbers, access controls, and secure handling of card data by our PCI-compliant payment processor.

8.2If a security compromise affecting your Personal Information occurs, we will notify the Information Regulator and you, as required by POPIA.

9Cookies

9.1Our website and app use cookies and similar technologies to operate the service, keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and understand how our service is used. Some cookies are essential for the service to function; others help us improve it.

9.2You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings or any cookie-preference mechanism we provide. Disabling some cookies may affect how the service works.

10Your Rights

10.1Under POPIA you have the right to:

10.1.1be told what Personal Information we hold about you and request a copy of it;

10.1.2ask us to correct or update information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or unlawfully obtained;

10.1.3ask us to delete or destroy your Personal Information where we are no longer entitled to hold it;

10.1.4object, on reasonable grounds, to our Processing of your Personal Information;

10.1.5withdraw your consent where we rely on consent (this will not affect Processing that has already taken place, or Processing we are otherwise entitled or required to do); and

10.1.6lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

10.2Requests for access to information are dealt with in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) and our PAIA Manual, which is available on request or on our website. We may charge a reasonable prescribed fee for access.

10.3To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 12. We will try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month; if your request is particularly complex or you have made several requests, it may take longer, in which case we will notify you and keep you updated. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request, as a security measure to ensure information is not disclosed to anyone who has no right to receive it.

10.4If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you may complain to the Information Regulator (see section 12); we would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.

11Changes to This Policy

11.1We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version, its version number and its effective date will always be shown at the top of this page. Where a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention.

12How to Contact Us

12.1Responsible Party: BETTERNOW (PTY) LTD, registration number 2026/420968/07.

12.2Information Officer: our Information Officer can be reached at support@betternow.co.za. Please mark your message for the attention of the Information Officer so that it is routed correctly.

12.3General privacy queries and requests: support@betternow.co.za.

12.4Information Regulator (South Africa): you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator. Details are available at the Regulator’s website, inforegulator.org.za.