Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes how short-term-loans.co.za (“we”, “our”, “us”) collects and processes information in South Africa in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”).
Who we are
We operate an independent comparison website for short-term loans in South Africa. We are not a lender. Loan applications are completed on third-party lender websites (e.g., Lime, PrimeLoans, FinPug, Dengoo, Crezu, LendPlus).
What we collect
- Usage & device data: IP address, device/browser details, pages viewed, referring/exit pages, timestamps, approximate location (to the city/region level).
- Cookie data: see our Cookie Policy for details on essential, analytics and marketing cookies.
- Contact data you provide: if you email us or submit a form (e.g., feedback), we will process the information you provide.
- Affiliate attribution: click IDs or tags appended to outbound partner links so that partners know a visit came from us.
We do not collect or store your loan application data or supporting documents. Those are provided directly to lenders on their websites.
Why we process your information (lawful bases)
- Legitimate interests: operate and improve our site, detect fraud/abuse, measure performance, maintain attribution for partner links.
- Consent: for non-essential cookies/analytics/marketing where required.
- Legal obligations: comply with applicable laws and enforce our Terms.
Sharing & recipients
- Service providers (e.g., analytics, hosting, security, performance monitoring).
- Affiliate networks and lenders for click attribution when you follow an outbound link.
- Legal/authority requests where we are legally required to do so.
International transfers
Some providers may process data outside South Africa. Where they do, we use appropriate safeguards (contractual or otherwise) designed to protect your information.
Retention
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes above or to comply with legal requirements. Aggregated analytics may be retained longer for trend analysis.
Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical and organisational measures appropriate to the nature of the data we process. No online service can guarantee absolute security.
Your rights (POPIA)
- Access, correction, or deletion of your personal information.
- Objection to processing or request restriction of processing.
- Withdrawal of consent (for consent-based processing).
- Complaint to the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe your rights are infringed.
To exercise your rights, contact support@short-term-loans.co.za. We may need to verify your identity.
Children
Our website is intended for users aged 18+ and is not directed to children.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Please review it regularly.
