At Bankwell, we take the issue of privacy very seriously and understand that protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal and account information is of great importance.
This Online Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect information when you interact with us online through use of our websites (“Sites”), online interfaces such as our “Let’s Talk!” chat feature in our online banking site, mobile device applications (“Apps”), digital forms, and online banking services (collectively, “Online Services”). This Notice applies regardless of whether you are using a desktop computer, smart phone, tablet, laptop or other electronic device.
If you are a U.S. consumer and have a financial product or service with us, we will use and share any information that we collect from or about you in accordance with our Privacy Notice.
You may have additional privacy rights under the laws of the state in which you reside. Consult the laws of the state in which you reside for more information.
For purposes of this notice, the terms “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Bankwell and its affiliates. The terms “you”, “your”, and “yours” refer to any natural person who accesses or uses our Sites and Apps for personal, family, or household purposes.
The FDIC provides consumers with useful information to help them make informed decisions about their money and to protect themselves against financial scams and fraud. You’ll find information here on specific banking topics, as well as links to other resources to learn more. https://www.fdic.gov/consumer-resource-center
Bankwell collects data in order to best serve your needs. The personal information we collect depends on the types of financial products you are seeking and allows our team members to determine how to best support your financial goals. We may collect personal information that you provide directly, including your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, account application information, account numbers, user IDs, passwords, security questions and answers, debit or credit card information, and documents or images submitted through our online services, such as mobile check deposit images or account opening materials.
We may also collect information automatically from your computer or mobile device, such as device identifiers, IP address, browser type, operating system, language settings, screen settings, pages visited, links clicked, search activity, app interactions, location information when enabled or needed for security, anonymized session identifiers to aid in navigation through the web site, and communications data such as chat or text message details.
We use online information to provide and manage accounts and services, process applications and transactions, verify identity, maintain security, prevent fraud, personalize digital experiences, respond to inquiries, deliver service-related communications, improve our websites and mobile applications, comply with legal and regulatory obligations, to deliver marketing communications that we believe may be of interest to you, and support our everyday business operations.
When you contact our call center, if you have consented, we may use the phone number already on file on your account to send a one-time passcode (OTP) via SMS to verify your identity. This will be a transactional message and used solely for the purpose of account security and authentication. We do not use this process for marketing, and we do not share data related to this process such as your consent decision. Text message and data rates may apply. You may reply STOP to opt out of receiving these identity verification texts or HELP for assistance.
We may share personal information as permitted by law, including with service providers that support our online services, payment networks, fraud prevention and security partners, credit reporting agencies, government agencies, regulators, law enforcement, affiliates, and other parties when necessary to complete transactions, comply with law, protect rights and safety, or operate our business. Our financial privacy practices are described in Bankwell’s broader privacy notice and may include rights to limit certain sharing.
Our online services may use cookies, pixels, analytics tools, log files, and similar technologies to recognize devices, remember preferences, measure site usage, improve functionality, support security, and understand how users interact with our digital services. You may be able to manage cookies through your browser or device settings, but disabling certain technologies may affect site functionality.
We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. No online transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, so we encourage users to protect account credentials and promptly notify us of suspected unauthorized access.
You may update certain contact information through online banking or by contacting us. You may also manage communication preferences where available and exercise any rights provided under applicable law. For choices related to financial information sharing, please refer to Bankwell’s financial privacy notice.
We may provide links to websites that are owned or operated by other companies ("third-party websites"). When you use a link online to visit a third-party website, you will be subject to that website’s privacy and security practices, which may differ from ours. You should familiarize yourself with the privacy policy, terms of use and security practices of the linked third-party website before providing any information on that website.
Our online services and platforms are not targeted to persons under thirteen (13) years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.
We may update this Online Privacy Notice from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the effective date and post the revised notice through our online services or otherwise provide notice as required by law.
If you have questions about this Online Privacy Notice or Bankwell’s privacy practices, please contact Bankwell Bank at 258 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT 06840, or call 877-715-3265.
