Privacy Policy
Posted October 2008
Any time you visit a Web site, you may be providing information about yourself to the site's owner or operator. We at Visa U.S.A. Inc. ("Visa U.S.A."), like you, value privacy, so we want you to learn what you need to know to protect your personal privacy. When you visit or supply information to any web site, it's a good idea for you to first understand the site's privacy policies. If the site owner doesn't tell you, don't hesitate to ask.
The bottom line at our web site (also referred to generally as the "visabusiness.com/score" or (the "Site") is that we use information that we get from your visit to enable you to participate in and take advantage of the various programs and features presented on the Site, for our own internal analysis, and to make the Site more useful and interesting to you. We do not use the information that we collect from the Site for any other purpose, nor do we share it with any affiliate or third party, except as specifically noted and with agencies, vendors, partners, or affiliates under contract with Visa U.S.A.
A special note about children
The Site is not intended for children under the age of 13, and Visa U.S.A. does not knowingly collect personal information from those children.
Applicability of this privacy policy
This privacy policy applies only to the information that we collect on the Site and not to any information that we collect through other methods or sources, including sites owned or operated by our affiliates, vendors, or partners. When visiting the Visa web sites or other web sites that are not owned or operated by Visa U.S.A., please review the privacy policy for those sites.
On this page
- Notice
- What information we collect and how we use it
- Browsing and the use of cookies, Web beacons, and logs
- Surveys
- Affiliated businesses and links to other sites
- Our policy regarding selling or renting of personal information
- Agents
- Business transfers
- Disclosure of personal information for legal purposes and protection of Visa U.S.A. and others
- Security
- How we protect the security of your personal information
- Customer service and recourse
- Changes to the Visa U.S.A. privacy policy
- How to contact Visa U.S.A. regarding your concerns and questions
Notice
What information we collect and how we use it
When you visit the Site, we capture your Internet provider's domain name (e.g., 'aol.com') and your IP Address. Note: For users who access the Internet from an Internet Service Provider (ISP), the IP address will be different every time you log on. Visa U.S.A. does not typically associate this information with any individual. We also capture the country from where the visit came, and the paths taken as you move from page to page (i.e., your "click stream" activity).
Information we collect on the Site may be used to enhance the Site in ways like these:
- Arrange the Site in the most user-friendly way
- Customize your browsing experience of the Site
Visa U.S.A. only collects personal information that you choose to provide voluntarily when using the "visabusiness.com/score" Personal information" includes information that can identify you, such as:
- Name, address, phone number, email address, or company name
- Log-in information
- Social Security number or Federal Identification number
Browsing and the use of cookies, Web beacons, and logs
Visa U.S.A. uses cookie technology as part of our Site's statistical reporting. A cookie is a small piece of information sent by a web site that is saved on your hard disk by your computer's browser. It holds information a site may need to personalize your experience (such as, rotating images on the home page of the Site). Cookies are also used to gather web site statistical data, such as which pages are visited, what is downloaded, the Internet provider's domain name and country of origin, and the addresses of sites visited immediately before, and after, coming to the Site, as well as your "click stream " activity (meaning, the paths taken by visitors to our Site as they move from page to page).
None of this, however, is associated with you as an individual and is measured anonymously and only in aggregate. Cookies do not capture your individual email address or any private information about you.
If you prefer, you can configure your browser to reject all cookies, or to notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie and privacy preferences.)
A web beacon is an electronic image, also called a single-pixel or clear GIF, placed in the code of a web page. The Site uses web beacons to track traffic patterns of users as they navigate from one page to another. This information lets us tune and improve our users' browsing experience. As with cookies, the information that web beacons collect is aggregated, anonymous "click stream " data, and is not associated with you as an individual, unless you have selected to opt-in to participate in an email program.
We use third party advertising and media companies to serve ads on our behalf across the Internet and to help manage and optimize our Internet business and communications. Through the use of cookies and Action Tags (commonly referred to as Web beacons or GIF tags – e.g., Atlas cookies and Action Tags, Omniture tags, and Doubclick Web beacons), which are inserted in various places within our Site, such third party companies may collect anonymous information about your visits to the Visa U.S.A. site and your interaction with our content. These third party companies may share such anonymous information about your visits to this and other web sites with us, and may use it in order to provide ads about goods and services of interest to you. From time to time, we may also share anonymous information with such third party companies in an aggregate form, for purposes of analysis and improvement of our Site. If you would like more information about the use of third-party cookies and tags, or the process of opting out of such cookies or tags, please go to http://www.atlassolutions.com/privacy.aspx, www.networkadvertising.org, and www.omniture.com/privacy/product#optout.
We also use standard web server log files to help us count visitors and evaluate our Site's technical capacity. This information tells us how many people visit the Site, and helps us decide how to arrange pages in the most user-friendly way. It also helps us keep the Site browser-friendly and more useful to our visitors. We record information on Site traffic, but not on individual visitors to our Site, so no personal information about you will be kept or used, unless you have selected to opt-in to participate in an email program.
Surveys
From time to time, Visa U.S.A. may conduct surveys. If you choose to participate—unless otherwise noted in the applicable, terms and conditions, or disclaimers—we may use the information you provide to publish survey results in aggregate on the Site. Except where necessary to administer a survey, unless you have otherwise agreed or unless required by law, we will not share or publish any response you give connected to your name or address. We will hold these responses only as anonymous statistics.
Affiliated businesses and links to other sites
We work closely with our vendors and partners, many of which have links within the Site. Please remember that when you use a link to go from the Site to another web site, this Privacy Policy no longer applies. Your browsing and interaction on any third party's Web site, including any Web site that has a link on visabusiness.com/score is subject to the rules and policies of that web site. We encourage you to read the rules and policies of the Web sites you visit to better understand their procedures for collecting, using, and disclosing personal information.
Our policy regarding selling or renting of personal information
Our policy is simple: we do not sell or rent your personal information to any third parties under any circumstances, except in the event of a bankruptcy or reorganization, or a sale of all or substantially all of our assets, as further provided below.
Agents
We may employ other companies and individuals to perform services on behalf of Visa U.S.A., such as analyzing data or conducting surveys. Some of these companies and individuals will have access to the personal information necessary to perform their services, but will not be permitted to use it for any other purpose.
Business transfers
If a third party acquires all or substantially all of our assets, your personal information, aggregated information, and any other information that we have collected on the Site may be transferred to such third party as part of our business assets. Also, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, all such information may be considered one of our assets and may be sold or transferred to third parties.
Disclosure of personal information for legal purposes and protection of Visa U.S.A. and others
We reserve the right to share your personal information with third parties if required to do so by law, or if we believe such action is necessary in order to: (1) conform to the requirements of the law or comply with legal process served upon us; (2) protect or defend our legal rights or property, the visabusiness.com/score, or our users; or (3) investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, or violations of the terms and conditions for using the Site.
Security
How we protect the security of your personal information
The security of your personal information is very important to us, and we are committed to protecting the information we collect. While we cannot guarantee absolute security of your personal information, Visa U.S.A. uses firewalls and Secure Socket Layers for all personal data we collect from you. We also employ many different security techniques to protect personal data against loss, misuse, alteration, and unauthorized access.
Customer service and recourse
Changes to the Visa U.S.A. privacy policy
This privacy policy was posted on October, 2008. Visa U.S.A. reserves the right to change, modify, or amend this policy at any time. Please also read over the Site terms of use. Visa takes privacy matters very seriously, and intends to stay at the forefront of privacy policy and protection matters. Visa will occasionally update our privacy policy and we will post those updates on this page. You are responsible for revisiting this page to review our privacy policy updates.
How to contact Visa U.S.A. regarding your concerns and questions
Please note that whenever you submit any information to us in connection with any services related to the Visa U.S.A. site, you consent to let us process this information in the United States as necessary to provide the services in which you are participating.
If you have any questions, comments, criticisms, or complaints about Visa U.S.A.'s privacy policy and/or the way it affects you, please feel free to write to us at:
Visa U.S.A. Inc.
P.O. Box 194607
San Francisco, California 94119-4607
Attention: Webmaster
Should you have a dispute regarding this privacy policy, we will resolve it and take any remedial action as we reasonably determine in our discretion and in accordance with applicable laws.