Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 We collect the following information directly from you, typically through our Website, application, or Online Application Process:

• Identity: business name, trade licence number, Emirates ID, and corporate registration details;
• Contact: business address, email, phone number, and authorised representative's details;
• Financial: connected bank account statements, VAT certificates and returns, and revenue or turnover data;
• Platform Data: connected marketplace, e-commerce, or POS account data, where you authorise such access;
• Communications: records of correspondence with us, including emails, calls, and support requests;
• Marketing: your preferences regarding marketing communications.

1.2 We may also receive information about you from other sources, including:

• Credit bureaus, such as Al Etihad Credit Bureau, for credit assessment purposes;
• Identity and business verification providers, for KYC/KYB checks;
• Business partners and marketplace or payment platforms, where you have authorised the connection.

1.3 We automatically collect certain technical and usage information when you use our Website or application, including your IP address, device and browser type, operating system, pages visited, and interaction data.

1.4 SMEDGE does not access, collect, or store your payment card information directly. This is managed by our payment processing providers.

1.5 We may pseudonymise or anonymise and aggregate any of the information above. Aggregated or anonymised data cannot be used to identify you or your business, and we may use or share it (for example, with partners, insurers, or investors) for statistical, benchmarking, or reporting purposes.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes, on the legal grounds described below:

• To assess your eligibility for, and to provide, Shariah-structured funding, including verifying your identity, business, and financial standing;
• To administer your account, process transactions, and collect repayments due under your funding agreement;
• To carry out credit assessments and risk-based decision-making, including using your credit history and connected platform data;
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer/know-your-business (KYC/KYB) requirements;
• To provide customer support and respond to your enquiries;
• To send you marketing communications about our products, where permitted, which you may opt out of at any time by contacting [email protected];
• To maintain, secure, and improve our Website, application, and Services, including fraud prevention and troubleshooting.

We rely on the following legal grounds to process your data: performance of, or steps toward, a contract with you; compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations; and our legitimate interests (such as credit risk assessment, fraud prevention, and service improvement), provided these do not override your rights. Where required, we will rely on your consent, which you may withdraw at any time.

Automated Decision-Making: As part of assessing your eligibility for funding, we may use automated tools and credit-scoring models, including your credit history and connected platform data, to help determine whether to approve your application and on what terms. You may contact us at [email protected] to request more information about, or to contest, a decision made on this basis.

3. Who We Share Your Information With

We may share your information with:

• Service providers who support our platform, hosting, payments, identity verification, and IT infrastructure, acting under our instructions;
• Credit bureaus and identity/business verification providers;
• Professional advisers, including our lawyers, Shariah advisers, auditors, and insurers;
• Regulators and government authorities, including the ADGM Registration Authority, where required by law;
• Debt collection agencies, should your account fall into arrears;
• A prospective buyer or successor, in the context of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

We do not sell your personal data. We require all third parties to protect your information and to use it only for the purposes we specify.

4. Where We Store Your Information

We are based in, and primarily store your information in, the United Arab Emirates. Where we transfer information outside the UAE (for example, to a service provider), we take reasonable steps to ensure it remains subject to appropriate safeguards consistent with the UAE PDPL.

5. Payment Processing

Payment and repayment details are processed through secure, encrypted connections. Card or bank payment details you provide to our payment processing providers are subject to their own privacy policies and are not directly accessible to SMEDGE.

6. How We Protect Your Information

We maintain physical, technical, and organisational safeguards designed to protect your information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or alteration. While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no transmission over the internet can be guaranteed completely secure, and any transmission is at your own risk.

External Links: Our Website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before submitting any personal data to them.

Age Restriction: Our Website and Services are intended for use only by businesses and individuals aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18.

7. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain your information for as long as you have an active relationship with us, and for five (5) years thereafter, to meet our legal, regulatory, and Shariah-compliance obligations and to resolve any disputes. Where your funding application is unsuccessful, we may retain your information for up to two (2) years in case you reapply. We may retain anonymised or aggregated data beyond these periods for research and service-improvement purposes. Where you object to marketing or exercise any other right, we retain a record of that request so we can honour it going forward.

8. Your Rights

Subject to the UAE PDPL, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or erasure of your personal data, to object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent where applicable. To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected].

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page, and material changes will be notified to you where appropriate.

10. Contact Us

Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy should be addressed to [email protected].

SMEDGE FZ-LLC

Licence No. 2647866.01, Meydan Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates