Privacy Policy
We strongly believe in protecting visitors to our website and any of the information that may be provided to us. We take your privacy seriously, please read carefully below to be clear on what our policy is.
If you have any questions at all or would like to know more please do not hesitate to contact us
Merchant Advice Service (MAS) firmly respect the privacy and rights of all individuals and businesses we deal with. This privacy notice documents how we collect and process personal information from visitors to our website and individuals and businesses we deal with when operating and providing services. This notice should be read in conjunction with our website and we will naturally update this notice from time to time. You are therefore encouraged to review the notice whenever you visit our website and/or before providing us with personal data, to ensure you have access to the most up to date information at that time. For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) the Data Controller in respect of any personal data controlled by the business is Merchant Advice Service Ltd. The registered address is ‘Lathkill House, RTC Business Park, London Road, Derby, DE24 8UP under number 10343029. Telephone number is 0800 304 7875. Email is
Cookies
What Are Cookies?
As is common practice with almost all professional websites this site uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer, to improve your experience. This page describes what information they gather, how we use it and why we sometimes need to store these cookies. We will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored however this may downgrade or ‘break’ certain elements of the sites functionality.
For more general information on cookies see the Wikipedia article on HTTP Cookies.
How We Use Cookies
We use cookies for a variety of reasons detailed below. Unfortunately in most cases there are no industry standard options for disabling cookies without completely disabling the functionality and features they add to this site. It is recommended that you leave on all cookies if you are not sure whether you need them or not in case they are used to provide a service that you use.
Disabling Cookies
If you do not wish to accept cookies on to your machine you can disable them by adjusting the settings on your browser. However this will effect the functionality of the websites you visit. Details on how to remove or disable cookies for various browsers can be found here.
The Cookies We Set
When you submit data to through a form such as those found on contact pages or comment forms cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence.
In order to provide you with a great experience on this site we provide the functionality to set your preferences for how this site runs when you use it. In order to remember your preferences we need to set cookies so that this information can be called whenever you interact with a page is affected by your preferences.
Third Party Cookies
In some special cases we also use cookies provided by trusted third parties. The following section details which third party cookies you might encounter through this site.
This site uses Google Analytics which is one of the most widespread and trusted analytics solution on the web for helping us to understand how you use the site and ways that we can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site and the pages that you visit so we can continue to produce engaging content.
For more information on Google Analytics cookies, see the official Google Analytics page.
From time to time we test new features and make subtle changes to the way that the site is delivered. When we are still testing new features these cookies may be used to ensure that you receive a consistent experience whilst on the site whilst ensuring we understand which optimisations our users appreciate the most.
We also use social media buttons and/or plugins on this site that allow you to connect with your social network in various ways. For these to work the following social media sites including; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, will set cookies through our site which may be used to enhance your profile on their site or contribute to the data they hold for various purposes outlined in their respective privacy policies.
More Information
Hopefully that has clarified things for you and as was previously mentioned if there is something that you aren’t sure whether you need or not it’s usually safer to leave cookies enabled in case it does interact with one of the features you use on our site. However if you are still looking for more information, you can contact us through one of our preferred contact methods.
What personal information might be collected?
As credit card processing and business finance criteria is so vast, if your business is not straightforward you may have found that many high street account providers and brokers are not used to handling your application. The advisors we pass you to are different in that they specialise in different areas, whether that is high risk accounts, Start-up business applications, Adverse credit etc. It is therefore important for us to define your situation using the forms on this website, so you can be triaged to the best possible qualified expert, someone who handles such enquiries every day. Therefore we will ask you various questions regarding your specific situation.
We may receive personal information in a variety of different ways on a large number of pages on our website. You will be prompted of the exact questions in the forms through which we record this information, including information relating to; income, business turnover, credit history; and dates of birth to name a few. We will also collect contact details so your advisor and us can contact you, and your postcode so we can try to place you with a local advisor. Details to do with any visits to our site by you along with any resources you have used may also be collected.
For the purposes of this policy, personal data is effectively information about individuals which, alone, or in conjunction with other information held by us, is capable of identifying them. In dealing with clients and other parties in the course of our business, we most commonly obtain personal data consisting of names, addresses (physical and electronic) and telephone numbers.
You will know what details we are obtaining as you will be able to see whatever it is that we are requesting. If you contact us either through our website or outside of the website, a full record of that correspondence may be kept. We promise to always use any information given to us by you solely in a manner related in some way to the initial purpose for which it was given.
It is entirely your choice whether you want to provide us with any personal information. If you don’t choose to that is fine, however, we may not be able to assist you if our assistance is what you desire. When personal details are entered onto our website, they will be being entered within a secure online environment.
You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email or write to us at the address listed near the top of this page. We will respond to any such request within one month of receipt but reserve the right to extend this timeframe by a further two months in complex or exceptional cases. Equally, whilst we will not generally charge for providing information, we reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for the provision of information in exceptional circumstances, as appropriate.”
Where is your data stored?
Your data will never be stored in any location outside of the European Economics Area (EEA). Unfortunately, although highly unlikely, we could never guarantee that information sent to us via the Internet is 100% completely secure. Although we will always do our utmost to protect your personal information, it is not guaranteed. Any personal information is sent to us at your own risk. Once data is received we use strict procedures and take advantage of specific security features to attempt to avoid unauthorised access.
Sensitive Personal Data
The information you provide us with may very occasionally contain sensitive personal data for the purposes of the act, being information as to your physical or mental health or condition; the committing or alleged committing of any offence by you; any proceeding for an offense committed or alleged to have been committed by you, including the outcome or sentence in such proceedings; your political opinions; religious or similar beliefs; sexual life; or your membership of a trade union.
If at any time you wish us or any company associated with us to cease processing your personal data or sensitive personal data, or contacting you for marketing purposes, please contact the Data Protection officer on 0800 304 7875 or in writing at
How your information is used
merchantadviceservice.co.uk provides advice and recommendations for business people who need help with merchant services and finance. The market leading experts helping to perform these services will be from different companies around the UK and Europe. We at Merchant Advice Service will not always offer you the tailor-made merchant account or business funding advice ourselves, we put you in touch with one of these specialists and they advise you on the best lenders, products, services etc specific to you.
The information provided to us may be shared internally with employees of Merchant Advice Service in order to deal with your request in the most effective manner possible, and as outlined above, we will of course also share your information with the specific advisor we pass your enquiry on to.
By making an enquiry you agree to be passed onto one of these specialists who will contact you directly to discuss your enquiry further. All enquiries are passed to carefully selected third party merchant account providers and brokers to provide you with the best advice and recommendation, although we do have our own support team who will assist in the management of your enquiry to ensure you receive the best possible service.
We will not pass or sell your details on to third party companies purely for marketing purposes. Where we pass on your details to a third party company we will only do this if it makes explicit sense pertaining to your enquiry and those companies will only use your details to help you in the manner required. An examples of partner companies we work with are below:
Online Money Advisor — One of the companies we work alongside, specialising in commercial insurance and investments.
We like to maintain a strong and ongoing relationship with all of our visitors. By submitting an enquiry you also confirm you are happy for us to keep you up to date with new products, services, and for instance if you have been unsuccessful in obtaining a merchant account, we will provide you with critical market updates to keep you informed and help you obtain the processing you need ASAP. If you wish to stop this service then please email
We will never share your personal details with anyone it is unnecessary to do so with, whether inside or outside the company, unless we have your explicit consent to do so or are obliged to by law.
