Privacy Policy

1Who we are

The Place To Shop Local, LLC ("we," "us," "our") is an Arizona limited liability company. We refer businesses to third-party payment processors and support them afterward, and we separately provide equipment, website, hosting, security, design, and integration services, and operate a partner program for approved independent consultants. This policy explains what information we collect, why, who we share it with, and what control you have.

This policy covers the website theplacetoshoplocal.com, our dealings with prospective and current clients, and our dealings with partner applicants and partners. It does not govern websites or online stores we build or host for merchants — see Section 14. It should be read together with our Terms of Use, which govern the services themselves.

2Information we collect

a. Information you give us directly

• Contact details — name, business name, email, phone, business address
• Information you submit through forms, email, text message, or phone
• Business details you provide during an inquiry, a pre-application checklist, or an application — entity type, ownership, years in operation, type of goods or services sold, average ticket, monthly volume, sales mix, and refund and fulfillment practices
• Documents you send us, including processing statements, and — when you ask us to pursue a merchant account — your federal tax ID (EIN), a government-issued ID or passport, your IRS EIN letter, and a voided check or bank letter (see Section 3)
• Content and materials you supply for websites, online stores, menus, and designs we build or host — text, logos, photographs, menus, product lists, and prices
• Partner program information — application details, identity and business verification, signed agreements, and tax reporting information required to pay you
• Correspondence between us

b. Information collected automatically

• IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system
• Pages viewed, time on page, referring URL, and general navigation
• Cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy), including Google Analytics and HubSpot where you have allowed them, and Google reCAPTCHA on our forms
• Approximate geographic location derived from IP address — city or region level, not precise location

c. Information from third parties

• Application status, approval decisions, and account information from processors and sponsoring banks
• Equipment order and shipment status from suppliers
• Publicly available business information used to verify what you've told us

d. What we do not collect

We do not ask for and do not want: your online banking credentials, your processor portal login, your customers' cardholder data, full card numbers, or Social Security numbers in writing. Never send any of these through a website form, email, or text message. Where a business is taxed on an owner's Social Security number, we take it by phone only and do not write it on our forms; the processor's own secure application collects it for underwriting. Identity documents, bank verification documents, and processing statements are accepted only through a secure upload link we send you — never through a website form, email, or text.

The same applies to partner tax identification numbers: we collect them only through a secure method we arrange with you, never through a website form or plain email.

3Processing statements, identity documents, and bank verification

This deserves its own section because it is the most sensitive thing we handle. Everything in this section applies equally to a processing statement, a government-issued ID or passport, an IRS EIN letter, and a voided check or bank letter.

When you send us a processing statement for a rate review, that document typically reveals your monthly sales volume, transaction counts, average ticket, chargeback activity, and current pricing. That is competitively sensitive information about your business.

Here is how we treat it:

a. Purpose limitation. We use your statement solely to prepare your rate review and, if you choose to proceed, to obtain pricing from a processor on your behalf. We use identity and bank verification documents solely to complete and submit your merchant application. We do not use any of them for any other purpose.

b. No sale, ever. We do not sell, rent, trade, or license your statement or the data in it. Not to lead brokers, not to other agents, not to anyone.

c. Limited disclosure. We share statement data only with a processor or sponsoring bank, and only for the purpose of quoting or underwriting your account, and only when you have asked us to pursue that. We do not shop your statement around to multiple processors without telling you.

d. Redaction encouraged. You are welcome to black out your merchant ID, account numbers, and business address before sending. We can perform a complete review without them.

e. Retention. We retain statements only as long as needed for the review and any resulting account setup, and then for the period described in Section 8. You may ask us to delete a statement at any time, and we will, subject to any legal retention obligation.

f. If you don't proceed. If you decide not to move forward, tell us and we will delete the statement. If you don't tell us, we delete it in the ordinary course under Section 8.

g. Storage. These documents are stored in access-controlled business systems, not on public or shared drives, not in unsecured folders, and not in email. Images of identification and checks are deleted once the processor’s application has been submitted, within the period in Section 8.

4How we use information

We use information to:

• Respond to your inquiry and prepare rate reviews
• Submit applications to processors on your behalf, at your direction
• Set up, configure, and support merchant accounts, equipment, and web services
• Order and deliver equipment
• Invoice you and maintain business records
• Communicate about your account, service issues, and changes affecting you
• Send occasional business updates, where you have not opted out
• Send text messages as described in Section 7
• Administer the Partner Program — onboarding, compensation, and compliance with Part VI of the Terms of Use
• Improve the Site and understand how it is used
• Comply with law, enforce our Terms, and protect against fraud

Legal bases (where applicable): performance of a contract with you, our legitimate business interests in operating and improving our services, your consent where required, and compliance with legal obligations.

5How we share information

We share information only as described here:

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

6Cookies and analytics

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies. Details, categories, and how to control them are in our Cookie PolicyCookie settings.

We may use analytics services to understand aggregate Site usage. These services set their own cookies and receive your IP address and browsing activity on our Site under their own privacy policies. You can limit this through your cookie preferences and your browser settings.

We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where required by law.

7Text messages

If you give us your mobile number, we may send you text messages about your inquiry, rate review, application, account, equipment, or a service we are performing for you. We send marketing texts only with your prior express written consent, which you can give by checking the text-message box on a form or by replying YES to an opt-in request. Consent is not a condition of buying anything from us.

Our texts are ordinary SMS messages sent from our business phone through our wireless carrier; we do not use a bulk-messaging platform. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to opt out; you can also tell us to stop by email, phone, or any other reasonable means, and we will honor it within ten business days. You may receive one confirmation text after opting out. Reply HELP for help. We do not sell or share mobile numbers or text-message consent with anyone for their own marketing.

8How long we keep information

Where a longer period is required by law, contract, or an ongoing dispute, we retain records for that period.

9Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of what we hold: access-controlled systems, encrypted transmission for the Site (HTTPS), device security, and limiting access to those who need it.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. Email in particular is not a secure channel. If you are sending something sensitive and would prefer a secure method, ask and we will arrange one.

If a breach affecting your personal information occurs, we will notify you as Arizona law requires — within 45 days after we determine that a breach occurred (A.R.S. § 18-552) — and, where a breach affects more than 1,000 people, we will also notify the Arizona Attorney General, the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, and the major consumer reporting agencies. Because we refer businesses to payment processors, we also maintain an information security program under the FTC Safeguards Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 314) and will notify the FTC where that rule requires it.

10Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Know and access what personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information
• Delete your information, subject to legal retention requirements
• Obtain a copy in a portable format
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information — note we do neither
• Not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights

To exercise any right, email privacy@theplacetoshoplocal.com, or write to us at the postal address at the end of this policy. We will verify your identity — usually by confirming details we already hold — and respond within 45 days, extendable once where permitted.

An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf with written proof of authorization.

Marketing. You can opt out of business update emails at any time via the unsubscribe link or by replying. We will still send service messages about your account, which are not marketing.

Do Not Track. Browsers vary in how they send DNT signals and there is no common standard for responding, so we do not respond to DNT. We do honor GPC as noted above.

California residents. We do not sell or share personal information, and our Do Not Sell or Share My Info page explains how to record that preference anyway. California residents may also have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, which you can exercise through the contact methods above.

Arizona residents. Arizona has not enacted a comprehensive consumer privacy law as of the date above, though legislation has been introduced. We extend the rights listed in this section to you regardless, and we will update this policy if Arizona law changes.

11Children

The Site is directed to businesses and is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

12Third-party sites

The Site links to third-party websites, including processor portals and partner services. Once you leave our Site, this policy no longer applies. Review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

13Information practices of processors

When you open a merchant account, the processor and sponsoring bank collect and process information about you and your business under their own privacy policies and under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, independent of us. We will tell you who they are and where to find their policy. We do not control their practices, and their handling of your information is governed by your agreement with them.

14Websites, stores, and ordering pages we build for merchants

When we build or host a website, online store, or ordering page for a merchant, the merchant owns the customer relationship and is responsible for its own privacy notice to its customers. We act only as a service provider to the merchant: we access customer names, contact details, and order information held on that site solely to build, host, maintain, and support it, and we do not use that information for our own purposes or share it with anyone except the merchant's chosen vendors at the merchant's direction.

Payment card data entered on such a site is collected and processed by the payment gateway and processor under the merchant's own agreements, not by us. We do not receive, store, or transmit full card numbers on a merchant's behalf. Sections 16 and 18 of our Terms of Use describe these services and the disclosures we build into checkout pages.

If you are a customer of a merchant whose site we host and you have a question about your information, contact the merchant directly. Where you contact us instead, we will forward your request to the merchant.

15Where information is held, and who we serve

United States only. We provide our services to businesses located and operating in the United States. We do not offer services to, or knowingly collect information from, businesses or individuals outside the United States, and our Site is not directed to them. If you are outside the United States, please do not send us a processing statement, application, or other information; if we receive it, we will delete it.

We operate in the United States and information is stored and processed here. If you nonetheless access the Site from outside the United States, you understand that any information you provide will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those where you live, and that we handle it under this policy and United States law.

16Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. The "Last updated" date will change, and material changes will be posted on this page. If a change materially affects how we use information you have already given us, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you directly.

17Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy:

Contact
ATTN: Legal
ATTN: Office of Compliance
Mailing: 22424 S. Ellsworth Loop Rd, #2222, Queen Creek, AZ 85142. Service of process: Northwest Registered Agent LLC, 4539 N. 22nd St, Ste N, Phoenix, AZ 85016-4396, as registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Email: privacy@theplacetoshoplocal.com Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Arizona time

We will do our best to resolve any concern directly. You also have the right to complain to your state attorney general or applicable data protection authority.