Information we hold
The information we process
We collect and process various types of personal information at the start of and for the duration of your relationship with us.
We might have to sometimes collect special categories of information for the purpose of detecting and preventing financial crime or to make our services accessible to you. But we will only collect or use this information when we have your explicit consent or are otherwise lawfully permitted to do so according to the law.
Personal Information
Special categories of information.
If we have a lawful right to do so and in order to prevent crime, money laundering or other fraudulent activity, we will also use information about criminal convictions and alleged offences.
How we obtain information
Your information is made up of all the financial and personal information we collect and hold about you or your business and the proprietors, officers and beneficial owners of that business and your transactions. It includes:
Information you give to us.
Information that we receive from third parties (including other NatWest Group companies, third parties who provide services to you or us, the Central Credit Register, credit reference, fraud prevention or government agencies and other banks).
Information that we learn about you through our relationship with you and the way you use your products or services, such as the payments made to and from your accounts.
Information that we gather from the technology which you use to access our services (for example location data from your mobile phone).
Information that we gather from publicly available sources such as the press, the electoral register, company registers and online search engines.
How long we keep your information
Why we keep records
By providing you with products or services, we create records that contain your information, such as customer account records, activity records, tax records and lending and credit account records. Records can be held on a variety of media (physical or electronic) and formats.
We manage our records to help us to serve our customers well (for example for operational reasons, such as dealing with any queries relating to your account) and to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Records help us demonstrate that we are meeting our responsibilities and to keep as evidence of our business activities.
Retention periods for records are determined based on the type of record
Retention periods for records are determined based on the type of record, the nature of the activity, product or service, the country in which the relevant NatWest Group company is located and the applicable local legal or regulatory requirements. We (and other NatWest Group companies) normally keep customer account records for up to seven years after your relationship with the us ends, whilst other records are retained for shorter periods, for example ninety days for CCTV records. Retention periods may be changed from time to time based on business or legal and regulatory requirements.
We may on exception retain your information for longer periods, particularly where we need to withhold destruction or disposal based on an order from the courts or an investigation by law enforcement agencies or our regulators. This is intended to make sure that we will be able to produce records as evidence, if they're needed.
