Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and scope

Pier20 Ltd (“MerchantWise”, “PIER20”, “we”, “our”, “us”) operates the MerchantWise service at merchantwise.co.uk and any related subdomains, tools and content (together, the “MerchantWise Service”).

MerchantWise is a brand of Pier20 Ltd.

• Controller: Pier20 Ltd
• Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, WC2H 9JQ
• Contact email: privacy@pier20.com

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal data in connection with the MerchantWise Service.

The MerchantWise Service is aimed at business users established in the United Kingdom. However, this policy applies to anyone whose personal data we process in connection with MerchantWise, wherever they are located.

Other PIER20 services: PIER20 also operates other services which have their own terms and, where appropriate, additional privacy documentation. This Privacy Policy focuses on MerchantWise.

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2. How we act (controller vs. processors)

For the MerchantWise Service:

• PIER20 acts as an independent controller in relation to the personal data collected via merchantwise.co.uk and our tools (including data you upload or input).
• We use third-party service providers (for example, hosting, analytics and AI model providers) who act as our processors. They may only process personal data on our instructions.

We do not act as a processor for MerchantWise users in the same way we do for clients of our managed AI-SDR services. You use the MerchantWise tools as a self-service product; we determine the purposes and means of processing for those tools.

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3. What information we collect

3.1 Information you provide directly

When you use MerchantWise, you may give us:

• Identity and contact data

  • Name
  • Work email address
  • Business name
  • Job title or role
  • Telephone number (if you choose to provide it)

• Verification and access data

  • One-time passcodes (OTP) or similar verification tokens
  • Time and date of verification
  • Information about which tools you access

• Tool input and upload data

  • Numbers and text you type into our tools (e.g. revenue, costs, balance sheet lines)
  • Documents you upload (e.g. payment-processor statements, transaction exports, fee summaries)
  • Any comments or labels you add within the tools

• Communication data

  • Messages you send us (e.g. via contact forms or email)
  • Feedback on tools and content
  • Any information you give us if you book a call with us

• Marketing preferences

  • Your choices about receiving updates about MerchantWise or PIER20
  • Unsubscribe/opt-out information

• We do not intend MerchantWise to be used for storing or analysing full payment card numbers, card security codes (CVV/CVC) or “special category” personal data (such as health data or information about someone’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, sexual orientation or sex life). Please do not include this type of information in your uploads.

3.2 Information we collect automatically

When you visit MerchantWise, we automatically collect:

• Technical data

  • IP address
  • Browser type and version
  • Device type and operating system
  • Time zone setting and approximate location (from IP)
  • Referring URL, pages viewed, time spent on pages

• Usage data

  • The tools and reports you access
  • Buttons clicked, navigation paths and errors encountered
  • Whether emails we send (e.g. verification codes, updates) are opened or clicked

This information is collected using server logs and cookies or similar technologies. See section 10 (Cookies) for more details.

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4. How we use personal data and our lawful bases

We only use personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under UK data protection law. The table below summarises the main purposes.

We will update this table if we introduce significantly new uses of personal data.

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5. Where we obtain personal data

For MerchantWise we obtain personal data from:

• You directly – when you sign up, use the tools, upload data, contact us or opt in/out of marketing.
• Your device / browser – through cookies, logs and similar technologies.
• Our other systems – if you already have a relationship with PIER20 (for example, if you are a PIER20 client or subscriber and we want to avoid duplicate records).
• Service providers – for example, high-level analytics about site usage or email deliverability (these providers act as our processors).

We do not currently obtain MerchantWise tool input data from third-party data brokers; it comes from you or your business.

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6. Uploads, AI processing and training

6.1 How we handle uploads and tool inputs

When you use MerchantWise tools that allow you to upload or input data (for example, a P&L simulator or a payment-processor statement analyser):

• We process that data only to:

  • run the requested analysis or simulation;
  • display results to you; and
  • operate, secure and troubleshoot the tools.

• We treat your uploaded data as confidential business information.

• We aim to retain detailed tool inputs and uploads only for a limited period:

  • long enough to provide results and operate the service; and
  • a short additional period for security logs, troubleshooting and quality checks.

After that, we will either delete or anonymise the data. We may keep aggregated or anonymised statistics (for example, ranges of fees or error rates across many users) which no longer identify you or your business.

6.2 Use of AI and third-party model providers

Some MerchantWise tools may use AI or machine-learning models to analyse your data or generate commentary.

To do this, we may send portions of your inputs and uploads to carefully selected AI service providers acting as our processors. They process this data only to provide outputs back to us.

We do not permit those AI providers to use MerchantWise user data to train or retrain their general-purpose or foundation models. We contractually require them to:

• keep your data confidential;
• use it only to provide services to us; and
• delete it within defined timeframes consistent with our instructions.

PIER20 itself also does not use MerchantWise tool inputs or uploads to train or retrain general-purpose AI models.

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7. Who we share information with

We do not sell personal data.

7.1 Service providers (processors)

We use trusted service providers who act as our processors and process personal data only on our instructions. Typical categories include:

We require these providers to keep personal data confidential, use it only for our purposes, and apply appropriate security measures.

A more detailed list of our main processors and their locations is available on request.

7.2 Independent third parties

We may also share personal data with:

• Professional advisers – such as lawyers, accountants and insurers, where necessary for advice or dispute resolution.
• Regulators and public authorities – such as the ICO, HMRC, courts or law enforcement, where we are legally obliged or permitted to do so.
• Potential buyers – if we sell or restructure all or part of our business, in which case personal data may be disclosed to prospective buyers and transferred as part of the transaction (they will be bound by similar privacy obligations).

We do not share MerchantWise tool inputs or uploads with other MerchantWise users or with third parties for their independent marketing.

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8. How long we keep information

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including any legal or reporting requirements.

Indicative retention periods for MerchantWise are:

If we are involved in a dispute, investigation or regulatory matter, we may retain relevant information for longer, to the extent necessary to establish or defend legal claims.

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9. International transfers

Some of our service providers are located outside the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA), or process data in those locations.

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK/EEA, we will ensure that an appropriate safeguard is in place, such as:

• an adequacy decision (the destination country is recognised as providing an adequate level of protection); or
• Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.

You can contact us at privacy@pier20.com for more information on the safeguards used for a specific transfer.

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10. Cookies and similar technologies

MerchantWise uses cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels and local storage) to:

• operate the site securely;
• remember your choices; and
• understand how the site and tools are used.

We group these as:

When you first visit MerchantWise, you will see a cookie banner that allows you to accept or reject non-essential cookies. You can change your decision later through the “Cookie settings” link (where available) or your browser settings.

For more detail about the cookies we use, you can contact us using the details in section 1. If we publish a separate Cookie Policy in future, that policy will apply in addition to this Privacy Policy.

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11. Your rights

Under UK data-protection law, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access – to ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification – to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
• Right to erasure – to ask us to delete your personal data, in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction – to ask us to suspend our use of your data, in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability – to request a copy of certain data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to object – to object to our processing based on legitimate interests (including direct marketing).
• Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time (this will not affect processing that has already happened).

These rights are subject to conditions and exceptions under the law. For example, we may not be able to delete information that we must keep for legal reasons.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact privacy@pier20.com. We will respond within one month, or explain if we need more time for complex requests.

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12. Complaints

If you have questions or concerns about how we handle personal data, please contact us first:

• Email: privacy@pier20.com

We will do our best to resolve your concern.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority:

• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO),Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
• ico.org.uk / 0303 123 1113

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13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example if we add new tools or if the law changes.

We will post the updated version on merchantwise.co.uk and change the “Last updated” date at the top. If changes are significant, we may also notify you by email or via the site.