Use of cookies on the Slovenská sporiteľňa website

The internet banking, mobile and desktop applications of Slovenská sporiteľňa, as well as our electronic banking and financial services and our web pages use cookies to help us provide you with better services and a customised service offer.

Cookies enable a faster and more secure access to the Bank’s internet banking and web pages and other services.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file which is stored in the web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox) of the user’s computer (or another device with internet access, such as a smartphone or tablet).

The file provides a visitor to our website or internet banking user with an easy and fast access to a customised content whenever he or she returns to web pages (or internet banking service pages) visited before. Information contained in a cookie is available to the website (or web server) which created them only and to no other.

A cookie is a “passive” file: it does not contain any other software programs executable in a user device with internet access (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc.).

What is the content of cookies?

When you visit the web pages or use the applications of Slovenská sporiteľňa, you may encounter temporary and permanent cookies.

Temporary cookies are used in the user’s browser only when he or she browses the website.

They include mainly files which serve to secure and identify the connection between the Bank and the user’s computer during the user’s single visit (they contain e.g. an indication if the device is a mobile one or a computer as well as various encoded identifiers used to provide secure connection to the Bank’s web servers).

As the visitor leaves the website, the temporary cookies are deleted from his or her computer (or another device).

Permanent cookies remain stored in the computer (or another device) until their validity expires or until the user deletes them.

They are used, for example, for the identification of the user’s login and the language he or she is using, or for pre-filling a form. Also, cookies facilitate offering a more relevant content to the user and customise the Bank’s communication with the user.

What are the benefits of using cookies?

A cookie is a file containing information obtained from the user’s web browser and a specific web server.

When the web browser accesses the web server again, the server is able to upload such information, and respond to the data stored in the browser, more easily and more quickly.

Slovenská sporiteľňa is using cookie technology in its web pages and internet banking pages to be able to better integrate the services it offers to its clients.

This also includes the presentation of targeted ads on the Bank’s web pages, web-based form processing and secure and faultless functioning of internet banking services.

Thanks to cookies, we are able to constantly improve and enhance not only our web pages, but also the services and offers we provide to all our clients.

Privacy

The purpose of this material is to provide specific information about our use of cookies. If used in processing personal data which can be attributed to a specific user (or client), cookies are subject to the rules stipulated in applicable personal data and privacy protection legislation. Those rules are incorporated in the Bank’s General Commercial Terms and Conditions as well as the Terms and Conditions of Use of Slovenská sporiteľňa’s Website. For more details and legal information concerning personal data processing please refer to Contractual Terms and Conditions - Personal Data Protection. The following applies, mutatis mutandis, to the processing of cookies: Information on Personal Data Processing – Clients (hereinafter “General Information”) and Privacy Policy – Mobile Applications (hereinafter “Information for Mobile Applications”). You are advised to familiarise yourself with that above additional information.

How do we use cookies?

We basically use cookies for the following purposes:

(i)   Provision of the Bank’s products and services;
(ii)  Implementation of security measures to prevent fraud;
(iii) Marketing.

How long are our cookies stored?

Every cookie has a pre-set time or length of function, which depends on the purpose the cookie serves. Accordingly, the times specified in the General Information and the Information for Mobile Applications apply, mutatis mutandis, to the length of use and the length of storage.

What cookies settings are available and how can cookies be deleted?

On the websites of Slovenská sporiteľňa or when using our applications, you can meet the so-called essential, statistics, unclassiefied and marketing cookies.

Each user is entitled to set the use of cookies where it is possible. Consent to the use of cookies is granted mainly for marketing purposes.

Essential cookies

Essential cookies are those without which browsing our web pages and using our services in a standard manner (i.e. up to the visitor’s expectations) would be impossible. The technical storage and access of such cookies are used for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over the network, or the cookies are strictly necessary in order for us to provide you with the information society service (such as website or application) you request. Such cookies enable, for example, access to the secured website section (George) or help to ensure an adequate level of security. The use of essential cookies is possible even without you giving us your consent. Accordingly, essential cookies cannot be enabled or disabled.

Analytical (marketing) cookies

These cookies obtain information on how individual websites are used and provide specific users with relevant and interesting ads that may be useful for them

Third-party websites

Our web pages may incorporate hyperlinks to third-party websites. Such third parties have their own privacy policies which are beyond our liability. If you choose to use links to third-party websites, you are advised to read the relevant privacy policies.

Third-party services

In order to improve the user experience of our website, we are using services of third parties to gather anonymised data which are collected by third-party cookies. Such data may be stored on third-party servers. Third parties may have access to cookies or to other information collected by cookies, but this only to the extent of our contractual arrangements and under our control. If you want us to not use such data collection services in respect of you, click the “Withdraw consent to cookies” button below, or adjust your browser settings appropriately. The third parties whose services we are using include, without limitation, the following:

Google

Google Analytics
Google Optimize
More about privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=sk

Adobe

Adobe Experience Cloud
More about privacy: http://www.adobe.com/privacy/analytics.html  

ThreatMark

ThreatMark
More about privacy: https://www.threatmark.com/privacy-terms/

Hotjar

More about privacy: https://help.hotjar.com/hc/en-us/sections/360007966773-Privacy 
More about cookies: https://help.hotjar.com/hc/en-us/articles/115011789248-Hotjar-Cookie-Information

Google Analytics

This service of Google Inc. is an analytical tool which stores information in cookies and uses them to generate statistical reports of our website visitor rates. This functionality is not inevitable for browsing and it only serves us to monitor the website operation and to improve it. Slovenská sporiteľňa does not process any personal data or any other identifiers usable for indirect identification of data subjects (e.g. IP addresses) in its use of Google Analytics. This, however, does not mean that such use does not involve the processing of your personal data by Google Inc. as the operator of the Google Analytics service.

The master cookie used by Google Analytics is a __ga file. For more information of cookie types used by Google Inc. see https://policies.google.com/technologies/types?hl=sk

In addition to generating statistical reports on the use of our web pages, Google Analytics can also be utilised, in combination with certain advertising cookies, in order to show users the most relevant Google ads (based on the history of their searches and activities in our website) and measure interactions with the ads.

To analyse your behaviour in our web pages, Google Analytics also uses certain types of cookies which are stored in the website end-user’s device (computer, tablet, smartphone). To protect your privacy better, Google anonymizes a part of the IP address pertaining to the device of our website end user immediately after its acquisition. Google Inc. uses the information gathered during the use of our website to evaluate your use of the website and generate reports on activities in our website for us and provide other services related to the use of our website and of the internet to us. This data processing by Google Analytics can be disabled by suitable browser settings: you can install an add-on plug-in in your internet browser, which is available at: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

If you click the link, an opt-out cookie will be stored through installed add-on extension to your internet browser to prevent data gathering during your future visits to the website of Slovenská sporiteľňa. For more information regarding the terms of the processing of your personal data by Google Inc. in connection with the use of Google Analytics, read the Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites?hl=sk.

Third-party advertising systems

Slovenská sporiteľňa is currently using advertising systems of third parties which collect third-party cookies on our web pages. Such cookies are used by those third parties for advertising purposes. If you want us to not use such data collection services in respect of you, click the in the bottom of the page in the are “Would you like to change your consent?” to the "Next" button below and on the next page click "Manage privacy settings" button, or adjust your browser settings appropriately. The third parties whose advertising systems we are using include, without limitation, the following:

Google

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=sk

Gemius

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://www.gemius.com/privacy-policy.html

Facebook

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://www.facebook.com/legal/FB_Work_Privacy

Adform

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://site.adform.com/privacy-center/platform-privacy/

Media Innovation Group

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://www.mookie1.com/en-us/privacy.html

Flashtalking

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://www.flashtalking.com/privacypolicy/

AppNexus

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://www.appnexus.com/platform-privacy-policy

Sizmek

Tracking pixels
More about privacy: https://www.sizmek.com/privacy-policy/

Social networks

You are advised to familiarise yourself with the privacy policies of the providers of the social media platforms through which we communicate. Information published by us explains only basic matters regarding the administration of our social network profiles. We have only typical administrator rights in the processing of your personal data through our social media profiles.  We assume that by using social networks you understand that your personal data are primarily processed by the social network platforms providers (such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram or Twitter) and that we have no control over such processing and further provision of your personal data to third parties and their cross-border transmission to third countries by those social network platform providers, and that we assume no liability therefor. For further information concerning the processing of personal data by social network operators please refer below to the descriptions of the specific services which Slovenská sporiteľňa may use in its professional use of social networks and the administration of our social network profiles.

Facebook and Instagram

Social media plugins (“plugins”) provided by the social network Facebook Inc., 1601 South California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA (“Facebook”) are integrated into our website. Due to your visit to our website, Facebook receives information that you have visited the website, together with your IP address. If you click the Facebook icon appearing on our website when you are simultaneously logged into and/or registered with your Facebook account, the contents of the website will be linked to your Facebook profile. Consequently, Facebook is able to link your visit to the website to your user account. Data is transmitted irrespective of whether or not you have an account with Facebook. Please note that Slovenská sporiteľňa has no control over the data collected and the data processing taking place during your use of our website, nor are we aware of the full extent of the data collected and the purposes of their processing or the time during which the data are stored. Facebook stores the data about you in the form of user profiles and uses them for its own advertising and market research purposes and/or for tailoring its services and tools to fit registered users. This evaluation is carried out mainly in order to inform other Facebook users of your activities in our website. You have the right to object to such creation of user profiles; you objections must be addressed to Facebook Inc. You are advised to always log off after using Facebook, especially in order to avoid the allocation of your internet behaviour to your profile. For additional information on the purpose and scope of Facebook’s data collection and processing, refer to the Facebook’s Data Protection Declaration at: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

Also, we would like to inform you that we may perform advertising campaigns using services provided by Facebook Ireland Limited which are referred to as “Data File Custom Audiences” and which may involve merging personal data processed by us with those processed in Facebook’s databases, and “Measurement and Analytics” services whereby Facebook processes personal data on our behalf in order to measure the performance and reach of our advertising campaigns and provide us with overviews of the audience that has seen and responded to our advertising contents. This processing of your personal data may thus occur when you interact with our advertising contents or our website while using your Facebook user profile. In such cases, we use Facebook as a data processor and the processing of your personal data is then subject to the following legal warranties: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/businesstools, https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/dataprocessing.

We also use the Facebook’s “Page Insights” service to obtain aggregated statistics on the use of our Facebook profile. For the purposes of the processing of personal data of users visiting our profile, which takes places as part of the functionalities of this service, we entered into a Joint Controller Addendum with Facebook whose essential parts can be found at:  https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum.

If the personal data processing explained above is disturbing to you, you may object to it or use available self-regulatory instruments developed for the on-line marketing sector, which are available at: http://www.aboutads.info/choices and http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/). Available on-line, these instruments will enable you to automatically detect digital identifiers of third parties (including those of Facebook) in your computer and delete them in order to prevent possible processing of your personal data.