Privacy Policy | PayHold

Western Enterprises & Community United Ltd (doing business as PayHold) respects your privacy. This Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you use payhold.ca and our escrow platform anywhere in Canada. We operate from British Columbia and serve Customers and Contractors in all provinces and territories. We handle personal information in accordance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) where it applies to our organization, and other applicable provincial or territorial privacy laws (including, where relevant, Québec’s privacy framework and Alberta’s PIPA).

1. Who we are

Western Enterprises & Community United Ltd (“we,” “us”), doing business as PayHold, operates the PayHold contractor payment-hold Service from British Columbia, Canada, for users across Canada. In this Policy, “PayHold” means Western Enterprises & Community United Ltd operating the Service. Privacy contact: info@payhold.ca.

2. Scope

This Policy applies to personal information we collect through our website, escrow forms, portals, emails, and related services from individuals in any Canadian province or territory. It does not apply to third-party sites we link to (including Stripe’s checkout pages), which have their own policies.

If a provincial law grants you rights that cannot be limited by this Policy, those rights apply in addition to the practices described here.

3. Information we collect

3.1 You provide:

Identity and contact data (name, email, phone, company);
Project data (title, address/city, description, amounts, milestones);
Role information (Customer or Contractor);
Payout details (e-Transfer email/phone, EFT transit/institution/account, legal name);
Communications you send to us; and
Acceptance records (terms checkboxes, timestamps).

3.2 Payment data: Card and PAD details are typically entered on Stripe or bank interfaces. We receive payment tokens, status, last-four digits or bank references, amounts, and identifiers—not full card PAN/CVV when processed by Stripe Checkout. For Interac/EFT we receive references and confirmation data you or your bank provide.

3.3 Automatically collected: IP address, browser type, device data, pages viewed, approximate location derived from IP, and diagnostic logs. We may use cookies or similar technologies as described below.

3.4 From others: Counterparty details entered by the other party to a Transaction; fraud/risk signals from processors; publicly available information for compliance where appropriate.

4. How we use information

We use personal information to:

create and administer Escrows and portals;
collect, match, hold (operationally), and release project payments;
send Transaction emails and operational notices;
calculate and collect Fees;
prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents;
comply with law, payment-network rules, and accounting needs;
improve the Service and customer support; and
with consent where required, send product updates or marketing (you may opt out of marketing).

5. Purposes and consent

Under PIPEDA and applicable provincial private-sector privacy laws (including BC PIPA), we collect, use, and disclose personal information for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, including performance of the Escrow, payment processing, fraud prevention, and legal compliance anywhere in Canada. Where consent is required, it may be express (e.g. checkbox) or implied (e.g. providing an email to receive portal access). You may withdraw consent subject to legal or contractual restrictions (for example we may still process data needed to complete an open Escrow or meet record-keeping duties).

If you are in Québec or another jurisdiction with additional consent or transparency rules, we will take those requirements into account for residents of that jurisdiction as they apply to our activities.

6. Sharing and disclosure

We may share personal information with:

The other party to your Escrow (names, emails, project and payment status needed to operate the Transaction);
Service providers such as Stripe, email providers (e.g. Resend), hosting (e.g. Netlify), DNS/CDN, analytics (if enabled), and professional advisors, under obligations to protect the information;
Banks and payment networks to process e-Transfers, EFT, PAD, and card payments;
Authorities when required by law, court order, or to protect rights, safety, and fraud prevention; and
Business transferees in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, subject to appropriate protections.

We do not sell personal information.

7. Cross-border transfers

Some providers process data in the United States or other countries (for example Stripe or cloud hosts). While outside Canada, information may be subject to foreign laws, including lawful access by foreign authorities. We use contractual and organizational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the data.

8. Retention

We retain Escrow, payment, and communications records for as long as needed to provide the Service, resolve disputes, and meet legal, tax, AML, and accounting requirements (often several years after Transaction close). We then delete or anonymize when retention is no longer required, subject to backup cycles.

9. Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including HTTPS, restricted access to production systems, and tokenized portal links. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. You must protect portal links and email accounts.

10. Your rights

Subject to legal limits, you may request:

access to personal information we hold about you;
correction of inaccurate information;
information about our practices; and
withdrawal of consent for optional processing (e.g. marketing).

Contact info@payhold.ca. We may need to verify your identity. We respond within timelines required by applicable law.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

We may use essential cookies for security and site function, and optionally analytics cookies to understand traffic. You can control cookies through browser settings; disabling essential cookies may break parts of the Service.

12. Children

The Service is not directed to individuals under the age of majority. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have, contact us to delete it.

13. Changes

We may update this Policy by posting a new version with a revised Effective date. Material changes will be highlighted where appropriate. Continued use after the Effective date means you acknowledge the updated Policy.

14. Contact and complaints

Privacy requests: info@payhold.ca (subject: Privacy).
Western Enterprises & Community United Ltd (dba PayHold) · British Columbia · Serving users across Canada

If you have an unresolved concern, you may contact:

the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca); and/or
your provincial or territorial privacy commissioner where applicable (for example, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia at oipc.bc.ca, or the equivalent office in your province or territory).