The Belgian Finance Center (BFC), a non-profit association (ASBL) established in 2009 and located at Boulevard Louis Schmidt 117 (Box 9), 1040 Brussels, Belgium, is responsible for collecting and processing your personal data in the context of its activities.

Our mission is to promote the Belgian financial sector and strengthen the sense of belonging to it. We pursue this mission by facilitating networking among professionals in the financial industry and by organizing high-level conferences and debates focused on innovation and contemporary financial matters.

In the scope of our activities (event organization, membership management, communications...), we are required to collect and process certain personal data. In our capacity as data controller, we are committed to complying with the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR – Regulation EU 2016/679), as well as applicable Belgian legislation.

This notice explains how your data is processed, as well as your rights and how you can exercise them.

Additional information may be provided at the time of collection, for example via our registration or contact forms.

1. HOW CAN YOU EXERCISE CONTROL OVER THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

You have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that allow you to exercise meaningful control over your personal data and how we process it.

For any request or question relating to your personal data under this Notice, you may contact us:

• by post at the following address: Boulevard Louis Schmidt 117 (Box 9) 1040 Brussels, Belgium,
• or by email at: info@belfinclub.be

You may exercise the following rights, in accordance with the law:

• The right of access: to obtain confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning you is being processed, and to access such data.
• The right to rectification: to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected.
• The right to erasure: to have your personal data erased, within the limits provided by law.
• The right to object:
  • to processing based on legitimate interest, on grounds relating to your particular situation;
  • to processing for direct marketing or commercial prospecting purposes. → Please note that BFC does not carry out commercial prospecting.
• The right to restriction of processing in particular where the accuracy of the data is contested or the processing is unlawful.
• The right to withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on your consent.
• The right to data portability: to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, where applicable.
• The right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects or similarly significant effects on you. → Please note that BFC does not make use of automated decision-making.

How to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority?

In addition to the above rights, you may lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority, usually the one in your country of residence. In Belgium, this is the Data Protection Authority (Autorité de Protection des Données).

2. WHY AND ON WHAT LEGAL BASIS DO WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

We only process your personal data when we have a valid legal basis to do so, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Depending on the context, the processing carried out by the Belgian Finance Center (BFC) is based on one of the following legal grounds:

2.1. Your personal data is processed to comply with our legal obligations.

Certain data is processed to meet legal requirements, including:

• accounting and tax management (e.g. issuing invoices, maintaining records);
• compliance with legal obligations related to our status as a non-profit association.

2.2. Your personal data is processed for the performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

We process your personal data when necessary for:

• the execution of your registration for an event (e.g. confirmation emails, logistics, invoicing where applicable);
• the management of your individual membership with BFC;
• the execution of a partnership agreement with your organisation.

2.3. Your personal data is processed on the basis of our legitimate interest.

In certain cases, we rely on BFC's legitimate interest to ensure the proper functioning of the association. This includes:

• managing our member community (e.g. sending event-related information, administrative follow-up);
• maintaining relationships with partner companies and their representatives;
• planning, organising and improving our events.

We ensure that such processing remains strictly necessary and proportionate to our non-profit purposes.

2.4. Your personal data is processed on the basis of your consent.

Where required, we seek your explicit consent, for example: when collecting information via online forms where consent is necessary.

Note:
If you take part in one of our events, we may send you information about similar upcoming events. This is permitted under a legal exception known as the "soft opt-in", which allows such communications without prior consent, provided that you are clearly informed and can opt out at any time. An unsubscribe link is always included in our messages.

3. WHAT TYPES OF PERSONAL DATA DO WE COLLECT?

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), BFC only collects personal data that is strictly necessary for the performance of its activities. This data may fall into the following categories:

• Identification and contact data: such as your first and last name, email address, and postal address (if provided);
• Data collected during our interactions: information you provide to us through online exchanges, contact forms, or email communications;
• Login credentials: technical data required for secure access to your member space;
• Technical session logs: IP address, browser type, and connection data automatically generated (retained for 30 minutes only).

We do not collect any special categories of personal data (such as health, biometric, or criminal conviction data), nor do we collect browsing data for statistical or marketing purposes.

4. FROM WHOM DO WE COLLECT PERSONAL DATA?

We primarily collect your personal data directly from you, in particular when:

• you register for one of our events via our website or by email;
• you contact us through a form or via other communication channels (email, phone, etc.).

In certain cases, we may also receive personal data indirectly, for example:

• when a colleague or someone from your organisation registers you for an event on your behalf (e.g. group registrations for employees).

5. WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL DATA, AND WHY?

In the context of its activities, the Belgian Finance Center may share certain personal data with third parties only when necessary for the performance of its tasks, and always in compliance with the GDPR.

We use external service providers to support us in the management of our activities (such as event organisation, communication management, technical support, etc.). These processors have access to your personal data only to the extent strictly necessary for the performance of their services, and are contractually bound by strict confidentiality and data security obligations.

The Belgian Finance Center never shares your data for commercial or advertising purposes.

6. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS OF PERSONAL DATA

All personal data is processed and hosted exclusively within the European Economic Area (EEA). The Belgian Finance Center does not transfer any personal data outside the EEA.

7. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

We only keep your personal data for as long as is strictly necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, in compliance with our legal, accounting and contractual obligations.

The retention period may vary depending on:

• the nature of the relationship (member, participant, partner, service provider, etc.);
• the applicable legal obligations (in particular accounting, tax or statutory requirements);
• BFC's operational or administrative constraints (e.g. registration management, event organisation, communication).