Legal
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information HilalPay collects, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. We have written it to describe what the app and our systems actually do, in plain language.
1. Introduction
Hilal Fintech (Private) Limited ("HilalPay", "we", "us", or "our") operates the HilalPay mobile application (the "App") — a digital khata and invoice-financing app for retail businesses in Pakistan, and the website at hilalpe.com.
By creating an account or using the App, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.
This policy applies to merchants, shopkeepers and business owners who register for or use HilalPay, and to visitors to our website.
2. Scope
This policy covers information we process through the App, our website, and the systems that support them. It also covers information we receive about you from our business partners, described in section 3.8.
Some of the companies we work with process information on our behalf — for example our identity-verification provider and our cloud hosting providers. They act on our instructions, and we remain responsible for that information. They are listed in section 7.
3. Information we collect
3.1 Information you give us
- Account and profile details: your name, mobile phone number, and CNIC (Computerized National Identity Card) number.
- Business information: business or store name, business type, business address, and tax registration number where you provide one.
- Business location: the location of your business, which you set during sign-up.
- Ledger and transaction data: cash-in and cash-out entries, credit or "udhaar" records, transaction amounts, dates, and any notes you add.
- Customer records: the names, phone numbers and balances of customers you add to your ledger.
- Financing information: invoice details, financing applications, and related information you submit to apply for or manage financing.
- Communications: information you provide when you contact our support team.
3.2 Identity verification (KYC)
To use certain features, including invoice financing, you must complete identity verification.
Verification through our partner Didit. By default, identity verification is carried out by our partner Didit through a secure, hosted flow. That flow captures images of your identity document (CNIC front and back), a selfie photograph, and a "liveness" check that confirms a real person is present.
What we receive and keep. Didit returns the verification outcome to us together with the information it read from your document and the checks it performed. We receive and store your full name, date of birth, document number, the portrait image taken during verification, and the scores indicating how closely your selfie matched your document and whether the liveness check passed. We also keep a copy of your identity document images and selfie in our own secure storage.
If verification cannot be completed. If Didit rejects or cannot verify part of your information, we may ask you to provide or correct only the specific items flagged — which may include your full name, CNIC number, date of birth, address, or a selfie. Only the flagged information you submit at that step is uploaded to our systems.
We use identity-verification data only to verify who you are and to meet our regulatory obligations. We do not use your selfie for any facial-recognition purpose unrelated to verifying your identity, and we do not sell it.
3.3 Voice commands
If you use the voice command feature, the App records a short audio clip — up to ten seconds — and sends it to our servers. We then pass that recording to Google's Gemini service, which converts your speech to text and identifies what you asked for, such as recording a payment. Google processes the recording on our behalf in order to return that result to us.
To act on your instruction, we match the names in it against the customer records in your own ledger. We keep voice recordings for up to 30 days and then delete them. You can choose not to use the voice feature; nothing else in the App depends on it.
3.4 Business location
With your permission, we use your device's location to help you set your business location during sign-up, and to show it on a map (using Google Maps). We use location only at the point you set or update your business location. We do not track your location in the background, and we do not follow your movements.
3.5 Customer contacts
When you add a customer to your ledger, you can either type their details or pick someone from your phone's contacts. If you pick a contact, your device shows you the picker and passes us only the single contact you chose — we receive that person's name and phone number, and nothing else from your address book. You can always enter customers manually instead.
If you add a customer's details to HilalPay, you are responsible for having the right to share them with us. We use those details only to maintain your ledger and, where you ask us to, to send that customer a payment reminder.
3.6 Images
With your permission, we use your camera so you can scan QR codes, capture identity documents, and photograph your shop. You can also select an existing image from your device to upload. We only ever receive images you deliberately capture or select.
3.7 Information we collect automatically
- Device information: device model, operating system version, app version, language, and device identifiers.
- Push notification token: an identifier provided through OneSignal so we can send you notifications.
- Log and usage data: IP address, access times, features used, and diagnostic information. We keep these logs for 30 days.
We do not use any advertising networks, and we do not include analytics, tracking or profiling software from third parties in the App.
3.8 Information we obtain from our business partners
We work with distribution partners who supply goods to retail businesses. Where you buy from one of these partners, we receive records about your business from them — including your business name and contact details, your CNIC and tax registration numbers, and your purchase, invoice and payment history with that partner.
We may receive this information before you have an account with us. We use it to assess creditworthiness as described in section 6, and to identify businesses we can invite to use HilalPay. If you would like to know what we hold about your business, or ask us to stop using it, contact us using the details in section 15.
4. App permissions
You can grant or refuse each permission, and change your mind later in your device settings. Some features will not work without the relevant permission.
| Permission | Why we ask for it |
|---|---|
| Camera | Scan QR codes, capture identity documents, and take shop or receipt photos |
| Microphone | Record voice commands, only while you are using the voice feature |
| Location | Set and display your business location during sign-up |
| Notifications | Send you transaction alerts and repayment reminders |
Choosing a photo or a contact does not require you to grant us access to your gallery or your address book — your device shows you a picker and passes us only the item you select.
5. How we use your information
We use your information to:
- create and manage your account and verify your identity;
- provide the digital khata, cashbook, creditbook and customer-management features;
- assess creditworthiness and manage financing applications, limits and repayments (see section 6);
- operate the voice command feature;
- display your business location;
- send you transactional and service notifications, and send reminders you ask us to send;
- provide customer support and respond to your requests;
- keep the App secure, prevent fraud, and diagnose problems;
- comply with our legal, regulatory and financial-services obligations; and
- improve and develop our features.
6. How we assess creditworthiness
When we decide whether to offer you financing and how much, we assess the risk using information about your business. This includes your purchase and repayment history with our distribution partners, how recently and how often you order, the range of products you buy, how long you have been trading, and your returns history. It also includes your repayment record with us.
Part of this assessment is automated. Our systems calculate a score and a risk category for your business without human involvement. Businesses with very little trading history may not be scored at all. A member of our team reviews the result before any credit limit is approved or declined — decisions are not made by the system alone.
We do not use your location, your device, your contacts or your personal characteristics to assess creditworthiness, and we do not buy data about you from credit bureaus or telecom companies.
If you would like to know how your assessment was reached, disagree with it, or want a person to look at it again, contact us using the details in section 15 and we will review it.
7. How we share your information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as described here.
| Who | What they receive, and why |
|---|---|
| Didit Identity verification | The identity document images, selfie and liveness data captured during verification, in order to verify your identity and return the result to us. |
| Google Voice processing and maps | Voice recordings you make with the voice feature, to convert them to text. Map and location data when your business location is displayed. |
| OneSignal Push notifications | Your notification token and limited device information, to deliver notifications. |
| Our SMS provider Messaging | Your phone number and message content, to send one-time passcodes and service messages. Where you ask us to send a customer a reminder, that customer's number and the reminder text. |
| Cloud hosting and storage providers | They store and process information on our behalf under confidentiality and data-protection terms. See section 13. |
| Distribution and financing partners | Where you apply for or use financing, the application and identity information needed to assess and service it, and records of the orders, financing and repayments relating to your account with that partner. |
| Regulators, law enforcement and courts | Where required by law, or to protect rights, safety and the integrity of our services. |
| A buyer or investor | In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets — subject to this policy. |
8. How long we keep information
We keep your information for as long as your account is active and for as long as we need it to provide the App, and after that where the law requires us to keep it.
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Voice recordings | Up to 30 days, then deleted |
| Server and access logs | 30 days |
| Financial, transaction and identity-verification records | At least five years after your account closes or our relationship ends, as required by Pakistani financial-services and anti-money-laundering rules |
| Everything else | Deleted or anonymised when it is no longer needed, or on request — see section 11 |
9. How we protect information
We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect your information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. These include encrypting all traffic between the App and our servers, encrypting identity documents and selfies where they are stored, hashing passwords so they cannot be read back, verifying that messages from our partners are genuine, limiting staff access to what each role needs, and keeping audit records of administrative actions.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please keep your login details confidential, and tell us straight away if you think someone else has access to your account.
10. Your rights and choices
You may:
- See and correct your account and profile information in the App, or ask us for a copy of what we hold;
- Delete your account and associated personal data — see section 11;
- Ask about a credit assessment and request that a person review it — see section 6;
- Withdraw permission for optional features, for example by not using the voice feature or by turning off a permission in your device settings;
- Manage notifications in your device settings; and
- Ask us to stop using information we received about your business from a partner.
To exercise any of these, email danish@hilalpe.com. We will respond within 30 days.
11. Deleting your account
You can ask us to delete your HilalPay account and your personal data at any time. Request account deletion →
Start a request on the page linked above, or email danish@hilalpe.com from the phone number or email address registered to your account.
We will verify the request is genuinely from you and then delete your account and personal data — including your identity documents, selfie and any voice recordings — within 30 days. We will keep only what the law requires us to keep, described in section 8, and any outstanding financing records until that financing is settled. Anything we keep for those reasons stays protected under this policy and is deleted once the required period ends.
12. Children's privacy
HilalPay is for people aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Where your information is processed
Our servers and databases are hosted with Alibaba Cloud in Hong Kong. Identity documents and other uploaded files are stored with Amazon Web Services in the United States. Our identity-verification partner Didit processes information in the European Union. Google and OneSignal process information in the United States and other countries where they operate. Our SMS provider operates in Pakistan.
This means your information is processed outside Pakistan. Wherever it goes, we require it to be protected in line with this policy and applicable law.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version at hilalpe.com/privacy and change the "Last updated" date above. If a change materially affects you, we will tell you through the App or by another direct means. Continuing to use the App after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.
15. How to contact us
If you have a question, a request, or a complaint about this policy or how we handle your information:
- Hilal Fintech (Private) Limited
- Privacy contact: Danish Murad
- Email: danish@hilalpe.com
- Address: 11th Floor (Tower B), Fortune Tower, Block 6, PECHS, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi, Pakistan
- Website: hilalpe.com
16. Your consent
By using HilalPay, you confirm that you have read and understood this policy and agree to us collecting, using and sharing your information as described in it.