Privacy & Data Protection Policy

1. Introduction & Scope of Services

Visionary Path Services ("VPS", "we", "our", or "us") operates as an education loan advisory, consultation, and Direct Selling Agent (DSA) / channel partner. We specialize in assisting prospective students and their families in evaluating, preparing, and submitting loan applications for undergraduate, postgraduate, master's, doctoral, and MBBS courses in India and across major international destinations (including the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Ireland, France, and New Zealand).

This Privacy Policy governs the collection, storage, transfer, and utilization of Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data or Information (SPDI) provided through our website (www.visionarypathservices.com), WhatsApp communication channels, telephonic consultations, loan assessment forms, and physical or digital loan dossier submissions.

By visiting our website, filling out an eligibility questionnaire, or engaging our advisory services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and consented to the data practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

To assess education loan feasibility and match your profile with suitable partner banks and NBFCs, we collect information across the following categories:

• Personal & Identity Data: Full name of the student/applicant, date of birth, gender, nationality, passport details, PAN card, Aadhaar card (masked/redacted as per UIDAI norms), voter ID, or driver’s license.
• Contact Information: Active mobile phone number, WhatsApp phone number, personal and academic email addresses, current residential address, and permanent address.
• Academic Credentials: 10th and 12th standard mark sheets, undergraduate transcripts, GRE/GMAT/SAT scores, English language proficiency test scores (IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/Duolingo), university admission offer letters, I-20 / CAS letters, and detailed course cost estimates.
• Co-Applicant & Guarantor Financials: Parent, guardian, or co-borrower identity documents, salary slips (last 3–6 months), Form 16, Income Tax Returns (ITR with computation of income for the last 2–3 financial years), bank account statements (last 6 months), business registration certificates (for self-employed co-applicants), and existing loan repayment track records.
• Collateral & Property Documentation (For Secured Loans): Property title deeds, registered sale agreements, approved building plans, property tax paid receipts, encumbrance certificates (EC), layout sanction plans, or Fixed Deposit (FD) receipts when applying for secured lending options.
• Credit & Bureau Data: Credit history reports, CIBIL / Experian scores, active debt obligations, and repayment tracks collected with your specific prior authorization.
• Technical & Log Information: IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, pages visited on our portal, and time spent, collected through automated analytics to optimize website performance.

3. Purpose of Processing Your Information

We process your personal and financial data strictly for legitimate educational finance purposes:

1. To evaluate your education loan eligibility across secured and unsecured loan programs offered by public banks, private banks, and NBFCs.
2. To prepare and format your institutional loan application dossier according to individual lender underwriting requirements.
3. To submit your profile to your preferred or matched lending partners (SBI, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Credila, Avanse, Auxilo, InCred, Prodigy Finance, etc.) on your behalf.
4. To facilitate real-time follow-ups, credit assessment updates, sanction letter issuances, and loan disbursement coordination.
5. To communicate advisory insights, rate updates, document discrepancy alerts, and visa-related financial compliance requirements via Phone, SMS, WhatsApp, and Email.
6. To prevent fraud, verify document authenticity, and comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

4. Explicit Consent & Credit Bureau Authorization

By providing your PAN, phone number, and identity credentials on our forms, you grant express consent to Visionary Path Services and our institutional lending partners to:

• Initiate soft or hard credit bureau inquiries with licensed credit information companies (including CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark) to evaluate creditworthiness.
• Contact you through telephonic calls, WhatsApp messages, RCS, text messages (SMS), and email, notwithstanding any registration of your telephone number on the National Do Not Disturb (DND) or National Customer Preference Register (NCPR).

5. Data Sharing with Partner Lenders & Third Parties

Visionary Path Services operates as an intermediary advisory firm. To facilitate your education loan, your data is shared strictly on a "need-to-know" basis with:

• Regulated Lending Institutions: Scheduled Commercial Public Sector Banks, Private Commercial Banks, and RBI-registered Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) with whom we hold channel partner or DSA tie-ups.
• Legal & Valuation Professionals: Bank-empanelled advocates and technical valuation engineers assigned for property search reports and collateral inspections (exclusively for secured loans).
• Cloud Infrastructure Providers: Secure, encrypted cloud databases and CRM hosting partners operating within high-security data centers compliant with Indian data localization standards.
• Regulatory & Law Enforcement Authorities: When compelled by law, court order, or official investigative bodies in connection with legal obligations or fraud prevention.

6. Strict Zero-Data-Sale Policy

7. Data Security & Storage Protocols

We enforce rigorous administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, data loss, alteration, or disclosure:

• Encryption in Transit: All web traffic and digital form submissions are protected with industry-standard 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) / TLS encryption.
• Restricted Access Controls: Internal access to applicant financial files and ITRs is restricted exclusively to senior loan officers and underwriting coordinators assigned to your specific file.
• Zero Maskless Storage: Sensitive identity identifiers (such as Aadhaar numbers) are masked or redacted in compliance with Indian regulatory directives.

8. Data Retention Period

We retain your personal and loan-related documentation only as long as necessary to fulfill the advisory and sanction facilitation processes:

• If a loan is successfully disbursed, records are preserved for a period mandated by banking partnership audit guidelines and statutory taxation requirements (typically up to 5 to 7 years).
• If an inquiry does not materialize into a loan application or is formally withdrawn, digital copies of submitted KYC and financial documents are securely purged within 180 days upon receipt of a written request.

9. Your Legal Rights (DPDP Act 2023)

Under applicable Indian data protection laws, you possess the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: Request a summary of the personal data held about you and processing activities undertaken.
• Right to Correction: Request rectification of inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete personal and academic records.
• Right to Erasure: Request the deletion of your personal data where retention is no longer necessary for ongoing loan processing or legal compliance.
• Right to Grievance Redressal: File an inquiry or grievance with our dedicated Grievance Officer if you suspect unauthorized handling of your data.

10. Cookies & Web Analytics

Our website utilizes standard session and performance cookies to track page navigation, remember form inputs during a session, and analyze aggregate visitor statistics via Google Analytics.

Cookies do not extract personally identifiable files from your computer. You may choose to disable or block cookies through your individual browser preferences; however, certain interactive features, such as our EMI Calculators or dynamic eligibility checklists, may function with reduced capabilities.

11. Grievance Redressal Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the contact credentials for our appointed Grievance & Compliance Officer are detailed below:

All formal grievances received via email will be acknowledged within 48 business hours and redressed within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt.