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Check out the latest news from Shoal and get tips on on how to make the money in your pocket work hard for you and a more sustainable future

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Shoal sustainable savings B Corporation certified
Edgars @ Shoal, sustainable savings

Shoal is a Certified B-Corp™

Shoal is now a Certified B-Corp! We’re so proud that we’ve been recognised by B Corp UK for the way we do business and for the positive impact our sustainable savings product is having. We’re sure you’ve seen the B-Corp label on some of the products and services you use, but what makes buying from a B-Corp different? What is a B-Corp? B-Corp is

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Edgars @ Shoal, sustainable savings

How can you make a difference with your personal finance choices?

As individuals, we have the power to make a real impact through our personal financial choices. There are many ways to do this, and one important approach is to consider the environmental and social impact of the financial products and services we use. Some options to consider include: 1.    Green savings 2.    Green investments 3.    Products that support

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Edgars @ Shoal, sustainable savings

Getting to grips with ESG and other concepts in sustainable finance

Financial concepts can be complex, and if you layer sustainability on top it can all quickly become a little daunting. Let’s run through a few concepts and ideas that you might hear referred to when exploring sustainable finance. Let’s start with ESG In the context of sustainable products, you may have heard the acronym ESG,

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Edgars @ Shoal, sustainable savings

How to include sustainability in your financial choices

Sustainability is a pressing issue that affects us all, and it’s essential that we take action to address it. Your finances are a great place to start from, because choices you make about your money can have a big impact, both individually and collectively In this series, we’ll be sharing some practical tips and strategies

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Edgars @ Shoal, sustainable savings

Why we started Shoal

It all started with one question. Is there a financial institution that cares about the planet that can also help me reach my savings goals? That question inevitably led to more questions. Can my savings actually make a postive impact around the world? How can I know my savings are making an impact? How many

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Website terms of use

Site and company details

Access to this site and the use of information contained on it is governed by the terms and conditions set out below.

This website (the “site”) is owned by Shoal Ltd (“Shoal”, “us”, “we” or “our”), which operates the Shoal business. The site provides information on the Shoal business and the products and financial services which it intends to offer in the future.

Shoal Ltd is a limited company incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 13846154.

Use of this site

The site provides you with information on the products and financial services which Shoal intends to offer in the future. Your use of this site is governed by these website terms of use (“Terms of Use”) and our privacy policy and cookies policy. This is a legally binding agreement between you and Shoal establishing the terms and conditions under which this site may be used. Your use of the site constitutes your acceptance of these Terms of Use.

Products and services

The information and material on this site is not an offer, solicitation, invitation, advice or recommendation for products or financial services provided by Shoal. Use of the products or services described on this site may not be permitted in some countries and if in doubt, you should check with your local financial regulator or authority before requesting further information. These products and services may be withdrawn or amended at any time without prior notice.

Products and services are available only at the discretion of Shoal, subject to the individual contractual terms and conditions on which those products and services are offered (“Product Terms and Conditions”). In the event of conflict between (1) these site Terms of Use and/or the local site’s terms and conditions, and (2) the Product Terms and Conditions, the Product Terms and Conditions shall prevail.

Disclaimer

The material and information contained on this site are provided for general information only and should not be used as a basis for making business or investment decisions. Any information on the site should not be relied upon without consulting primary, more accurate or more up-to-date sources of information or specific professional advice, which we recommend you to obtain. Shoal makes no representation or warranty of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory regarding the material and information contained or referred to on each page associated with the site.

No warranty is given that economic reporting information or data is accurate, reliable or up to date on the site. Geographic, political, economic, statistical, financial and exchange rate data are presented in certain cases in approximate, summary or simplified form and may change over time. Reliance has been placed by the editors on certain external statistical data which, though believed to be correct, may not in fact be accurate.

The site may contain articles and materials written by third party authors or contributors. All opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author (whether the author is from Shoal or a third party contributor) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Shoal. Nothing in the articles and materials should be construed as asserting or implying Shoal’s endorsement of the author’s views.

The inclusion of hyperlinks on the site does not imply any endorsement of the material on such sites by Shoal. Any hyperlinks from the site exist for information purposes and are for your convenience only. Shoal is not responsible for the contents of third party websites. If you visit third party websites, then your rights and obligations while accessing and using those sites will be governed by the agreements and policies relating to use of those third party sites.

Limitation of liability

Shoal accepts no liability for any loss or damage (including special, incidental or consequential loss or damage) arising directly or indirectly from your use of the site, howsoever arising from, but not limited to:

  • any defect, error, imperfection, fault, mistake or inaccuracy with the site, its contents (including content from third party providers), associated services, or due to any unavailability of this site or any part thereof or any contents or associated services;
  • action taken, or not taken in reliance on material, content or information contained on the site; and/or
  • any computer viruses, Trojan horses, worms, software bombs or similar items or processes arising from your use of the site. You click on any hyperlinks or download any software or data from the site at your own risk.

Email subscription service

We may provide a service whereby you can request to subscribe to and receive e-mail alerts relating to products, services or information (‘Subscription Services’) offered by Shoal. Your use of the Subscription Services will be governed by these terms and conditions. Your confirmation of subscription to the Subscription Services constitutes acceptance of their terms and conditions of use.

Shoal does not guarantee that any e-mails from the site will be sent to you or received by Shoal nor does Shoal warrant the privacy and/or security of e-mails during internet transmission.

Personal data

Any personal data you submit when requesting to subscribe to the Subscription Service(s) will be handled by Shoal for the purpose of providing you with information about products, services or information you have requested and in accordance with our privacy policy and cookie policy. By requesting to subscribe to the Subscription Service(s) you confirm that you have read and understood the privacy policy and cookie policy and consent to Shoal handling and disclosing your personal data. The privacy policy and cookie policy may be amended or replaced from time to time and it is your responsibility to check for any updates.

Intellectual property rights

All rights (including, but not limited to, copyright) in and to the contents (including, but not limited to, trademarks, text, graphics, images, links and sounds) contained on the site is owned by or licensed to Shoal, and may not, unless expressly permitted on the Shoal website, be copied, modified, downloaded, distributed or published in any way without the prior written consent of Shoal. If any content on the Shoal website is permitted for use, you shall comply with all terms of use, conditions, guidelines, or restrictions that apply to that content.

“Shoal” is a registered trademark, logo and service mark and no permission or licence is granted to use any such trademarks, logos or service marks without the prior written consent of Shoal Ltd.

In relation to any information or material you submit to Shoal using this site and/or to our social media accounts, you hereby grant to Shoal a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable right and licence to use such information or material for any purpose it deems appropriate, including without limitation, the copying, modification, transmission, distribution and publication thereof, unless restricted by applicable law. You represent and warrant that such information or material you submit does not infringe the rights of any other third party.

You agree that Shoal shall not be under any obligation of confidentiality to you regarding any such information or material submitted to it using this site and/or our social media accounts unless otherwise agreed in a separate direct contract between you and Shoal or required by law.

Modification

Shoal reserves the right in its discretion to change without prior notice any information or material contained on the site and the terms and conditions under which this site is used.

Termination

Shoal may terminate this agreement, your access to this site and use of any service at any time.

Governing Law & Jurisdiction

This site is established in the United Kingdom (UK) in accordance with the laws of England and will be governed by the laws of England.  When you use this site, you accept that your use of the site and any information on the site, will also be governed by the laws of England, and if any claim or dispute arises from your use of the site or any information on it, you agree that the Courts of England will have exclusive jurisdiction over all such matters arising out of or in connection with such.

 

Privacy policy

Thank you for using the Shoal Platform. The Shoal Platform is provided to you by Shoal Limited (“Shoal” a company incorporated and registered in England and Wales under company registration number 13846154).

Your personal data is important to us. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and security of all personal information you provide us, or we collect about you.

This privacy notice (“Notice”) outlines how we collect, manage, and store your personal data in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This Privacy Notice should be read alongside all other terms and privacy policies that together make up the Agreement between you and Shoal.

It is your responsibility to remain up to date with this Privacy Policy and those of our Partners, with whom you directly interact through the Shoal App and who may provide services to you from time to time. Shoal and our Partner privacy policies, and their past versions, are available on the Shoal website, and within the Shoal App. Privacy Policies for parties whose account access is not directly integrated into the Shoal App (i.e. Partners that you are introduced to only through the Shoal App) are not retained by Shoal.

This Privacy Policy remains in place until such time that either you or Shoal terminates your Shoal Platform User Account and / or you no longer make use of the Platform, the Website or the Shoal App.

This Notice must be read alongside the Shoal Platform and general Shoal Services Terms and Conditions

Across this Notice, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to Shoal, and “you” and “your” refer to the User of the Savings Pots.

All capitalised words found in this Notice are defined in the Glossary of Terms, and their definition applies both to the singular and plural use.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or our processing of your personal data more generally, please contact the Shoal customer support team. 

Email: support@joinshoal.co.uk

Shoal App: Log in to your app, go to Settings by tapping (⚙️) on the top right of your home screen and send us your query through our Help Centre.

Post: Shoal Customer Support, 1 Basinghall Avenue, London EC2V 5DD, United Kingdom.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the way in which we process your personal data.  You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

1. What Personal Data may Shoal collect and hold

We may collect the following Personal Data from you when you use the Shoal Platform or engage with any of Shoal’s or our Partner’s Services.

We may also collect this data from any Third-Party Service Providers or Partner that we rely on for the provision of the Shoal Platform or our or our Partner Services to you.

  • Identity Information – including name, gender, date of birth, official ID numbers, digital copy of official IDs (passport, driver’s licence or similar) and photo image.
  • Contact Information – including current and past email addresses, current and past mobile phone number, current and past addresses.
  • Employment Information – which may include salary level, employer name, employment position/title.
  • Financial Information – including bank account details (account number and sort-code), balances and transaction information related to any of the Services you access through the Shoal Platform.
  • Technical information – including geo-location, IP addresses, device tokens, and device type information.
  • Profile Information – including your username, password, PIN, preferences, any product or feature survey responses you provide.

If you do not provide us with the Personal Data, we or our Partners need to provide you with the services requested through the Platform or for us or our Partners to meet our or their legal and regulatory obligations, we or our Partners may not be able to provide you with the products or services you have requested.

Where relevant, before engaging with any of the Partner Services available through the Shoal Platform, you will be prompted to accept their privacy policy. Additionally, by accepting the Partner’s privacy policy, you give Shoal permission to share any relevant information with the Partner to speed-up your service onboarding process. The information that Shoal will share with the Partner will be limited to need to know information only (e.g., your name, date of birth, country of residence, your address, and your current contact details).

2. How will Shoal use my personal data

We will only collect, use, and disclose your personal data for the purposes set out in this Notice or for purposes of which you have been notified and consented to at the time of sharing this information, or which are otherwise permitted under applicable laws and regulations.

We will not sell, rent, or give away personal data to third parties for commercial purposes without your consent.

We (including our Third-Party Service Providers and Partners) may collect, use, disclose and process your personal data for the below purposes:

  • To fulfil any of the Shoal or our Partner Services in accordance with the terms you have signed up or registered for through the Platform (together “the Agreement”);
  • To comply with our or our Partners’ legal or regulatory duties arising from or connected to services you have requested, including to perform Know-Your-Customer (KYC) obligations, complying with and monitoring of compliance with applicable laws and regulations, directives, judgments or court orders, government sanctions or embargoes, reporting requirements under financial transactions legislation, and demands of any authority, regulator, tribunal, enforcement agency, or exchange body;
  • In line with voluntary codes and / or in compliance with internal policies (including that of our Partners and Third-Party Service Providers), contractual obligations (including between us and our partners and service providers) and good practice standards;
  • Based on our legitimate interest, including:
    • for our internal analytical or statistical purposes or where it is necessary for the proper functioning of the Platform and Shoal’s ability to communicate with you and our customers,
    • in connection with any legal, regulatory and / or law enforcement proceedings (including any prospective legal proceedings), for obtaining legal advice or for establishing, exercising, or defending our legal rights; or
    • to provide you with relevant information you may need to continue to make use of those Services you use through the Shoal Platform already; and
  • where you provide us with specific and informed consent, we will process your Personal Data to:
    • Register you for our newsletter and mailing list,
    • send you updates and offers relating to our existing and future product offering,
    • reserve your place in line to receive our future products,
    • gather your feedback on, and other information in relation to, the development of the Platform, and; 
    • invite you to participate in competitions and prize draws.
3. Shoal may disclose your personal data to:
  • Our Partners and Third-Party Service Providers anywhere in the world, including any officer, employee, agent, or director of any such party and to provide the Platform and related Shoal or our Partner Services to you and for all parties to meet their legal or regulatory obligations.
  • Our professional advisers and service providers to provide administrative, financial, legal, accounting, information technology, research, or other services.
  • Anyone authorised by you, as specified by you or in any contract with you.
  • Any person to whom disclosure is required or permitted under applicable laws and regulations.
  • Anyone we consider necessary to provide services in connection with the Platform.
4. How Shoal keeps your data secure

Your personal data may be transferred to, or stored at, a location outside of the UK, which may not have the same or similar data protection laws as those in the UK.

We will take such steps as are necessary in accordance with applicable law to ensure appropriate safeguards apply to maintain the same levels of protection as are needed under the UK data protection laws. The security of your personal data is important to us. We have technical and organisational security measures in place to safeguard your personal data.

When using external service providers, we require that they adhere to specific security standards mandated by us. We may do this through contractual provisions and/or oversight of the service provider. Regardless of where personal data is transferred, we take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that personal data is kept securely.

Neither Shoal nor its Partners and Third-Party Service Providers – nor any other Party with whom Shoal has shared your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy – can guarantee that your Personal Data is safe from cyberattacks (such as hacking, spyware, and viruses) which Shoal, and any related Party, could not reasonably have been expected or able to prevent. Aligned to the Shoal Platform and General Shoal Services Terms and Conditions, our liability to you is limited may such a breach occur.

5. How long will Shoal or our Partner’s or Third-Party Service Providers keep your data for

We retain your personal data in line with our legal and regulatory obligations and our business and operational requirements. This means that in most cases we will hold your Personal Data for up to 7 years from the end of your relationship with us, that is from the day you cease from being a Platform customer, unsubscribe from our mailing list (if you are not a Platform customer also), or otherwise inform us that you no longer wish to receive communications from us.

Our Partners and Third-Party Service Providers may have different retention periods for Personal Data that they have collected about you, through us, or by other means (including from you directly). We refer you to these parties’ privacy policies and Terms & Conditions (when available), which you must accept before making use of these parties services through the Shoal Platform.

Where our Partners or Third-Party Service Providers are not the data controller but are the data processor only, they must and will remove any Personal Data they hold about you from their systems; either at termination of our agreement with them or no later than when Shoal’s retention period ends.

6. What are your rights relating your Personal Data

In those instances where legitimate interest does not apply or where you have specifically instructed us not to process your data for the purposes of marketing new products and services to you, we will not send you marketing material unless you have specifically asked us to do so.

When you have asked us to send you marketing material, you have the right to opt-out of receiving such material at any time by sending us an email with a request to unsubscribe you from the marketing list or by clicking the “unsubscribe” link, where available.

For the avoidance of doubt, any form of communication from Shoal which relates to the proper functioning, operations and security of the services that you have registered for or signed up to through the Shoal Platform are not considered marketing material but are considered operational. Operational messaging falls outside the definition of marketing materials and you cannot opt-out of these types of messages / notifications.

In accordance with the relevant regulations, you have other rights regarding our, our Partners’ or Third Parties’ processing of your personal data.

To make a request to access, correct, erase or restrict the use of, to exercise your right to data portability, or to object to the way in which we process, the Personal Data Shoal holds about you, or to make a request to withdraw any consent previously given, you can contact our team (see section 8 for contact details).

To make such a request for any Personal Data held by our Partners, who may provide services to you directly or through Shoal, please refer to their privacy policy, which you accepted at the time of entering into the agreement with them and as it may have changed from time to time.

Please refer to the UK Information Commissioner’s website (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public) for further information on your rights.

7. Updates to this Notice

This Notice may be updated from time to time and amendments take effect from the date they are placed on this site or made available through the Shoal App. Current and past notices will be available on the Platform.

You are advised to visit the Shoal App or our Website regularly to check for any amendments. This Notice was last updated on the date indicated at the bottom of this policy.  

Glossary of Terms

Agreement means:

  • These Shoal Platform Terms,
  • Any of Shoal or our Partners’ product-specific Terms (as they may apply to you from time to time when accessing these services through the Shoal App),
  • The Shoal Privacy Policy and,
  • Any of our Partners’ privacy policies (as they may apply to you from time to time when making use of their services through the Shoal Platform).

Partner shall mean third-party partners of Shoal from whom Shoal may obtain certain services in relation to the Platform and/or the Shoal Services, including but not limited to financial institutions, credit bureaux, verification companies, information repositories and such other parties as deemed necessary by Shoal to provide the Shoal Services.

Party / Parties shall mean, in relation to Shoal, its representatives, agents, and any of their respective officers, directors, equity holders, employees, parent entities, subsidiaries, affiliated entities, representatives, agents and licensors. Parties also include Shoal’s Partners and Third-Party Service Providers.

Personal Data / Information means information collected from you or about you that could be used to identify you, as defined more comprehensively in the Shoal Privacy Policy. 

Platform means the Shoal App, and any other digital channels through which you can access Shoal and / or our Partner Services and products that Shoal may create or introduce to you from time to time.

Shoal / Shoal Limited means Shoal Limited, a private limited company registered in England and Wales under number 13846154 with registered and correspondence address at 1 Basinghall Avenue, London EC2V 5DD, United Kingdom

Shoal App shall mean the mobile application belonging to Shoal which is developed and designed to run on various mobile operating systems, for providing the Shoal Services.

Shoal Services shall mean the services provided by Shoal to Users via the Platform which may be added to and amended by Shoal from time to time.

Third-Party Service Providers shall mean Partners, service providers and such other parties appointed by Shoal to provide services to Shoal and to Users.

Website shall mean the domain www.joinshoal.co.uk.

Last updated: 16 August 2023

Cookie policy

This cookie policy explains how cookies and similar technologies, such as pixels, beacons, and tags (together “cookies”) are used by Shoal Ltd (“us”, “we” or “our”) on our website.

Your consent applies to the following domain: www.joinshoal.co.uk.   

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website

Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us, and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.

What are cookies and why do we use them?

Cookies are small text files that are used to store small pieces of information. They are stored on your device when the website is loaded on your browser. 

These cookies help us make the website function properly, make it more secure, provide better user experience, and understand how the website performs and to analyze what works and where it needs improvement.

As most of the online services, our website uses first-party and third-party cookies for several purposes. First-party cookies are mostly necessary for the website to function the right way, and they do not collect any of your personally identifiable data.

The third-party cookies used on our website are mainly for understanding how the website performs, how you interact with our website, keeping our services secure, providing advertisements that are relevant to you, and all in all providing you with a better and improved user experience and help speed up your future interactions with our website.

What types of cookies do we use? 

Essential: Some cookies are essential for you to be able to experience the full functionality of our site. They allow us to maintain user sessions and prevent any security threats. They do not collect or store any personal information.

Statistics: These cookies store information like the number of visitors to the website, the number of unique visitors, which pages of the website have been visited, the source of the visit, etc. These data help us understand and analyze how well the website performs and where it needs improvement.

Functional: These are the cookies that help certain non-essential functionalities on our website. These functionalities include embedding content like videos or sharing content of the website on social media platforms.

Preferences: These cookies help us store your settings and browsing preferences like language preferences so that you have a better and efficient experience on future visits to the website.

How can I control my cookie preferences? 

Should you decide to change your preferences later through your browsing session, you can click on the “Privacy & Cookie Policy” tab on your screen. This will display the consent notice again enabling you to change your preferences or withdraw your consent entirely.

Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. By changing these settings, in most cases you can choose to not accept any cookies, or to not accept third party cookies.

Removing cookies in your browser settings means that any preference settings you have made on a website will be lost (including any consent preferences regarding cookies where that is available).

Please also note that blocking all cookies means that functionality on our websites will be lost as described above. We don’t recommend turning all cookies off when using our websites.

See below for more information on how to manage your cookie settings in these popular browsers:

You can also opt out of Google’s use of cookies (including DoubleClick cookies) by visiting Google’s Ad Settings, Facebook’s use of pixel information on Facebook’s Ad settings, LinkedIn’s use of cookies by visiting LinkedIn’s Settings and Adobe’s use of cookies by visiting Adobe’s Settings.

You can also visit the following sites to check and select your preferences for online ads:

Complaints policy

How we handle Complaints 

We make every effort to provide you with the high standards of service you expect from us as a customer and which we expect of ourselves. Sometimes things can go wrong.  As and when we do receive a complaint, we will work hard to sort it out as quickly as possible. We always try to put your needs as our customer at the heart of everything we do.

If you’re unhappy with any aspect of the service you’ve received from Shoal, we will use this as an opportunity to learn and improve the product and/or processes for the benefit of the whole Shoal community.

Procedure

If you would like to make a complaint, in the first instance, please submit a formal complaints form or send an email to support@joinshoal.co.uk.  Alternatively, you can write to us at the following address:

Shoal Customer Services Department – Complaints Team
1 Basinghall Avenue
London EC2V 5DD

Please provide as much information as possible, including;

  • your full name, date of birth and address;
  • a clear description of your complaint;
  • copies or screenshots of any relevant documents and information;

Once we’ve received your complaint, we will aim to:

  • send you a written acknowledgement within 3 business days; and
  • promptly carry out an investigation of your complaint in order provide you with a written final response within 15 business days 

In exceptional circumstances where it is taking longer to resolve a complaint, we will notify you of the anticipated timeframe by the 15th day. All complaints will receive a final response letter within 35 business days.

Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

If you do not receive a final response to your complaint within 35 business days, or we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction and if: 

  • you are an eligible complainant as defined by the Financial Conduct Authorityand
  • the subject matter of your complaint falls within the jurisdiction of FOS,

you will have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FOS are an independent adjudicator of disputes between customers and financial services providers. If you’d like to refer your complaint, you’ll need to do so within six months of receiving your final response letter. Please note, Shoal does not use the services of any other dispute resolution provider.

Further details regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service can be obtained from their website.

 You can also contact the Financial Ombudsman Service at:

The Financial Ombudsman
Exchange Tower
London E14 9SR

Telephone: 0800 023 4 567