MEFA Financing Program Privacy Policy

FACTS What does MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) do with your personal information?
Why? Financial companies choose how they share your personal information. Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some but not all sharing. Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information. Please read this notice carefully to understand what we do.
What?

The types of personal information we collect and share depend on the product or service you have with us. This information can include:

  • Social Security number and account transactions
  • Account balances and payment history
  • Credit history and credit scores
How? All financial companies need to share customers' personal information to run their everyday business. In the section below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their customers' personal information, the reasons MEFA chooses to share, and whether you can limit this sharing.

Reasons we can share your personal information Does MEFA share? Can you limit this sharing?
For our everyday business purposes such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus Yes No
For our marketing purposes to offer our products and services to you Yes

No

For joint marketing with other financial companies No We do not share
For our affiliates' everyday business purposes to include information about your transactions and experiences No We do not share
For our affiliates' everyday business purposes to include information about your creditworthiness No We do not share
For nonaffiliates to market to you No We do not share

Questions?

Visit mefa.org/about/privacy-and-terms-of-use
Call (800) 449-MEFA (6332)
Email info@mefa.org

Who We Are

Who is providing this notice? This privacy policy is being provided by MEFA and applies to our college savings and loan programs and related products or services.

What We Do

How does MEFA protect my personal information? To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings. Access to your personal and account information is limited to those employees who need this information to provide service to you.

How does MEFA collect my personal information? We collect your personal information, for example, when you:

  • Apply for a MEFA Loan or open a college savings account
  • Provide account information
  • Give us your contact information or pay your bills

We also collect your personal information from others, such as credit bureaus and third parties who assist us in servicing MEFA accounts.

Why can't I limit all sharing? Federal law gives you the right to limit only:

  • Sharing information about your creditworthiness with affiliates for everyday business purposes
  • Affiliates from using your information to market to you
  • Sharing with nonaffiliates for marketing to you

State laws and individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing. See below for more rights under state law.

What happens when I limit sharing for an account I hold jointly with someone else? Your choices will apply to everyone on your account.

Definitions

Affiliates: Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and non-financial. MEFA has no affiliates.

Non-affiliates: Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and non-financial companies. Nonaffiliates we share with can include our loan origination and servicing partners or agents, our savings providers or agents, credit bureaus, collection and bankruptcy firms, and other Commonwealth agencies.

Joint marketing: MEFA does not jointly market with other financial institutions.

Other Important Information

MEFA complies with CMR 201.17.00: Standards for the protection of personal information for residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Effective date: February 2017