Privacy Policy

This policy describes how AFE Capital Connect (“AFE Capital,” “we,” “us”) handles information collected through apply.afecapitalconnect.com (the “Site”), including the funding pre-qualification application (“Application”) and the general contact form. It does not describe the privacy practices of third-party funding providers you may be connected with — ask them directly about how they handle your information.

We collect what you submit directly through the Site:

• Funding request information: requested funding amount, time in business, approximate monthly revenue, industry, and business state.
• Business information: business name, entity type, business address, and website (if provided).
• Contact information: your name, mobile phone number, email address, and ownership percentage (if provided).
• Identity and financial documentation. At the final step of the Application, we collect your Social Security Number and the business bank statements you choose to upload (typically your 3–4 most recent months). This step is clearly labeled, separate from the rest of the Application, and requires your specific consent. See “How we protect Social Security Numbers and documents” below for how this category is handled differently from everything else we collect.
• Electronic signature. Before you can submit the Application, we require you to sign it using a drawn (mouse or touchscreen) signature. We store an image of that signature together with your name, the date and time you signed, the version of the certification language you agreed to, and your consent selections, as a record of your authorization to submit the Application.
• Chat assistant conversations. If you use the “AFE Assistant” chat widget, your messages are sent to a third-party AI provider to generate a response. We do not store your chat transcript on our own servers beyond what’s needed to generate that response — see “How the AFE Assistant chat handles information” below. If you ask the assistant to request a callback, we collect your name, email, phone (if provided), and business name (if provided), the same way as a contact form submission.
• Contact form submissions: your name, email, phone (if provided), and message.

We do not ask for, and the Application does not collect, bank account or routing numbers, online banking credentials, card numbers, government ID numbers or images, tax returns, or similar sensitive financial or identity information beyond what’s listed above. If a funding provider you’re connected with needs additional documentation, they will request it directly from you through their own process.

We also automatically receive standard technical information common to any website visit — including your IP address, browser and device information, and general usage/analytics events like which page was viewed or which application step was reached. We do not build analytics events that carry your name, email, phone number, business name, Social Security Number, or document contents — see “Cookies and analytics” below.

Your Social Security Number and uploaded bank statements are handled separately from the rest of your application, using stronger safeguards than we apply to other information:

• Your Social Security Number is encrypted before it is stored, using authenticated encryption with a key kept separately and never exposed in our website code or logs. It is not stored anywhere in plain text.
• Uploaded documents are stored in a private file storage system, not a publicly accessible location. There is no public web address that displays your documents.
• Neither your full Social Security Number nor your document contents are sent to our customer relationship management (CRM) platform. That system only records whether these items were received, not the items themselves.
• Access to the full Social Security Number and to uploaded documents is restricted to authorized personnel through a separate, password-protected internal system, and each time a full Social Security Number is viewed, that access is logged.

The AFE Assistant is an AI chat widget available on the Site for general questions — it is clearly labeled as an AI assistant, not a person, and does not make funding or underwriting decisions.

• Messages you send in the chat are sent to a third-party AI provider to generate a reply. We do not store the conversation on our own servers beyond what’s needed to generate that reply.
• The chat is designed not to request or accept a Social Security Number, bank account or routing numbers, card numbers, passwords, or other identity documents. If you send something that looks like this kind of information, it is intercepted before it reaches the AI provider and you’re redirected to the secure Application instead.
• We keep a short-lived, non-identifying record used only to prevent abuse (a hashed version of your IP address and a message count for about one minute) — never your messages themselves.
• If you ask the assistant for a callback, the contact information you provide is sent to us the same way a contact form submission is — see “How we share information” below.

We use the information above to:

• Evaluate your inquiry and identify third-party funding providers whose criteria may fit your business;
• Contact you about your inquiry, consistent with the consent you provide in the Application;
• Operate, secure, and improve the Site; and
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Use.

AFE Capital does not use artificial intelligence or automated systems to make funding decisions. AFE Capital does not make funding decisions at all — approval, pricing, and terms are determined solely by the third-party provider you’re matched with. See Disclosures.

We share information in these circumstances:

• Third-party funding providers. If you submit the Application, we share the relevant application information — including, once you reach that step, your Social Security Number and uploaded bank statements — with the third-party funding provider(s) you’re matched with, for the purpose of evaluating potential financing options. This is the core purpose of the Site.
• Service providers. We use a third-party customer relationship management (CRM) platform to store and manage submitted applications and messages and route them to our team (this platform does not receive your full Social Security Number or document contents — see above); a hosting/infrastructure provider to run the Site itself; a database provider to store application records; a file storage provider to hold uploaded documents privately; an email delivery provider we use to notify our team when a new application or contact-form message is submitted (this notification includes the contact and business information you provided, but not your Social Security Number or document contents); and an AI provider we use to generate responses in the AFE Assistant chat widget (chat messages are sent to this provider to generate a reply and are not stored by us beyond that — see “How the AFE Assistant chat handles information” above — and this provider never receives your Social Security Number or document contents). These providers process information on our behalf and are not authorized to use it for their own independent purposes.
• Legal and safety. We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of AFE Capital, our users, or others.
• Business transfers. If AFE Capital is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy or a successor policy.

We do not sell your personal information to data brokers, and we do not share it for third-party advertising purposes unrelated to your funding inquiry.

The Site may use basic, non-identifying analytics events (for example, that an application was started, which step was reached, or that the calculator was used) to understand how the Site is used and to improve it. These events are not linked to your name, email, phone number, or business name. The Site does not currently run third-party advertising trackers.

We retain application and contact-form information — including your Social Security Number and uploaded documents — for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, including evaluating your inquiry, connecting you with funding providers, and maintaining business records, and as required by law. You can ask us to delete your information at any time using the contact method below, subject to the exceptions described in “Your privacy choices.”

We do not currently operate an automated deletion schedule for this data (for example, we do not promise deletion after a fixed number of days). Deletion requests are handled manually upon request.

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the information we collect. This includes encrypting data in transit (HTTPS/TLS), restricting access to systems that store applicant information to authorized personnel, and — specifically for your Social Security Number and uploaded documents — the additional protections described in “How we protect Social Security Numbers and documents” above (encryption at rest, private file storage rather than a public one, and access logging).

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Depending on where you’re located, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete the personal information we hold about you, or to opt out of certain uses. To make a request, use the contact form and describe what you’d like us to do. We’ll respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests.

AFE Capital currently accepts applications from businesses in all 50 states and DC (see Requirements for other eligibility guidelines).

The Site is intended for business owners and representatives and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “last updated” date above.

Questions about this policy or a privacy request? Use the contact form, or email Office@afecapitalconnect.com.

Mailing address (not a staffed office or location open to visitors): AFE Capital, 1280 Lexington Ave, FRNT 2, #1538, New York, NY 10028, United States.