Privacy Policy | ABCmerce- Multi-Vendor Marketplace

Last updated: June 18, 2026

ABCmerce (“we”, “us”, or “our”) operates the ABCmerce marketplace at www.abcmerce.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our platform. Please read it carefully. By using ABCmerce, you consent to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

Account registration: name, email address, phone number, and password.
Profile information: profile photo, date of birth, and gender (optional).
Vendor / Rider / Influencer onboarding: business name, business address, bank account details, BVN or government-issued ID (for KYC verification), and store description.
Orders & checkout: billing address, shipping address, and payment method details.
Communications: messages you send to vendors, support tickets, product reviews, and Q&A submissions.
WhatsApp opt-in: phone number and consent when you subscribe to order notifications via WhatsApp.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

Device & browser: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers.
Usage data: pages visited, time spent, referring URLs, and click behaviour.
Cookies & local storage: session tokens, cart state, affiliate/referral codes, and preference settings.
Location: general location inferred from IP address; precise GPS only if you explicitly grant permission for store-locator or delivery features.
Transaction data: purchase history, wallet credits and debits, commission records, and payout logs.

1.3 Information from Third Parties

Payment processors (Paystack, Flutterwave, Stripe, OPay) may share transaction status with us.
Social sign-in providers share your public profile information when you choose to log in with them.
Delivery partners may share tracking and delivery-confirmation data.

2. How We Use Your Information

Purpose	Legal Basis (NDPR / GDPR)
Create and manage your account	Contract performance
Process orders and payments	Contract performance
Verify vendor/rider identity (KYC)	Legal obligation
Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security breaches	Legitimate interest
Send transactional emails and WhatsApp order notifications	Contract performance / Consent
Send promotional emails and marketing campaigns	Consent (opt-in only)
Personalise product recommendations and search results	Legitimate interest
Operate loyalty and referral programmes	Contract performance
Comply with tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements	Legal obligation
Improve our platform through analytics	Legitimate interest
Respond to support requests and disputes	Contract performance

3. Cookies

We use the following categories of cookies:

Strictly necessary: session authentication, CSRF protection, and cart persistence. These cannot be disabled.
Functional: language preferences, recently viewed products, and wishlist state.
Analytics: aggregate traffic and behaviour data to improve performance. You may opt out via our cookie banner.
Marketing: affiliate and influencer referral tracking. Only set after your consent.

You can manage cookie preferences in your browser settings. Disabling strictly necessary cookies will impair core functionality.

4. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We share information only in the following circumstances:

Vendors: your name, delivery address, and order details are shared with the vendor fulfilling your order.
Delivery partners / riders: your name, phone number, and delivery address are shared to facilitate delivery.
Payment processors: billing details are transmitted to our PCI-DSS-compliant payment partners. We do not store full card numbers.
Corporate / franchise accounts: order data may be visible to the corporate account administrator who manages your employee account.
Service providers: hosting, email delivery, analytics, and customer support tools under strict data-processing agreements.
Law enforcement / regulators: when required by applicable Nigerian law (NDPR, FCCPC, EFCC) or a valid court order.
Business transfers: in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred after notice to you.

5. Data Retention

Account data: retained for the life of your account and for 5 years after closure (for tax and dispute purposes).
Order and payment records: 7 years, as required by Nigerian financial regulations.
KYC documents: retained for the duration of the vendor/rider relationship and 5 years thereafter.
WhatsApp subscriber records: deleted within 30 days of you opting out.
Server access logs: 90 days.

6. Your Rights

Under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and, where applicable, the GDPR, you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erasure (“right to be forgotten”) — subject to legal retention obligations.
Restrict or object to certain processing activities.
Data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Withdraw consent at any time (this does not affect processing already done).
Lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) or your local supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@abcmerce.com. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Data Security

We protect your data using industry-standard measures including:

TLS 1.2+ encryption for all data in transit.
Encrypted storage for sensitive fields (passwords are hashed with bcrypt; payment tokens are stored via our payment processors’ vaults).
Role-based access controls — only staff who need your data to do their job can access it.
Automated intrusion detection and IP-based rate limiting.
Regular security audits and dependency updates.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you suspect a breach affecting your account, contact us immediately at security@abcmerce.com.

8. Children’s Privacy

ABCmerce is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us.

9. International Transfers

Our primary servers are located in Nigeria. If any of our service providers process data outside Nigeria, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place (standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions) in compliance with NDPR transfer provisions.

10. Third-Party Links

Our platform may contain links to external websites and embedded content from third parties. This Privacy Policy does not cover those external services. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

11. WhatsApp Notifications

If you subscribe to WhatsApp order notifications, your phone number is used solely to deliver transactional messages (order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notices) via the Meta Cloud API. You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message or visiting your account settings. We do not use your WhatsApp number for unsolicited marketing without your separate explicit consent.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and notify registered users by email or prominent notice on the platform. Your continued use of ABCmerce after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related enquiries, requests, or complaints, please reach out to our Data Protection Team:

ABCmerce — Data Protection Team
Email: privacy@abcmerce.com
Website: www.abcmerce.com/contact