Direct Lending Connection (“Direct Lending Connection,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) provides business financing brokerage, consulting, and capital advisory services to commercial clients across the United States. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how we collect, use, disclose, store, and safeguard information when you visit directlendingconnection.com (the “Site”), submit an inquiry, apply for financing, or otherwise interact with our services (collectively, the “Services”).
By accessing or using the Site or Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms of this Policy. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Site or Services.
1. Scope & Applicability
This Policy applies to information collected through the Site, by email, by telephone, through our client portal, and through online forms, applications, and consultation requests. Direct Lending Connection serves commercial entities (business owners, principals, and authorized representatives). If you provide personal information about other individuals (e.g., a co-owner or guarantor), you represent and warrant that you have all necessary authority and consent to do so on their behalf.
Our Services are intended for U.S. residents and U.S.-based businesses only. We do not knowingly market to or collect information from individuals outside the United States.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information that you provide to us directly, information collected automatically when you use the Site, and information from third parties, as described below.
2.1 Information You Provide
- Identification & Contact: name, business name, title, mailing address, email address, telephone number.
- Business & Financial Information: entity type, EIN/Tax ID, time in business, industry, annual revenue, monthly gross deposits, profit and loss statements, bank statements, business and personal tax returns, balance sheets, accounts receivable, and other underwriting documentation.
- Personal Financial Information: Social Security number, date of birth, personal credit information, and other data required by lenders for credit decisions on commercial loans where personal guarantees are involved.
- Communications: the content of your messages, applications, voicemails, calls, and any documents you submit to us.
- Account Credentials: when applicable, username and authentication information for the client portal.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Usage Data: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time stamps, and clickstream data.
- Cookies & Similar Technologies: we use cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies for site analytics, advertising performance, and to remember your preferences. See Section 8 — Cookies & Tracking for details and your choices.
2.3 Information from Third Parties
- Credit Reporting Agencies: when you authorize a credit pull as part of a financing application, we and our lending partners may obtain consumer and commercial credit reports.
- Lending Partners & Service Providers: status updates, decisioning data, and underwriting notes related to your application.
- Public & Commercial Sources: business registrations, secretary of state filings, UCC filings, and similar public records.
- Marketing & Referral Partners: if you reach us through a referral, partner, advertising platform, or affiliate, we may receive limited identifying information from that source.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for legitimate business purposes, including to:
- Evaluate your financing request and match it to appropriate lending products and partners.
- Communicate with you about your application, including by phone, SMS, and email (subject to your consent and applicable law).
- Submit, on your behalf, applications and supporting documentation to our network of lenders, capital providers, and underwriters.
- Verify identity, prevent fraud, and comply with anti-money-laundering, Know-Your-Customer (KYC), Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), OFAC, and similar legal obligations.
- Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Site, the client portal, and our Services.
- Conduct internal analytics, research, training, and quality assurance.
- Send marketing, educational, and promotional communications consistent with your stated preferences (you may opt out at any time — see Section 9).
- Enforce our Terms of Use, defend legal claims, and protect the rights, property, and safety of Direct Lending Connection, our clients, and the public.
4. How We Share Your Information
Direct Lending Connection does not sell your personal information. We share information only as described below:
- Lending Partners & Capital Providers. When you authorize us to seek financing on your behalf, we share your application and supporting documents with banks, alternative lenders, private capital sources, factoring companies, and other capital providers who may extend an offer. Each such party has its own privacy practices, and we encourage you to review them.
- Service Providers. We engage vendors who perform services on our behalf — including hosting, customer relationship management, email and SMS delivery, document storage, e-signature, identity verification, analytics, advertising attribution, payment processing, and professional advisory. These providers are contractually required to use information only for the services we engage them to perform and to maintain appropriate security safeguards.
- Credit Reporting Agencies & Underwriting Networks. With your authorization, we share information with credit bureaus and underwriting platforms for the purpose of evaluating creditworthiness.
- Regulatory, Legal & Compliance. We may disclose information when required to comply with applicable laws, regulations, subpoenas, court orders, governmental requests, or to respond to claims, investigations, or law enforcement.
- Corporate Transactions. In the event of a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or similar event, information may be transferred or disclosed as part of the transaction, subject to customary confidentiality protections.
- With Your Direction. We may share information at your direction or with your consent, for example, to a CPA, attorney, partner, or guarantor you designate.
5. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) Notice
To the extent the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act applies to information we collect in connection with a financial product or service offered primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, we treat such information as “nonpublic personal information” (“NPI”). We share NPI only as permitted by Regulation P (12 C.F.R. Part 1016), including to process and service transactions you have authorized, to comply with legal requirements, and with affiliates and non-affiliated third parties in furtherance of providing the Services you have requested. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards designed to protect NPI.
6. Data Security
We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information we collect. These include access controls, encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest where appropriate, network monitoring, vendor due diligence, role-based access, and periodic security review. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for promptly notifying us of any suspected unauthorized access.
7. Data Retention
We retain personal and business information for as long as needed to provide the Services, to satisfy our legal, accounting, tax, audit, and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. Underwriting and transaction records are typically retained for a minimum of seven (7) years following the conclusion of the engagement, consistent with industry practice and regulatory expectations. When retention is no longer required, we securely delete, anonymize, or render the information unreadable.
8. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate and improve the Site, remember your preferences, measure performance, and personalize content and advertising. Categories of cookies include:
- Strictly necessary cookies required for the Site to function (e.g., session management, security).
- Functional cookies that remember your selections.
- Analytics cookies that help us understand how visitors engage with the Site.
- Advertising cookies used to measure campaign performance and deliver relevant ads on third-party platforms.
You can manage cookie preferences through our cookie banner and through your browser settings. Some Site features may not function properly if cookies are disabled.
9. Your Choices & Rights
- Marketing Communications. You can opt out of marketing email by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any commercial email we send. You can opt out of SMS marketing by replying STOP to any text. Operational and transactional communications (e.g., status updates regarding your application) are not promotional and will continue while we provide the Services.
- Access, Correction & Deletion. Subject to applicable law, you may request to access, correct, or delete the personal information we maintain about you. Some information — including underwriting records, transactional records, and regulatory records — must be retained and cannot be deleted on request.
- Do Not Track. Some browsers offer a “do not track” signal. Because there is no industry consensus on how to interpret these signals, we do not currently respond to them.
- State Privacy Rights (CA, CO, CT, VA, UT and similar). Residents of certain U.S. states may have additional rights, including the right to know, the right to delete, the right to correct, the right to opt out of certain processing, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights. To exercise these rights, contact us using the information in Section 14. We may verify your identity before fulfilling a request and may decline requests where legally permitted.
- California Shine the Light. California residents may request information about disclosures of personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.
10. SMS & Telephone Communications
By providing your telephone number, you consent to receive calls, voicemails, and text messages from Direct Lending Connection and its representatives, including via automatic telephone dialing systems and prerecorded or artificial voice technology, for purposes of providing the Services. Standard message and data rates may apply. Consent is not a condition of obtaining any financial product or service. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any text message or by notifying us in writing.
11. Children’s Privacy
The Site and Services are intended for use by individuals at least eighteen (18) years of age who are authorized to act on behalf of a business. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and the Services are not directed to children.
12. Third-Party Sites & Embedded Content
The Site may contain links to third-party websites, embedded content, and third-party widgets (including chat, scheduling, payment, analytics, and advertising tools). These third parties are not controlled by Direct Lending Connection, and their use of information is governed by their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party site or service.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this Policy indicates when it was most recently revised. Material changes will be communicated by posting an updated Policy on the Site and, where required, by additional notice. Your continued use of the Site or Services following any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.
14. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Policy, wish to exercise a privacy right, or believe your information has been handled in error, please contact us:
Direct Lending Connection
Privacy Officer
949-779-5890
Submit a request through our Contact form
This Privacy Policy is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The Policy is intended to comply with applicable U.S. federal and state privacy laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, applicable state consumer privacy laws (e.g., CCPA/CPRA, VCDPA, CPA, CTDPA, UCPA), and applicable federal regulations governing financial services and consumer communications (including the TCPA and CAN-SPAM).