Financial Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 11, 2026

Our organization is committed to protecting the financial privacy of our global scientific community. This policy explains how we handle financial data collected from members and conference attendees. As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we maintain the highest standards of financial integrity, global data protection, and regulatory compliance.

1. International Data Transfers (GDPR & Global Compliance)

We operate globally and process data in compliance with international standards, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

• Data Storage: Your financial information may be transferred to and stored on secure servers located outside your home country.
• Legal Safeguards: We use Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to ensure your data receives equivalent protection worldwide.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the financial details necessary to manage professional memberships and international scientific conferences.

• Payment Credentials: Credit card types, expiration dates, tokenized payment identifiers, and billing addresses.
• Transactional Data: Purchase histories for membership renewals, journal subscriptions, and conference registration fees.
• Professional Identifiers: Institutional or university affiliations, member IDs, and tax-exempt organization certificates.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your financial data exclusively to advance our scientific mission and manage administrative operations.

• Service Delivery: Processing annual membership dues and managing event registrations.
• Access Control: Verifying payment to grant access to scientific journals, presentation portals, and conference venues.
• Compliance: Maintaining accurate financial records for non-profit auditing and tax reporting.

4. Secure Payment Processing & Automated Renewals

We prioritize the security of your transactions and do not directly store sensitive payment card data.

• Authorize.Net Gateway: All credit card transactions are processed securely through Authorize.Net, a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway.
• Data Isolation: Your full credit card number is transmitted directly to Authorize.Net using industry-standard encryption (SSL/TLS). It never touches or resides on our organization’s servers.
• Automated Recurring Billing (ARB): If you opt into automatic membership renewal, your payment details are securely tokenized and stored by Authorize.Net. Our system only triggers the scheduled billing cycle and never stores your raw card details for these recurring transactions.

5. Sharing Restrictions

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your financial information with outside entities.

• Operational Sharing: Financial data is only shared with Authorize.Net and our banking institution to clear transactions.
• Sponsor Isolation: Financial records are strictly separated from corporate sponsors, exhibitors, or external academic institutions.

6. Your Global Rights, Choices, and Data Retention

Depending on your location, you hold specific rights regarding your financial records.

• Managing Automated Billing: You can update your payment method or cancel your Automated Recurring Billing (ARB) subscription at any time through your member dashboard or by contacting us.
• Access and Portability: You can request a copy of your transaction history at any time.
• Retention Periods: We retain transactional records only as long as necessary to fulfill corporate tax and 501(c)(3) legal auditing requirements.