Privacy Statement

1  Scope of This Statement

This Privacy Statement applies to all personal data collected by the Journal of Financial and Monetary Studies (JFMS) through its OJS platform at https://jfms.lci.la and through direct communication with the editorial office. It should be read alongside any applicable privacy policies of the Bank of the Lao PDR and the Banking Institute.

2  Data Controller

The data controller for personal information collected through the JFMS platform is:

Banking Institute (BI)

Bank of the Lao PDR

Saythany District

Vientiane, Lao PDR

3  What Personal Data We Collect

JFMS collects the following categories of personal data through its OJS platform:

Registration and Account Data

  • Full name, institutional affiliation, country, email address
  • ORCID identifier (if provided voluntarily)
  • Username and encrypted password
  • Areas of research expertise (for reviewer matching)

Submission Data

  • Manuscript files and associated metadata
  • Cover letter content
  • Correspondence between authors, editors, and reviewers
  • Review reports and editorial decisions

Usage and Technical Data

  • IP address and browser type (collected automatically by the OJS platform)
  • Article download and access statistics (aggregated and anonymised for reporting)

4  How We Use Personal Data

Personal data collected by JFMS is used exclusively for the following purposes:

  1. Processing and managing manuscript submissions through the editorial workflow
  2. Communicating with authors, reviewers, and editors about manuscripts under consideration
  3. Matching submissions with suitably qualified peer reviewers
  4. Registering DOIs and submitting metadata to indexing services
  5. Sending JFMS-related notifications, including table of contents alerts, to registered users who have opted in
  6. Complying with legal obligations applicable to the Bank of the Lao PDR

JFMS does not use personal data for commercial marketing, targeted advertising, or any purpose unrelated to the journal's scholarly publishing function.

5  Disclosure of Personal Data

JFMS will not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer personal data to third parties without the explicit consent of the data subject, except in the following circumstances:

  • To peer reviewers: Reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors. Author identities are not disclosed to reviewers. The manuscript and relevant submission metadata (but not author identities) are shared with reviewers for the purpose of evaluation.
  • To indexing and abstracting services: Bibliographic metadata for published articles (author names, affiliations, abstract, keywords, references) is submitted to CrossRef, indexing databases, and other scholarly infrastructure services as necessary for discoverability.
  • To the PKP Preservation Network and archiving services: Metadata and published content are deposited for preservation purposes.
  • Where required by law: JFMS may disclose personal data if required to do so by law or by lawful order of a competent authority.

6  Data Retention

JFMS retains personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected:

  • Registered user account data: Retained for as long as the account is active. Inactive accounts may be deactivated after five (5) years, with prior notification.
  • Submission and review records: Retained indefinitely as part of the scholarly record, including records of rejected manuscripts.
  • Published article metadata and files: Retained indefinitely and archived through the preservation services described in Section 8.

7  Data Security

JFMS implements appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS), access controls, and regular platform security updates. The OJS platform is maintained in accordance with PKP security recommendations.

8  Rights of Data Subjects

Users of the JFMS platform have the following rights with respect to their personal data:

  • Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data JFMS holds about you.
  • Right to rectification: You may request correction of inaccurate personal data.
  • Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, subject to overriding legitimate interests (e.g., the integrity of the scholarly record).
  • Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent (e.g., email notifications), you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
  • Right to object: You may object to processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the editorial office at [email protected]. We will respond to all requests within thirty (30) days.

9  Cookies

The JFMS OJS platform uses essential session cookies necessary for platform functionality (such as maintaining a logged-in session). These cookies do not track users across other websites and are deleted when the browser session ends. The journal does not use cookies for advertising or behavioural tracking purposes.

10  Changes to This Privacy Statement

JFMS may update this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect changes in the journal's practices or applicable legal requirements. Material changes will be notified to registered users by email and posted prominently on the journal website. The date of last revision is indicated at the end of this statement.

This Privacy Statement was last revised in 2026.