Get your act together
Assurance on privacy as PromptPay looms
Finance Minister urges information ministry to speed up Personal Data Protection Act.
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong has called on the Information and Communication Technology Ministry to speed up deliberation of the Personal Data Protection Act by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), a senior Finance Ministry official says.
The finance minister is seeking faster approval of the act in order to dispel concerns about personal privacy protection when people use PromptPay, said deputy permanent secretary for finance Prapas Kong-Ied.
Mr Apisak wants the draft, in the queue for deliberation by the NLA, to come into force this year to build up public confidence in using PromptPay, an electronic money transfer and payment service under the national e-payment system, said Mr Prapas.
But former Constitutional Drafting Committee chairman Borwonsak Uwanno recently raised concerns over PromptPay due to the potential of personal information breaches through the linking of ID card numbers with bank accounts. His comments have triggered public worries over the issue.
Mr Apisak recently attempted to assure the public that while citizens’ ID cards will be linked with bank accounts for the new PromptPay service, personal privacy will be protected.
He said that signing up for PromptPay using the 13-digit number is for identification purposes only, adding that financial institutions cannot see other information contained on the card.
Under PromptPay, people can easily and rapidly transfer money online to recipients who hold accounts at different banks, or even the same banks in crossclearing zones, free of charge. In order to use the service, they are required to sign up to link their ID card or mobile phone number to their accounts at participating banks.
According to Bank of Thailand data, 9.7 million people had signed up for PromptPay preregistration as of July 12. Around 8.1 million people registered with ID cards, while the rest registered using their mobile phone numbers. Official registration for the service kicked off yesterday.
Mr Prapas said even though the Personal Data Protection Act is not being enforced yet, Thailand has many laws which protect personal data privacy, such as the 1997 Official Information Act and the 2008 Financial Institution Business Act.
The Official Information Act prohibits state agencies from misusing personal data, with state officials who breach the law potentially facing criminal charges. The Financial Institution Business Act bars financial institutions from disclosing clients’ data. Customers can further bring civil charges against offending institutions.
The Personal Data Protection Act provides greater coverage for personal data protection as prohibiting personal information disclosure will also be extended to non-financial institutions, he said.
At present, personal data disclosure violations such as selling phone numbers to credit card or insurance companies is rampant, added Mr Prapas.