NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Equity Bank’s thin-SIM mobile money transfer system faces more hurdles after a data specialist went to court seeking to block its rollout.

Mr Daniel Murage argued that the Communications Authority of Kenyahas allowed the bank, through its subsidiary, Finserve Africa Ltd, to roll out the service for a one-year trial period without following due process.

“The bank intends to subject its customers to the service without providing any safeguard to the vulnerability and safety of (the) personal data of the account holders in their possession since the system’s vulnerability is at high risk,” said Mr Murage.

Mr Murage, who claimed to be an account holder with Equity Bank, said the risk is further compounded by the lack of data-protection laws in Kenya and the bank’s failure to adhere to data-protection policies approved by the Cabinet.

He added that the absence of the laws would allow third parties to easily access customers’ personal data, including the account numbers and amount of money they have.