Finance minister defends PromptPay security
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THE SECURITY of PromptPay, a money-transfer service that will use the Internet and mobile banking, will be high, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong has insisted in response to a legal expert’s criticism of the system.
He gave his assurance that identification-card numbers used to initiate transactions under PromptPay would only be linked to the person’s bank account without any disclosure of personal data.
Borwornsak Uwanno, secretary-general of King Prajadhipok’s Institute and a professor of law at Chulalongkorn University, had expressed concerns over PromptPay’s security, saying he would not use his own ID card to access the system as the card included personal data.
“If there is no legal enforcement on this issue, I will not do it. Only Thailand uses the same ID-card number for every issue. Europe and the United States have laws protecting personal data like the Privacy Act and prohibit linkage and sales of personal information without permission,” Borwornsak said.
PromptPay will use citizens’ ID-card numbers to link with a bank account so that cash transactions can be done easily.
“The Bank of Thailand and all commercial banks understand the security process,” Apisak said, emphasising that no personal data would be used for other purposes.
In the civil service, “we use ID-card numbers to reference a person, as in this country first and last names are sometimes repetitive”, he said.
He spoke to the media on this issue yesterday after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asked him to clarify it. The Bank of Thailand is |also scheduled to hold a |media conference today on PromptPay’s security issues.
