The Ministry of Economy urged banks not to require excessive disclosure of information from customers

10 December 2024 17:05

The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine has sent explanations to banks about the inappropriateness of excessive requirements for disclosure of banking data during the implementation of the state programs “Winter eSupport” and “National Cashback”. This was reported by the Ministry of Economy, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.

The Ministry also explained what kind of data the government needs from citizens and banks that have joined government programs.

Regarding participation in the National Cashback program

In order to credit a user with a 10% cashback for purchases of Ukrainian goods under the National Cashback program, the government requires data only on transactions related to the purchase or return of the relevant goods. These are goods that participate in the program, purchased in retail outlets that participate in the program. Permission to transfer transaction data for these purchases is granted by the program participant in case of interest in participating in the program. Information about these payment transactions is the basis for calculating cashback for specific purchases.

The government does not need or request data on other transactions to implement the National Cashback program from banks. In a letter to banks, the Ministry of Economy emphasizes that it is inappropriate to request banks to agree to disclose other data.

Regarding the participation of citizens in the “Winter is Support” program

Funds under the “Winter is Support” program are credited to the “National Cashback” card. A citizen can open such a card in the application or at a branch of one of the program’s partner banks. If a citizen is not interested in participating in the National Cashback program and plans to use this card only to receive funds under the Winter ePerformance program, banks should not require consent to disclose information about transactions from personal accounts or other personal data that are not directly related to the payment.

Citizens can close the National Cashback bank card or revoke the authorization at any time. To do so, they need to contact the bank’s support.

In its letter, the Ministry of Economy also asked banks to bring their customer agreements and other documents in line with the clarifications provided.

Why the discussion on banking data disclosure arose

on December 4, Monobank co-founder Oleg Gorokhovsky wrote in his Telegram: “If you have opened a National Cashback card in Privat, you should find out what you have agreed to,” drawing attention to the clause in the Account Opening Agreement that provides that the client automatically grants permission to disclose information constituting bank secrecy. Moreover, the clause of PrivatBank’s agreement with clients to which Gorokhovsky refers states that the data is transferred “for all current accounts with the issue of a Payment Card and, in particular, for current accounts with the issue of a Payment Card that may be opened by the Client in the future.”

MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak responded to this message, clarifying that this part of the requirement applies not only to PrivatBank, but also to all other banks.

“This is part of the requirement for all banks, which is set out in the Procedure approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. If you take the money, you have agreed to share the information,” the MP wrote in Telegram.

Later, PrivatBank stated that it acted exclusively within the framework of the law, transferring information about client transactions for the purpose of calculating the National Cashback.

“PrivatBank, like all participants of the National Cashback program, transfers only information on transactions of expenses or returns of goods in stores that are registered as sellers of Ukrainian goods. The transfer of this data is provided for by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 952 of August 20, 2024. Any other transactions or customer data will not be disclosed,” the bank’s website explains.

How do customers feel about banks storing information?

Supporting the current topic of banking secrecy, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak offered interesting statistics from Active Group on how Ukrainians assess the actions of banks in terms of banking secrecy.