Personal Data Security in South Africa’s Financial Services Market: The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation Compared

Abstract

The contemporary global financial services market has witnessed a substantial increase in cybercrime which places consumers’ personal data at risk. Rapid increases in cybercrime linked to the financial services market have driven financial market regulators to pass novel laws and regulations aimed at curbing the rate of occurrence of cybercrimes connected to personal data sharing. To that end, banks and/or financial services companies in Europe have swiftly moved to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Whilst personal data protection regulation is not a new concept in Europe, most African countries (with exception of South Africa) do not have laws and regulations on personal data protection. With the financial services market being extremely vulnerable to cyber risks owing to the digitisation of the financial services sector, it is important to assess the suitability of South Africa’s current regulatory framework concerning the protection of personal data. This article thus examines South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 with a view to ascertaining its suitability and/or adequacy in protecting personal data in the country’s financial services market. With the global Covid-19 pandemic bringing about concerns related to rapid increases in cyber-attacks in the financial services market owing to the increased sharing of the sensitive personal data of consumers, there is also need to test the POPIA’s conformity with the strict European Union GDPR personal data protection guidelines.