By Adedapo Adesanya
One of Nigeria’s digital payment and fintech companies, PalmPay, has obtained a compliance status on obligations in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) for implementing all statutory requirements.
With the significant growth in the internet and digital economy, the use of information raises serious concerns about privacy and data protection. Any organisation that wishes to operate effectively must ensure the security of its information by implementing a data protection plan.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in response to concerns about personal data privacy and protection and the serious consequences of leaving personal data processing unregulated, issued the NDPR.
The NDPR makes provisions for the rights of data subjects, the obligations of data controllers and data processors, transfer of data to a foreign territory, amongst others.
As a data controller, PalmPay engaged a Data Protection Compliance Organization (DPCO) licensed by NITDA to perform a data protection audit. The DPCO has reviewed PalmPay’s ability to provide secure financial information, personnel data, and information entrusted to third parties.
Speaking on this, Mr Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay, noted that being NDPR compliant indicates that PalmPay meets the high requirements of information security.
“Data protection in the payments industry today is more important than ever, where the use of digital payments is rapidly increasing, and transfers between individuals have significantly changed. Personal activities or individual behaviours may be tracked using the associated data. The security and safety of funds and data will continue to be a priority for PalmPay,” he said.
“Customer first is one of our core values, and NDPR compliance status demonstrates how serious we are about it. We remain committed to improving data protection to meet our privacy responsibilities to our users and merchants,” Mr Nwosu added.
This development has been welcomed after PalmPay raised a $100 million Series A round of funding in August 2021, with $140 million raised in total in three years of operation. The company is now operating in Nigeria and Ghana. Since launching in 2019, it reportedly has 10 million users and a mobile money agent network of 200,000.
Aduragbemi Omiyale