press@loopline.org.uk

STRIKING THE BALANCE IN CARD PAYMENTS

Account Managers, Key Account Managers, Hunters, Farmers, and Sales executives are the breadwinners of any organisation.  These so-called “hunters” or “goal scorers” are skilled at converting chances for their team against the backdrop of the “refereeing” or compliance rules.  Whether it is a relentless door knocker of small and medium-sized businesses or a strategic high-profile seller to global Key Accounts, the organisational rules on onboarding are essentially the same.

STRIKING THE BALANCE IN CARD PAYMENTS Read More »

CARD Payment Firm’s Double Data Blunder

The Worldline Group hold a 60% stake in the Frankfurt based company who have a small UK market presence. In June 2021, one of Payone GmbH’s ex UK employees (the data subject) received a “potential data breach notification” from the firm advising him that his salary, National Insurance data, nationality  was amongst various bits of information sent to an incorrect address.

CARD Payment Firm’s Double Data Blunder Read More »

The Blackface, The Work Christmas Party And Payone (Worldline Subsidiary)

Just days into a new job at Payone (Worldline subsidiary), I walked into a Christmas party to be confronted by a white colleague who I had been introduced to earlier that day, dressed up as blackface painting.  A full array of senior management and HR staff were in attendance as revellers, and it was a baptism of fire for me, having never experienced this at any other previous employer. Besides awkward looks from some people, laughter from others, the HR staff were silent during the event and there has been no apology to those likely to have taken offence.

The Blackface, The Work Christmas Party And Payone (Worldline Subsidiary) Read More »

Navigating Office Politics: A Comprehensive Guide

In today’s modern workplace, office politics is an ever-present challenge that affects professionals across various industries, irrespective of gender or age. Understanding and effectively managing office politics are essential skills for success in the corporate world. Understanding the Landscape Research indicates that office politics tends to be more prevalent in larger organizations, particularly in competitive

Navigating Office Politics: A Comprehensive Guide Read More »

room, office, modern-2559790.jpg

How Remote Are You Working?

Chances are, before COVID-19, you never gave much thought to working from home. After all,
it’s what only a small subset of people – 4.9%, in fact – did, most recently as of 2019. But then
the pandemic happened. And, suddenly, those working in sales, marketing, and even at law
firms, were trading in their shoes for slippers and morning commutes to the office for morning
commutes to their kettle.

How Remote Are You Working? Read More »

We use cookies to improve user experience and analyse website traffic. By clicking ‘Accept’, you agree to our website’s cookie use as described in our Privacy Policy.

Post-Brexit: data protection
Card processor sends sensitive data to wrong address
24 August 2022

Worldline SA subsidiary Payone GmbH has been accused of breaching data protection rules after it sent sensitive employee payroll information to the wrong address by accident. The Worldline Group holdS a 60% stake in the Frankfurt based company who have a small UK market presence.

In June 2021, one of Payone GmbH’s ex UK employees (the data subject) received a “potential data breach notification” from the firm advising him that his salary, National Insurance data, nationality (Special Category Data) was amongst various bits of information sent to an incorrect home address.

This included personal information such as the former employees name, age and address.  It also included details such as the date of birth and the amount of annual work bonus he received in his bank account amongst other identifiable data.

Payone GmbH confirmed that this document was sent out in error following an employee making a mistake when re-entering data processed by their third-party payroll provider.  The error arose when the employee was fulfilling an Article 15 GDPR request. The error was spotted by the data subject when he noticed in an email version of the document that the postal address was incorrect. An attempt to notify Payone GmbH of the error went in vain as the document was already irretrievably despatched.

The data subject was alarmed with the incident which exposed him to the possibility of fraudulent activity, amidst reasonable fears his data could end up on the dark web and used by criminals.  Habitually resident in the UK he complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in June 2021. He similarly raised the concern in Germany via The Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI).

The ICO reprimanded Payone GmbH for the error in their final decision letter.
Similarly, the HBDI cited a violation of Article 5(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relating to integrity and confidentiality.

The ICO stated in their July 2021 findings that Payone GmbH, “should take steps to ensure that all personal data records are accurate and up to date. Holding inaccurate information, such as addresses, does increase the risk of personal data breaches and poses risks to the security of information”.

The HBDI confirmed in their October 2021 findings that Payone GmbH had taken remedial action. They concluded that a monetary fine would not be imposed on Payone GmbH as they had taken technical and organisational steps in response to the data breach. Data subjects could now request their data in an autonomous portal.

The GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, gave the Information Commissioner’s Office greater powers to tackle data breaches. The new ‘UK GDPR’ charts its own course after Brexit whilst seeking to maintain EU GDPR adequacy.  In extreme scenarios, organisations face penalties of up to £20m or 4 per cent of their global worldwide turnover, whichever is more.

In the years prior to GDPR, the ICO fines were capped at £500,000.

The data subject said: “I am just glad I spotted it; they were going to resend the document again to another wrong address. Prior to Brexit the process would have been commenced via the ICO who in turn would liaise with the HBDI on the data subjects’ behalf; but I found myself communicating with both authorities separately which was an additional step but in the end was surprisingly
effective. Unfortunately, Payone GmbH again sent my incorrect address to the
Workers Pension Trust in January 2022, and documents yet again went to the wrong address. In my opinion they have not learned from the first time and my complaint is sitting with the ICO yet again”.

The former employee is pursuing a remedy under Article 82 UK GDPR via
the Court’s of England & Wales.

Extraordinary Experiences

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Our Core Values

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.