Fintech

Mastercard Partners with Kalabash54 to Launch Travel Card in Nigeria and Ghana

Mastercard and Kalabash54, the fintech arm of Wakanow Group, a prominent West African online travel company, have partnered to introduce a cutting-edge travel card for customers in Nigeria and Ghana. This collaboration is designed to deliver a secure and convenient digital payment solution tailored to meet the unique needs of travelers in the region. The […]

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170 Payone Employees Laid Off While Worldline Subsidiary Pursues Costly Litigation Against Whistleblower

Frankfurt-based payment service provider Payone GmbH, a subsidiary of French multinational Worldline SA, recently announced an 11% reduction of its workforce, resulting in the loss of nearly 170 jobs. According to an article at the renowned payments expert Finanz Szene, released on 14 July 2024, this agreed measure, surpasses the 8% cut at its parent

170 Payone Employees Laid Off While Worldline Subsidiary Pursues Costly Litigation Against Whistleblower Read More »

Cash Rules Everything Around Me? Re-evaluating Payment Reliability in the Wake of Worldline’s System Failure

The recent Worldline outage that paralysed card payments at major UK supermarkets like Sainsbury’s and Asda has exposed a critical vulnerability in our increasingly digital payment landscape. While the convenience of mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay is undeniable, their susceptibility to technical glitches and network failures raises important questions about the future

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Unzer Makes Shopping a Breeze with Twint Integration

Unzer, a prominent player in the payments industry, is expanding its offerings in Switzerland by incorporating Twint, the widely used mobile payment system. This integration enables retailers to seamlessly incorporate Twint into their online checkout processes, providing Swiss consumers with a preferred payment method. Twint is known for its secure payment capabilities both online and

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UnionPay International Expands Global Reach with Summer Promotion Campaign

UnionPay International, a leading global payment provider, is bolstering its international presence with an extensive summer campaign designed to attract Chinese travelers venturing abroad. The campaign, spanning 25 countries and regions, offers cardholders a wide array of benefits, including discounts of up to 33% at participating merchants, favorable exchange rates, and cashback rewards of up

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Biometric Payment Cards Set to Transform Brazil’s Retail Payments Landscape

The partnership between Fingerprint Cards (FPC) and Valid represents a significant development in Brazil’s payment sector. Their collaboration to introduce biometric payment cards aims to redefine the security, convenience, and hygiene of contactless transactions, establishing a new benchmark for the industry. The integration of Fingerprint Cards’ second-generation T-Shape (T2) sensor module and sophisticated software platform

Biometric Payment Cards Set to Transform Brazil’s Retail Payments Landscape Read More »

Scamp & Dude to Open Cambridge Store This Month

Following a successful July with a new footwear collection and strengthened charity partnerships, the ‘force-for-good’ fashion brand Scamp & Dude continues its growth trajectory with a new retail location. A Welcoming Space in Cambridge The brand is thrilled to announce the opening of its fifth UK store in the historic city of Cambridge this month.

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Global Payments Expands UK Presence with Takepayments Acquisition

Global Payments, a prominent player in the US payment technology sector, has made a strategic move by acquiring Takepayments, a UK-based provider of card payment solutions, in a transaction whose financial details were not disclosed. The acquisition, finalized according to a Companies House filing, underscores Global Payments’ commitment to bolstering its footprint in the UK’s

Global Payments Expands UK Presence with Takepayments Acquisition Read More »

Klarna’s $520 Million Sale Marks Strategic Pivot in Fintech Landscape

Klarna, the Swedish fintech giant, has recently announced the sale of its online checkout business, Klarna Checkout (KCO), to a consortium of investors led by Kamjar Hajabdolahi, CEO and Founding Partner of BLQ Invest, for approximately €485 million ($520 million). This strategic move marks Klarna’s departure from direct competition with major payment service providers (PSPs)

Klarna’s $520 Million Sale Marks Strategic Pivot in Fintech Landscape Read More »

Merchant Services and Payments – A Closer Look at Instant and Same-Day settlement

In the payments sector commerce, where digital transactions predominate, understanding the intricacies of payment settlement is crucial for merchants. This process, often unseen by customers, plays a vital role in ensuring the smooth transfer of funds from the purchaser’s account to the merchant’s business account. Payment Settlement Payment settlement represents the final stage of a

Merchant Services and Payments – A Closer Look at Instant and Same-Day settlement Read More »

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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.

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