Retail

JD Sports’ Journey from a Single Store to Global Dominance & Hibbet Sports

In a significant move that strengthens its foothold in the American market, JD Sports Fashion plc, a leading UK-based retailer of athletic apparel, has officially announced its acquisition of Hibbett Sports, a prominent retail player in the United States. The deal, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, underscores JD Sports’ ambitious strategy to expand its global […]

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Understanding the Vital Role of Remittances in Global Development

Remittances, often defined as the transfer of money by migrants to their home countries, play a vital role in the economies of many developing nations. These transfers, which can consist of cash or goods, are crucial for the welfare and development of the recipient countries. Despite challenges in measuring the exact size of remittance flows

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IKEA Launches Its Premier Logistics Hub in Ireland

The renowned Swedish furniture giant, celebrated the opening of its first logistics center in Ireland, situated in Rathcoole, Dublin. This expansive 27,000 square meter facility boasts the capacity to store 20,000 cubic meters, accommodating 9,000 distinct product varieties from IKEA’s extensive catalog. This new hub, which has created 200 jobs, promises to slash delivery times

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Klarna and Milkywire Bank on Biodiversity, Investments Grow on Trees!

Klarna, known for its AI-enhanced global payments system and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) shopping services, in collaboration with environmental platform Milkywire, announced the launch of the Nature Transformation Fund. This initiative is designed to facilitate direct investments by tech and financial entities into projects that aggressively push towards achieving global biodiversity goals. The newly

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No Cash, No Problem, Klarna’s Card Makes U.S. Debut

Klarna, a leader in global payments and shopping services powered by artificial intelligence, has now opened its waitlist to U.S. consumers for its newly introduced Klarna Card. This card, facilitated through WebBank, is designed to offer users a range of payment flexibilities, accessible both online and in physical retail locations. Users benefit from zero foreign

No Cash, No Problem, Klarna’s Card Makes U.S. Debut Read More »

Fintech in China: Integrating Payment Apps with Blockchain Growth

Navigating the digital landscape of payments in China is an exciting journey given the plethora of options available to consumers and businesses alike. Here’s a quick rundown of the top 5 Chinese payment apps that are reshaping how transactions are conducted in the world’s most populous country: Alipay: Alipay is the kingpin of mobile payment

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Balancing AI Advancements and Human Interaction in Key Account Management

Imagine a world where your coffee machine not only remembers how you like your latte but also predicts when you’ll desperately need a caffeine boost next. That’s AI for you, infiltrating every corner of our lives, including the boardroom. In the realm of key account management, AI isn’t just a fancy gadget but a transformative

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Bank of England Signals Cautious Optimism for Payments Revolution

At the Innovate Finance Global Summit 2024, Sarah Breeden, Executive Director of the Bank of England, outlined the institution’s measured yet optimistic stance toward the rapid innovations occurring in payment systems. Breeden highlighted the Bank’s twin roles as regulator and participant in the UK’s financial infrastructure – a position that demands fostering innovation while safeguarding

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The True Cost of Online Shopping Refunds: What Retailers Need to Know

Online shopping may be easy, but refunding or returning stuff? That’s a whole different journey. This complexity can be likened to a passenger deciding to reverse their journey after entering a subway system. When a shopper decides to return an item, they initiate a financial transaction that is a reversal of the original. In this

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Spotlight on Nets: Pioneering Payment Solutions in Europe

The Nets story Nets, the result of a strategic merger between Denmark’s PBS and Norway’s BBS in 2009, has grown to become a significant force in the European payments industry. With the acquisition of Finland’s Luottokunta in 2012, the company catapulted into the top league of European payment processors. Nets has demonstrated a remarkable ability

Spotlight on Nets: Pioneering Payment Solutions in Europe 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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