What's Happening?

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

NEED HELP? QUESTIONS@FIA.ORG.ZA

become A FIA member TODAY
member login

PoPI is almost here – is your data strategy ready for compliance?

ARTICLE BY

  • Gary Allemann

SHARE THIS POST

After many years of discussion, the Protection of Personal Information (PoPI) Act is finally coming into effect. The information regulator is pushing for the Act to be finalised on 1 April 2020, giving South African businesses a little over a year to get their data systems and processes in line. Compliance with PoPI will soon be mandatory, but enterprises that are able to meet requirements will actually find themselves at a significant advantage. Improved data management is not only imperative for compliance, it also makes good business sense. 

Transparency is the end goal

According to the Act, personal information is any data that may identify a person or distinguish them from another. This is an incredibly broad spectrum of information, including aspects as diverse as religion, medical history, biometrics, online screen names, or even opinions of, or about, a third party. 

It is also important to remember that PoPI applies to the data of any legal entity – from a natural person, to a company, trust or non-profit institution. As such PoPI extends beyond customer data, and governs the use of other party’s data, such as data related to customers, employees, suppliers and partners. Some of the requirements for PoPI include:

  • Only collecting and keeping information you need for a specific purpose
  • Limiting access to personal data
  • Ensuring the quality of personal information
  • Allowing the subject of the data to see it upon request 

So, what does this mean for businesses?

The reality is that there has always been a need for businesses to safeguard the personal information of their customers. However, as the rampant growth of data has continued unabashed, control has become simultaneously increasingly difficult to achieve and more important than ever. PoPI is, at its most basic level, a way of forcing into law the practices around data management that should be implemented regardless, by controlling how personal information is used within an organisation, from data capture to destruction.  

The trouble is that many businesses have no visibility into their data, why it was collected, what they have, where it is being stored and what is being done with it. Compliance requires businesses to be able to answer these questions, and despite common misperception this is not a legal challenge or an IT security problem. Ultimately it boils down to a data quality problem as well as data management and data governance issues. 

Compliance has benefits beyond avoiding penalties

PoPI does not stipulate that data cannot be used, only that it must be used for legitimate purposes and that consumers consent to this use. In order to comply and still obtain value from their data, businesses need to therefore be more proactive when it comes to managing their data. 

It is now essential to effectively find, classify and make decisions on how data is used, and ensure that these uses, including technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) do not conflict with what the customer agreed to. Data management and its various components including data governance, data quality, master data management and metadata management are the foundation of PoPI compliance. 

However, data management should be about more than just complying with laws. Using data effectively is the key to maintaining trust with customers, which is the foundation of an enhanced customer experience and therefore a source of significant competitive advantage.

Subscriber Terms and Conditions

  1. APPLICATION OF TERMS
    • These terms and conditions (“Subscriber Terms”) apply to the subscription by any qualifying member of the South African Underwriting Managers Association NPC (“SAUMA”) to the services and benefits offered by FIA Services (Pty) Ltd (“FIA Services”) under the SAUMA affiliation arrangement (“Subscription”).

  2. NATURE OF SUBSCRIPTION
    • A Subscription under this arrangement:
      • does not constitute membership of FIA NPC;
      • does not confer any voting rights or governance participation in FIA NPC; and
      • is governed solely by the contractual relationship between the Subscriber and FIA Services.

  1. ELIGIBILITY
    • To qualify for the Subscription, the applicant must, at the time of application, be a current paid-up member of SAUMA.
    • FIA Services will verify the applicant’s SAUMA membership status with SAUMA prior to activation, and may re-verify such status periodically.
    • If a Subscriber ceases to be a paid-up member of SAUMA, the Subscription will correspondingly be terminated.
    • Applicants are required to authorise FIA Services to confirm their SAUMA membership status with SAUMA as part of the application process.

  1. SERVICES
    • The Subscription entitles the Subscriber to the following benefits:
      • Complimentary access to the FIA CPD Platform;
      • Complimentary access to the FIA Insight Magazine (digital edition);
      • Advertising opportunities on FIA platforms at a discounted rate of 15% (fifteen percent) off the prevailing published rates; and
      • Invitations to attend FIA Technical Webinars annually.
    • FIA Services reserves the right to update, vary or substitute the Services from time to time, provided that the overall value and nature of the benefits remain materially the same.

  1. FEES AND PAYMENT
    • The monthly subscription fee is R260.00 (two hundred and sixty rand) for up to seven registered individuals (Key Individuals and Representatives), and R36.00 (thirty-six rand) per additional registered individual thereafter, excluding VAT.
    • The Subscriber shall provide FIA Services with the required details of each individual to be registered under the Subscription for the purposes of activation and billing.
    • All fees are exclusive of VAT, which shall be charged at the prevailing statutory rate.
    • Subscription fees are reviewed annually in March and may be adjusted with effect from 1 April.
    • Any changes to the Subscription, including but not limited to the number of Representatives and Key Individuals registered under the Subscription, may only be effected once annually during the annual review period in March of each year, with such changes taking effect from 1 April.
    • Subscription fees shall be billed monthly in arrears, unless the Subscriber elects an annual billing cycle at the time of application.
    • The Subscriber shall ensure that all billing information (including contact details, authorised signatories and bank account details) is kept accurate and up to date.
    • Non-payment of subscription fees may result in suspension of access to the Services until such fees are brought up to date.
    • The Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that all subscription fees payable under these Subscriber Terms may be collected by way of debit order, which shall be processed by the holding company, FIA NPC (The Financial Intermediary Association of South Africa), on behalf of FIA Services. Payment to FIA NPC shall be deemed to constitute valid and sufficient discharge of the Subscriber’s payment obligations to FIA Services under these Subscriber Terms.

  1. ONBOARDING
    • Onboarding will be conducted as a Subscription with FIA Services under the SAUMA affiliation arrangement.
    • Onboarding will not confer FIA NPC membership status or any associated rights.
    • Onboarding is conditional on confirmation of the Subscriber’s current SAUMA membership at the time of application

  1. DATA PROTECTION
    • FIA Services will process all personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) as set out in our POPIA policies.
    • By subscribing, the Subscriber authorises FIA Services to confirm their SAUMA membership status with SAUMA and to process personal information for the purposes of fulfilling the Subscription.

  1. TERMINATION
    • The Subscriber may terminate the Subscription by giving FIA Services one calendar month’s written notice.
    • FIA Services may terminate the Subscription on one calendar month’s written notice, or immediately if the Subscriber breaches these Subscriber Terms and fails to remedy such breach within 14 (fourteen) days of receiving written notice.
    • Termination of the SAUMA–FIA Services affiliation agreement shall not automatically terminate these Subscriber Terms.
    • Termination by the Subscriber shall not relieve the Subscriber of liability for any subscription fees accrued up to the effective date of termination.
    • FIA Services may suspend or terminate the Subscription with immediate effect in the event of non-payment of fees by the Subscriber.

  1. GENERAL
    • These Subscriber Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
    • Any disputes arising under these Subscriber Terms shall be dealt with in accordance with the dispute resolution provisions contained in the FIA NPC membership terms and conditions, as modified to reflect that the contractual relationship is with FIA Services.
    • Any notices required under these Subscriber Terms may be validly delivered by email to the addresses provided in the Subscriber’s application form, and such notices shall be deemed received on the day of transmission if sent during business hours.
    • The Subscriber may not assign, cede or transfer any of its rights or obligations under these Subscriber Terms without the prior written consent of FIA Services.
    • No variation of these Subscriber Terms shall be of any force or effect unless reduced to writing and signed by both FIA Services and the Subscriber.