Are bank card numbers personal data?
I am an officer working for a prominent bank in Tanzania. I was reading a popular magazine on the banking sector in Africa when I saw an article that stated bank card information is personal data. I carefully read this piece but could not find the basis of why simple numbers on a card can be regarded as personal data. Please guide me on the position in Tanzania and its rationale
TJ, Dar es Salaam.
According to section 3 of the Personal Data Protection Act, Cap 44 (Personal Data Protection Act), ‘personal data’ means data about an identifiable person that is recorded in any form, including (c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual. As noted from section 3(c) of the Personal Data Protection Act, any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual is regarded as personal data. In that regard even numbers on a bank card are personal data. The rationale behind this is that when numbers are assigned to an individual, they can be used to identify such a person and thus become part of their personal information, in other words, personal data. You may consult the Personal Data Protection Commission for further guidance.