NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 7 – Financial technology firm Tala has received a green light from the Office of Data Protection Commissioner(ODPC) to act as a data controller in Kenya.
The firm will now be able to control the processing of personal data, determine the purpose, and means of processing that data, and can instruct another legal, certified and regulated entity or third party to process data on its behalf.
While acknowledging the accreditation, Tala’s General Manager, Munyi Nthigah reiterated that the company only asks for data legitimately needed for consumers to access Tala products such as loan underwriting, and provides full disclosure as to how it uses customer’s data in its privacy policies.
All information Tala collects during the application process is used exclusively to verify the customer’s identity and build their credit profile.
“This is a great milestone for our company, especially as we diversify our product portfolio and expand across markets. At the core of Tala’s consumer data protection policies are the safeguards, security measures and mechanisms we have implemented to protect personal data, so that we are able to swiftly react to any potential data breach,” said Nthigah.
Nicola Muriuki, Tala’s Legal Director closed by urging the Company’s 3.5 million customers to take the time to familiarize themselves and understand their data rights as Kenyans on the ODPC’s website, and as Tala customers via Tala’s App Privacy Notice, available In-App on on Tala’s website.
Nearly 3 billion people globally are underserved by the formal financial system, with little to no options to support their financial agency and independence.
The Office of the Data Protection Commission has urged all data controllers and processors to register their entities, in line with the provisions of the Data Protection Act, 2019.
As of September 2, ODPC had issued 332 entities with certificates of registration whereas 805 were yet to complete the registration process by making their payment.
Additional 459 entities are still at the registration stage while applications of 64 other entities are under review.
