The government on Thursday submitted a proposal to the Parliament on amending the Act on Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System, said Ministry of the Interior in a press release.
The proposal aims to enable the use the Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System to centralise all requests made by the authorities for information on account balances, transactions and securities.
The proposal would add a new technical function to the Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System to give certain public authorities the right to use the system to request information on account balances and transactions.
Requests would concern specific official tasks, which the relevant public authority could not complete without information on account balances and transactions.
Public authorities would not have direct access to client information. Requests could only be made to credit and payment institutions through the centralised Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System.
The proposal concerns the technical process for disclosing the information. Only certain public authorities who already have the right to access corresponding information would be able to access the system.
These authorities include the Police, Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, Financial Intelligence Unit, Finnish Customs, Finnish Tax Administration, National Enforcement Authority, Finnish Border Guard, Finnish Defence Forces, and Financial Supervisory Authority.
The proposal aims to provide better data protection and information security for account balance and transaction requests. A centralised system will enable unambiguous, end-to-end identification of communications, and application of uniform legal provisions to data processing.
As transaction data constitutes sensitive personal data, the proposal includes clearly defined and precise provisions on the conditions and content of the requests made through the system.
Centralising public authorities' all requests for banking data in a single system should also achieve cost savings, reduce the workload caused by overlapping information systems and, ultimately, enable public officials work more efficiently.
The proposed act is scheduled to enter into force as soon as possible, but no later than on 31 December 2025.
- Govt
- Bank
- Account
- Monitoring
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
