Banks are subject to the South African Reserve Bank Act and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
The South African Reserve Bank Act requires that banks keep certain records for a prescribed period of time. These include:
– Records of all transactions and accounts
– Records of all payments, receipts, transfers, and credits
– Transactions in foreign currency
– Transactions in shares or other securities
– Transactions with credit card companies
Are South African businesses required to retain personal information?
Retaining personal information can be costly for businesses. The cost of storing and protecting personal information is a concern for many South African businesses.
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) is the legislation that governs how South African organisations must protect the personal information they hold. POPI is not clear on whether it requires businesses to retain their customers’ personal information, but it does require them to take steps in order to protect that data from being lost, destroyed or inappropriately accessed.
