Region

Jurisdiction

Regulator

2021-01-01

Circular No. 2021/129: Authorization for Electronic Customer Inquiries

The Palestine Monetary Authority issued Circular No. 2021/129 to permit lending institutions to obtain customer authorization for credit inquiries electronically instead of via direct written consent. The directive mandates that institutions implement secure mechanisms, such as OTP verification, to ensure data matching and maintain confidentiality of central database information. Institutions are held fully responsible for the accuracy of submitted data and must secure prior regulatory approval before launching the service.

Palestine

Palestine Monetary Authority

Palestine Monetary Authority

PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY

Circular No. (2021/129)

To all lending institutions operating in Palestine

Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Subject: Authorization for Electronic Customer Inquiries

With reference to Palestine Monetary Authority Memorandum No. 2009/26 dated May 26, 2009, and the related clause regarding the necessity of obtaining written authorization for inquiries and disclosure of customer data to the Authority's databases, and in alignment with the Authority's strategy aimed at enhancing and supporting the financial technology sector in Palestine and directing lending institutions toward adopting electronic channels for providing financial services and products, we inform you of the Palestine Monetary Authority's approval to grant lending institutions the ability to obtain authorization for customer inquiries electronically, in lieu of direct written authorization. This is subject to the following constraints and provisions being considered when designing the electronic inquiry mechanism:

The mechanism must be designed to support the matching of data related to the customer's ID number and mobile phone number according to the Palestine Monetary Authority's databases compared with the data sent by the prospective customer, ensuring agreement with the Authority on the programming of the authentication mechanism.
Upon implementing the verification and matching mechanism, a text message containing an authentication code (OTP) must be sent to the customer's phone number, requesting the customer to enter it to complete the process, which constitutes the customer's written consent.
Data exchange is restricted between lending institutions and the Palestine Monetary Authority; customers are never provided with any data derived from the Authority's databases. The use of electronic authorization is limited solely to the review of the application submitted by the customer.
Each lending institution is responsible for the accuracy and currency of its customers' data disclosed to the Authority's databases and bears full responsibility if any information disclosed by it is found to be incorrect.

Additional Notes:

Each lending institution retains a copy of the electronic authorization sent by the customer.
The approval under the above conditions does not include sending the inquiry and disclosure authorization via email or fax.

Accordingly, management of lending institutions is requested to disseminate the content of this circular to relevant parties, emphasizing the necessity of obtaining prior approval from the Palestine Monetary Authority before launching the service.

Financial Advisory Group
Palestine Monetary Authority

Note:
Ramallah and Al-Bireh - Palestine P.O. Box 452
info@pma.ps | Fax: +970 2 2415310 | Fax: +970 2 2415251 | Phone:
Gaza - Palestine P.O. Box 4026
Fax: +970 8 2844487 | Fax: +970 8 2825713 | Phone:
www.pma.ps