Ukrposhta, Ukraine's state postal operator, has challenged a National Bank of Ukraine requirement that forces it to print customers' personal data on payment receipts, the company said in an official statement.
Since August 1, the National Bank has required Ukrposhta to list a payer's full name, tax identification number (RNOKPP) and complete bank card number on receipts for utility bills and other payments made by card or through card top-ups.
Ukrposhta chief executive Ihor Smilyansky said the company categorically disagreed with the new requirements but was obliged under the law to comply with them. The company has appealed to the National Bank, the government, the Verkhovna Rada and the human rights ombudsman, asking them to reconsider the rule, though it must still follow it while it remains in force.
Data leak concerns
Ukrposhta said the new receipts would contain sensitive personal data, including a customer's full name, tax number and complete bank card number, stored on paper that could end up in the wrong hands.
Smilyansky questioned whether the requirement came from international partners or the International Monetary Fund, saying it did not. He asked why one of the world's most digitalized countries, with services such as Diia, was returning to 50-centimetre receipts carrying full personal data, and said the matter was a question for the regulator, calling it a case where independence had turned into impunity.
Customers who have already given Ukrposhta their tax number, for example when receiving social payments, "Winter Support" assistance, energy-saving lamps or other services, will not need to provide it again. Where the data is missing from the system, an operator will ask for it once. The company urged customers to dispose of unneeded receipts at home.
Ongoing conflict with the central bank
The dispute between Ukrposhta and the National Bank stems from the company's ambition to obtain a banking license. The standoff has already led the National Bank to demand Smilyansky's dismissal as chief executive, a demand the government has not yet acted on.
Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the Rada's finance committee, has said the confrontation has taken on a personal character amid tension between National Bank governor Andriy Pyshnyi and Smilyansky.
