In his comparison he highlighted that the banking sector has between 18 and 20 million customers who have a relationship with their bank. Clearly the bank knows who these customers are as this is the nature of banking, commented Knott-Craig. Yet on 1 July 2003 the banks had to confirm the identity of their customers and were given 12 months to do so in terms of FICA.
To date, they have yet to complete the task, despite having the advantage of being able to cross-reference data from credit bureaus and the Department of Home Affairs. Their cut-off date for confirming the identity of their known customers is now September 2006, 39 months after the process started and it would appear that they still have some way to go.
Indeed, customers with a balance of R5 000 or less per day are only required to provide an identity number.
Contrast this with RICA, said Knott-Craig.
There are close on 30 million prepaid customers in South Africa today who have provided no information whatsoever to the cellphone operators.
RICA (in its current format) has given the cellphone operators 12 months to register its customers in terms of their identity number, full names, residential address, business address and a postal address, and require cellphone operators to verify such information without access to the Department of Home Affairs or credit bureaus to cross-reference information collected.
Knott-Craig pointed out that in the first place it is the current unbanked portion of the population which numbers more than 10 - 15 million who are going to find it impossible to provide the information required by the proposed RICA legislation.
These are people who by and large live in informal settlements and villages, and work in the informal sector.
Unless this proposed legislation is amended, then the law is going to compel cellphone operators to disconnect these people - with devastating effects to their lives.
