MalawiCredit Reference Bureau Act, credit reference bureaus: licensing, data use and account holder rights
Credit Reference Bureau Act, 2010 (Cap. 46:09), Parts II, III and V
In force since .
A data brokers rule binding private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Licensing, Consent, Prohibition, Retention, Security, Data subject rights
What it requires
- If you conduct credit reference bureau business, hold a licence as a credit reference bureau under the Financial Services Act, and be a limited liability company to be licensed.
- If you are a credit reference bureau, provide credit information services only to financial institutions regulated under the Financial Services Act, and give any other user access only after the user has submitted the account holder's written authorization to you.
- If you are a credit reference bureau, do not provide credit information of persons held in your database to a user or any other person for the purposes of offering or advertising goods, facilities or services to those persons.
- If you are a credit reference bureau, keep controls and procedures that protect the quality of your database and the confidentiality of its information, use the information collected only for the purposes of credit reference bureau business, and maintain a historical database covering seven years.
- If you are a credit reference bureau, let an account holder access the credit information held about them, free of charge on a screen, and remedy illegal, inaccurate, erroneous or outdated information promptly after a review request, correcting the errors in your database within ten working days.
- If you are a financial institution, submit credit information of your customers to all credit reference bureaux.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
Section 4(1) provides that no person may conduct credit reference bureau business unless licensed as a credit reference bureau under the Financial Services Act. Section 4(2) provides that no person other than a limited liability company may be licensed as a credit reference bureau. Section 13A(1) requires a financial institution to submit credit information of its customers to all credit reference bureaux.
Section 14(1) provides that a credit reference bureau may provide credit information services only to financial institutions regulated under the Financial Services Act, except where subsection (2) applies. Section 14(2) requires a user other than a financial institution to submit the account holder's written authorization to the credit reference bureau before accessing the account holder's credit information.
Section 15 requires a credit reference bureau to establish controls and procedures to ensure the quality of its database and preserve the confidentiality of its information, and to use the information collected exclusively for the purpose of meeting the objectives of the credit reference bureau business.
Section 18(2) prohibits a credit reference bureau from providing credit information of persons held in its database to a user or any other person for the purposes of offering or advertising the availability of goods, facilities or services to those persons. Section 21 requires a credit reference bureau to maintain a historical database covering a seven year period for the purpose of providing detailed credit information.
Section 23(1) entitles an account holder to access any credit information relating to him that is registered in a database administered by a credit reference bureau. Section 23(2) provides that the account holder obtains the information free of charge by viewing the data on a screen, or by paying a fee for a document containing it.
Section 24(1) lets an account holder who believes the information in the database is illegal, inaccurate, erroneous or outdated request a review by the credit reference bureau, and any deficiency identified must be promptly remedied. Section 26(2) requires a credit reference bureau to remedy the corresponding errors in its database within ten working days.
Section 28 lets the Registrar impose monetary penalties on a credit reference bureau that fails to comply with the Act, issue it a written warning or revoke its licence.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app provides financial services, processes personal data or sends automated outreach.
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