National Payment System Act, 1998 (Act No. 78 of 1998)

Notices

Directive in respect of issuing of Electronic Funds Transfer Credit Payment instructions on behalf of the payer in the National Payment System

1. Definitions
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1.1 Unless the context indicates otherwise where the interpretation should further be in the context of this directive, any word or expression used in this directive to which a meaning has been assigned in the National Payment System Act 78 of 1998, as amended (NPS Act), has that meaning.

 

1.2 Beneficiary refers to a person that is identified by the payer as the receiver of the funds associated with the electronic funds transfer credit.

 

1.3 Clearing system participant is a person defined as such in section 1 of the NPS Act.

 

1.4 Critical staff means a natural person that performs functions that are essential to the operations of a person issuing electronic funds transfer credit payment instructions on behalf of the payer, using screen scraping, including a person who has access to information technology (IT) systems.

 

1.5 Cyberattack means malicious attempt(s) to exploit vulnerabilities through the cyber medium to damage, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to IT systems.

 

1.6 Cyber-event means any observable occurrence in an information system. Cyber-events sometimes provide an indication that a cyber-incident is actually occurring.

 

1.7 Cyber-incident means a cyber-event that adversely affects the cybersecurity of an information system and/or the information that the system processes, stores or transmits, or which violates the security policies, security procedures and/or acceptable use policies, whether resulting from malicious activity or not.

 

1.8 Data breach means a compromise of security that leads to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of or access to data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.

 

1.9 Due diligence means the identification, understanding and obtaining of information about the business relationship of a beneficiary of the payment.

 

1.10 Electronic funds transfer credit means a payment instruction carried out by electronic means on behalf of a payer, with a view to making an amount of funds available to a beneficiary, irrespective of whether the payer and the beneficiary are the same person.

 

1.11 Electronic wallet is a digital representation of value that is stored electronically on an electronic device.

 

1.12 FIC Act means the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, as amended.

 

1.13 Faster payments refer to a low-value, credit-push payment service in which both the transmission of the payment message and the availability of funds to the beneficiary occur in real time or near-real time, on a basis that the service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7).

 

1.14 Fraud refers to the issuing of a payment instruction with the intention to defraud a person.

 

1.15 Front-end interface is the point at which a payer interacts with a website or application.

 

1.16 Governing body refers to a person or body of persons, whether elected or not, that manages, controls and formulates the policy and strategy of the person issuing electronic funds transfer credit payment instructions on behalf of the payer, using screen scraping; directs its affairs; or has the authority to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the person issuing  electronic funds transfer credit payment instructions on behalf of the payer, using screen scraping.

 

1.17 Informed consent means any voluntary, specific and informed expression of will in terms of which permission is given by the payer for the processing of the payer’s online banking credentials.

 

1.18 Payer is a person that holds a payment account and allows a payment instruction to be issued from that payment account.

 

1.19 Payment instruction is an instruction to transfer funds or make a payment, as defined in section 1 of the NPS Act.

 

1.20 Person refers to a natural or juristic person and includes a trust.

 

1.21 POPI Act means the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.

 

1.22 Scheduled payment transaction is a payment that is scheduled by the payer for a specific date as agreed between the payer and the beneficiary.

 

1.23 Screen scraping in payments means the use of computer techniques to solicit the payer’s online banking login credentials to access the clearing system participant’s online banking website to issue an electronic funds transfer credit payment instruction on behalf of the payer.

 

1.24 Sort-at-source means the practice of sorting payment instructions based on multiple holders of destination accounts and submitting such payment instructions directly to the holders of the destination accounts or requesting clients to pay directly into specific accounts (e.g. third-party payment providers’ or beneficiaries’ accounts), resulting in the bypassing of the clearing system, which is undertaken through regulated acquiring or sponsoring relationships.