Ochrona użytkowników kart płatniczych a wykorzystanie innowacyjnych form zabezpieczeń

The article recounts the ongoing changes with regard to the legal definition of payment cards, alterations procured by the entrance into force of an amendment to the Payment Cards Act, dated 12 July 2013. Furthermore, the article expounds the principles of liability in connection with unauthorized transactions that are aimed at protecting the users of payment cards. The legislative direction adopted by the Polish lawmakers is in line with Directive 2007/64/EC pertaining to payment services within an internal market, which sets out to establish a framework for protecting funds accumulated on the clients’ accounts. Various innovative security systems being implemented on the payment card market are referred to in the last part of the article. It is submitted that the introduction of biometric and nanotechnology solutions in automatic identity verification processes may eventually lead to the elimination of payment cards in their physical form. However, these innovative solutions carry various risks. The underlying issue is associated with potentially unlawful breach of the constitutional right to privacy in cases where the identity of a person is verified automatically. For this reason, it is important to establish whether biometric data or nanoparticles containing information on payment card holders constitute personal data within the meaning of the Personal Data Act. Such analysis should include how both systems conduct the automatic personal identification process and the manner in which the personal data is gathered, processed and stored.