ICICI bank Gujarat University committee ICICI bank cannot make it mandatory. Another concern is how BRTS or the AMC officials can agree to it. Government service should never be at the cost of consumer’s privacy Pritee Shah, Chief General Manager, CERC The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had promised a world of convenience to citizens with its multi-purpose prepaid Janmitra cards. They could be used to make cashless payments for all services provided by the civic body. But the convenience comes for a price—your personal data! And considering the innumerable cases of data fraud that are reported every day, it seems to be too big a price to pay. This month, the civic body is providing the cards for free, that otherwise come for a price of Rs 50-Rs 70. To get the card, one must fill up a form with 17 terms and conditions which the applicant must agree to.A few of them are related to ICICI, the bank with whom AMC has tied up for the cards. By agreeing to these conditions, the user gives the bank the right to promotional calls, send SMSes or e-mails. But the demand for permissions does not end there. The bank will also be authorised to share all or part of the data that the applicant has provided for the card. As per available figures, AMC receives 1,800-2,000 applications for Janmitra card daily.As per one clause,and its group companies can share a part or whole of the data from the application with agencies, sub-contractors or persons as they deem necessary. The bank cannot be held liable for use of this information. Another clause gives permission to the bank, its agents or representatives to make promotional calls or send messages and mails regarding their products and services.While applicants have welcomed the decision to make commutation cashless, they feel the benefits of the initiative are nullified by the risk to their individual data.Dinesh Kumar, a marketing professional, is worried about the data-sharing clause. “There should be clarity on whether the data sharing will be limited to calls related to services and promotional offers or it will be sold to another party. The step is regressive and nullifies the benefits of cashless system,” he said.Questioning the partnership with a private bank, Parth Ambaliya, a commerce student, said, “AMC should have collaborated with a government bank rather than giving a private bank the opportunity to promote itself. We are sharing data with a private bank for free and do not even know where it will be used. We will constantly be spammed by calls from bank representatives.As citizens, we are helping AMC, but at the cost of our privacy. Who will be responsible if something wrong happens?” Mansi Darji, 18, a student of, said, “This should not be the case as it seems the private bank is getting advertised through government’s initiative. I want to help the corporation and not the bank.”Chirag Parmar, operations head working in a private hospital, said, “The form clearly mentions that the bank does not control its website and terms are reserved with third parties only. But clause number 8 states that the bank/group is authorised to exchange/share or part with all the information or documents relating to my application to other ICICI group companies.” “I strongly feel the terms and conditions should be changed if AMC wants people to benefit from Janmitra card in the real sense,” he added.When contacted, an ICICI bank spokesperson said, “As an industry practice, all banks deploy service providers for fulfilment of card production process. It includes processes like creation of the card, embossing it with customer details and delivery of the card among others. For the Janmitra card as well, we have sought consent in our T&C from applicants in relation to sharing of information with authorised service providers of the bank for processing of the prepaid card. We would like to reiterate that this is not specific to ICICI Bank; it’s across the cards industry.”The spokesperson added, “The other clause only seeks consent from the applicant to provide them with information on offers and services related to the product applied for and its variants. This is intended to enhance customer experience with the bank by providing them with timely and relevant information. While doing so, the bank adheres to all guidelines of do-not-disturb and other applicable TRAI policies.” However, Pritee Shah, chief general manager of Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), called the terms laid down by the bank unfair. “ICICI bank cannot make it mandatory.Here, the consumer has no choice and consent is important. The bank should change the conditions. Another concern is how BRTS or the AMC officials can agree to it. Citizen’s data is the most precious commodity. Government service and deals should never be at the cost of consumer’s privacy,” she said.Amul Bhatt, chairman of the standingof AMC, said, “This has come to our notice and we will ensure that citizens’ data is not put at risk. We will instruct ICICI bank that the data should not be shared and used for any promotional purpose. If the bank does not agree, we might even cancel the contract.”

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