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Politicians, consumers and data protection activists are raiding the plans of Schufa, Germany’s largest credit bureau. According to information from NDR, WDR and SZ wants to rate clients based on their bank statements.
Since Massimo Bognanni, WDR, Lea Busch and Peter Hornung, NDR, Martin Polansky, ARD-Hauptstadtstudio
As Germany’s leading consumer advocate, Klaus Müller has already messed with some powerful corporations, with Volkswagen due to Dieselgate or, more recently, with travel companies in the Corona crisis. Now his gaze turns to the most powerful credit bureau in the republic: Schufa, a new business model for the Wiesbaden credit bureau worries him.
NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had disclosed the company’s plans, according to which the Schufa wants to evaluate clients in certain cases on the basis of their bank statements. A first trial is already being carried out in cooperation with Telefónica / O2.
Schufa emphasized that the test is based on the voluntary consent of clients. The group of account data stored by Schufa is limited to data relevant to the assessment of creditworthiness. Particularly sensitive data that would otherwise be accessible when accessing an account should be selected first. However, no data was saved during the first test run.
Deep understanding of personality is possible
Müller consumer advocates hardly reassure these assertions: “The Schufa project shows the excesses of digital financial services that we have been pointing to for a long time,” Müller said. “There is a risk that the consumer is completely filtered.” According to the director of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, this would allow Schufa to draw profound conclusions about the personality, economic status and even the political orientation of clients. Müller is already threatening legal action: “If the Schufa implements the plans, we will examine the legal steps to take action against it.”
“Dark business model”
Schufa’s plans also caused irritation in Berlin. The responsible Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) only found out about the new business model through media reports. Now the ministry is verifying what Germany’s largest credit agency is currently planning and whether this is compatible with data protection rights. “The model raises legal issues,” BMJV spokesman Maximilian Kall said at a news conference. “We will take a look at what Schufa is planning and is apparently currently running a pilot project.”
SPD leader Norbert Walter-Borjans criticized otherwise NDR, WDR and SZ the credit bureau plans: “I think it is a dark business model to remove the consent of people who are under pressure with a click of the mouse to see their full bank statements.” When it comes to fighting tax fraud, bank secrecy is considered a sanctuary, Walter-Borjans said. “If people are in a precarious financial situation, they must leave all their bank statements with a private service provider. That is not possible.”
Possible mandatory disclosure
The deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group, Stephan Thomae, speaks of a “kid-gloved compulsion”. You fear future downsides from customers who don’t agree to review your bank statements. “Because if citizens can only enter into a rental or mobile phone contract with the consent of Schufa for this data processing, they actually no longer have freedom of choice.”
Lisa Paus, spokesperson for the financial policy of the Greens, sees that the Schufa plans violate fundamental rights and calls on the federal government to stop them. “What’s particularly shocking is that Schufa apparently relies on getting the data just by clicking on the customer.”
Gerhard Schick from the “Finanzwende” citizen movement sees it in a similar way: “I have the impression that Schufa is on its way to becoming a data octopus in the financial market and that the business model is increasingly based on collecting a large amount of account data, “he says, and,” I think it’s a dangerous development. ” He fears that the environment of a potential mobile phone contract will lead people to quickly tick the box, the scope of which they may not even realize at this point.
La Schufa responded to the inquiry with an opinion. The goal is to give consumers the opportunity to use positive account information for future transactions and credit checks. “By voluntarily storing the data at the Schufa, the consumer can prevent future access to the account by third parties and continue to use his data to his advantage in a Schufa credit rating.” Schufa did not explain what the credit bureau would like to do with the adverse information it finds on bank statements.
