Australia’s former Chief Scientist says the nation will be one of the first in the world to allow the Government access to personal data from credit card transactions as part of COVID-19 tracing efforts.
The November National Contact Tracing Review, chaired by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, recommended contact tracers be able to ask payment providers for the contact details of people who had made a transaction at a hotspot venue. The recommendation has been adopted by National Cabinet.
As business owners across the nation roll out quick response (QR) codes, Mr Finkel said the next step in beefing up Australia’s contact tracing capacity would be access to point-of-sale (POS) data.
“The use of digital technology will be critical in responding to virus outbreaks,” Mr Finkel’s report said.
Cirralto business software expert, Adrian Floate (pictured, below), said new integrated POS systems would be a game-changer for contact tracing.
“Äustralia is a global leader in financial technology,” Mr Floate said.
“So it is not surprising we will be one of the first countries in the world to introduce a fintech solution to contact tracing.
“Employing POS capabilities as part of the arsenal available to contact tracers, will play a key part in helping stop the spread of COVID-19.”
While QR codes record the contact details of people who attended a venue, integrated POS systems can identify all staff, goods and services exchanged and members of the public that may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
“POS systems are the data-collecting ‘brains’ of a business,” Mr Floate said.
Integrated POS systems assist contact tracing by identifying:
- The customer – the POS system records the time and date of the credit card transaction. The payment provider can be contacted for the customer’s contact details.
- The serving staff member – the staff member who served the customer is recorded.
- All staff – many POS systems connect with accounting in real-time, so contact tracers will know who was working at a particular time.
- Products and services – POS systems can track goods from the warehouse through to purchase in real-time or what food was ordered.
- Super-spreaders – following their transaction history would reveal what businesses they frequented while infected with COVID-19.
South Korea has been at the forefront of contact tracing and used credit card transactions to track people exposed to COVID-19 early on in the pandemic. While Australia has recorded more than 27,000 cases, South Korea – with double the population – has recorded about 30,000 cases.
According to the National Contact Tracing Review, for payment providers to divulge the contact details of customers, privacy rules and legislative change may be required.
Mr Floate said POS systems use privacy protections, such as encryptions and two-factor authentication, to ensure personal information is secure.
“Balancing public health with an individual’s right to privacy will be essential for financial technology to be used for contact tracing,” Mr Floate said.
