Equity Bank has gone to court to challenge an order stopping it from rolling out its Thin SIM card technology.
High Court Judge George Odunga last week issued an order stopping the bank from issuing the cards until a case filed by the Legal Advice Centre (LAC) is heard and determined.
Equity Bank, however, wants the order set aside saying it was obtained through non-disclosure of material facts.
Through lawyer Kimani Kiragu, the bank stated that it was only fair to have the orders set aside as the party failed to disclose that there was a similar matter before Justice Isaac Lenaola.
The matter will be heard on January 15, 2015.
Equity Bank wants to enter the mobile phone banking service industry by issuing its own brand of SIM cards to its customers.
In its petition, LAC says Equity Bank was given the go-ahead to proceed with the technology by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) before having a full audit conducted on the security risk the technology may pose.
Some customers had started using their ordinary SIM cards on the Equitel Network but the project hit a snag with the introduction of the Thin SIM that is to be embedded on the primary SIM card.
This, LAC says, raises a security concern over the protection of privacy of the user’s data.
“The decision to permit the use of Thin SIM technology prior to complete satisfaction as to its security, is improper use of regulatory power,” the lobby said.
CAK awarded the bank a licence granting it entry into the mobile banking business.
