PART 5

Regulation of payment systems

Disclosure of information

Offences relating to disclosure of confidential information
93
1
A person who discloses information in contravention of section 91 is guilty of an offence.
2
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
a
on summary conviction—
i
in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine, or both;
ii
in Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;
iii
in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;
b
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine, or both.
3
A person is guilty of an offence if—
a
information has been disclosed to the person in accordance with regulations made under section 92, and
b
the person uses the information in contravention of any provision of those regulations.
4
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable on summary conviction—
a
in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks (or 3 months, if the offence was committed before the commencement of section 280(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003) or a fine, or both;
b
in Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both;
c
in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.
5
In proceedings against a person (“P”) for an offence under this section it is a defence for P to prove—
a
that P did not know and had no reason to suspect that the information was confidential information;
b
that P took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.
6
In this section “confidential information” has the same meaning as in section 91.
S. 93 in force at 1.3.2014 by S.I. 2014/377, art. 2(1)(a), Sch. Pt. 1
Ss. 81-93 applied (with modifications) (9.12.2015) by The Payment Card Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1911), regs. 1, 14(1)
Ss. 81-93 applied (with modifications) (13.1.2018) by The Payment Services Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/752), regs. 1(6), 135(1) (with reg. 3)