According to The Fintech Times, employment data – which should be categorised as a form of personally identifiable information (PII) – is heavily relied upon by the global financial ecosystem, whether it’s used to identify how much credit to reward, facilitate a home rental or purchase transaction, a car purchase or lease, or a job application process.
Until now, no standard existed to regulate how sensitive employment information is collected and managed. This has contributed to dwindling consumer trust in businesses’ and governments’ abilities to secure consumers’ data.
The standardisation of employment information serves as a guide for financial institutions to navigate risk and operate in a way where everyone has equal access to credit, which is critical for building an equitable society. OEDS sets a new precedent for how employment data is securely acquired, stored and accessed, building a foundation of trust by providing transparency. Any payroll processor, employer, business, or software startup can join and contribute to this open-source initiative.
Without industry standards in place, consumers’ personal data – full name, email address, birth date, home address, income information – can be misused or reported inaccurately during important transactions, which can negatively affect individuals’ daily lives. In addition, some people have more robust employment records available, giving them a disproportionate advantage with financial institutions. A lack of standards also contributes to unequal access to credit for gig workers and 1099 employees as compared to W-2 employees. According to Pew Research, 79% of Americans say they are not too or not at all confident that companies will admit mistakes and take responsibility if they misuse or compromise personal information, and 69% report having this same lack of confidence that firms will use their personal information in ways in which they will be comfortable.
OEDS aims to grow long-term trust across the industry, maintaining a standard for employee records that spans four pillars:
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now
We welcome comments that add value to the discussion. We attempt to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam, and our editors frequently review the comments to ensure they are appropriate. If you see a comment that you believe is inappropriate to the discussion, you can bring it to our attention by using the report abuse links. As the comments are written and submitted by visitors of the The Paypers website, they in no way represent the opinion of The Paypers.