Lloyds Banking Group has issued compensation following an IT malfunction that exposed the personal data of almost half a million customers earlier this month.
The incident, which occurred on March 12, affected 447,936 customers across its Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland brands. These individuals either had their data inadvertently shared or were able to view other people’s financial transactions.
Jasjyot Singh, Lloyds' consumer relations boss, conveyed the bank's apology for the breach in a letter to Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee. The banking giant confirmed that 114,182 customers actively clicked on and viewed these exposed transactions.
It added they therefore may have been shown more detailed information such as account details, national insurance numbers and payment references.
The bank has so far paid out £139,000 in compensation to 3,625 customers for distress and inconvenience linked to the incident.
It said no customers have so far been identified as suffering financial losses as a result.
The letter highlighted the personal data of individuals who were not Lloyds group customers had also been visible.
Lloyds said the incident was caused by a “software defect” from an overnight IT update.
Chair of the Treasury Committee, Dame Meg Hillier, said: “Modern banking methods mean we can now perform a variety of tasks on our phones in a matter of seconds, and almost anywhere.
“What this incident brings into focus is the fact that there is a trade-off.
“By moving more interactions with our bank online, we place our faith in technology which can suffer unpredictable errors.”
A Lloyds spokesman said: “On March 12, some customers using our app may have briefly seen transactions that were not their own following an IT change.
“The issue was quickly identified and resolved, and we’ve contacted customers whose transactions may have been visible for that short time.”
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