Lloyds Banking Group has revealed that a software glitch in March exposed the personal data of almost half a million customers, including account details and national insurance numbers, to other users. The issue occurred during an IT update to its mobile banking apps for Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland overnight on 12 March.
In a letter to the Treasury select committee, the bank stated that customers would have had to be viewing their app within fractions of a second of others to access the information. However, up to 447,936 customers were potentially affected, with 114,182 people clicking into transactions that revealed sensitive details. Even non-customers may have had their transaction data exposed.
Lloyds reported the incident to the Financial Conduct Authority on the morning of 12 March and notified the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours. The bank has since paid £139,000 in compensation to 3,625 customers for distress and inconvenience, but stressed that no financial losses have been reported.
The glitch comes amid concerns over customer protections as banks close branches and push digital services. Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury committee, said the incident highlights the trade-off between convenience and reliance on technology. Lloyds has asked customers to delete any recorded or shared information, citing no evidence of misuse so far.
