Lloyds Banking Group has disclosed that an additional 80,500 joint account holders may have had their financial details exposed during a major IT glitch on March 12. The lender has now paid out more than £200,000 in compensation and goodwill payments to affected customers.
Scope of the Incident
The bank initially reported that 446,915 customers of Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland who logged into the banking app during the incident may have seen other people’s transactions or had their own data shared. In a follow-up letter to the Treasury Committee, Lloyds revealed that 80,508 joint account holders, who did not log in during the glitch, could also have had their transaction details viewed. The bank stated: “We also issued an alert on the app home screen to these 80,508 joint account holders, with a small number of exceptions based on particular customer circumstances. In notifying these customers, our focus has been on providing reassurance and support.”
Compensation and Payouts
Lloyds has now paid £201,000 to 5,250 people directly impacted, along with an additional £62,000 in “goodwill” payments to 1,625 individuals since March 24. However, the bank revised down the number of initially affected customers from 447,936 to 446,915 due to duplication. It also confirmed that 107,937 people clicked on other users’ transactions, lower than the first estimate of 114,182. Those who clicked may have seen detailed information such as account numbers, National Insurance numbers, and payment references.
Fraud and Financial Loss
Lloyds stressed that it has not observed an increase in daily fraud levels against those impacted since the glitch. The bank also highlighted that personal data of non-Lloyds customers was visible, but no complaints have been received from other banks’ customers. Crucially, Lloyds stated it has not yet identified any customers who suffered financial loss as a result of the incident. “Accordingly, we have not made compensation payments on this basis,” the bank said. “Separately, it is our existing practice that we may make goodwill payments for distress and inconvenience in individual cases, for example where there has been a direct impact on an individual.”
Cause of the Glitch
Lloyds previously attributed the incident to a “software defect” arising from an overnight IT update. The bank continues to monitor the situation and provide support to affected customers.
