Customers of three major UK banks briefly gained access to other people’s financial information through mobile banking applications, raising concerns about data security in digital banking services. Users of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland reported seeing account details and transactions belonging to other customers while attempting to log into their own accounts.
The issue emerged on Thursday morning when several customers experienced difficulties accessing their banking apps. Instead of their own account information, some users were shown names, transaction records and other financial details linked to different individuals. One customer told the BBC she was able to view the accounts of six separate users through the Bank of Scotland app over a period of about 20 minutes.
Customers said they could see details including national insurance numbers connected to benefits payments, as well as purchase records and other transaction references that did not correspond to their own activity. In some instances, users reported that they could view account numbers and sort codes belonging to other customers, prompting concerns about the security of personal financial data.
The incident also generated significant reaction on social media. Consumer advocate Martin Lewis said many customers had contacted him reporting that they were being shown other people’s financial transactions when accessing their accounts through mobile banking apps.
Lloyds Banking Group acknowledged the problem and said it had been resolved shortly after it occurred. A spokesperson for the bank apologised for the disruption and confirmed that some customers had experienced an issue with viewing transactions in the app for a short time. The group said it was investigating the cause of the incident.
Despite the bank’s statement that the issue had been addressed, some users continued reporting difficulties logging into their accounts later in the morning. The event follows a series of recent technical outages affecting UK banks, including previous IT failures involving institutions such as TSB, Nationwide and First Direct.
The incident highlights the operational risks associated with increasingly digital banking systems, particularly as financial institutions continue shifting services toward mobile applications and online platforms.
