Loyalty programme leak: Mastercard informs EU regulators

Mastercard has formally informed European data security regulators about a breach that has affected a large number their loyalty programme customers, a "significant portion" of whom are Germans, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company clarified that the breach was related to a Specials loyalty platform in Germany managed by a third-party vendor, which resulted in the unauthorised distribution of certain information and has no connection to Mastercard's payment transaction network.

The Belgian Data Protection Authority said Mastercard informed them the breach was detected on August 19. Chairman David Stevens said: "The agency received a lot of questions and complaints since the announcement of this incident and we want to reassure users."

European data protection norms, in force, since May 2018, mandate companies to notify possible breaches within 72 hours and inform all customers that could be potentially affected.

Those not in compliance could be liable to a fine up to four percent of their annual sales, depending on the severity of the violation, the agency noted.