Revolut will cover the cost of replacing identity documents for customers affected by a data breach involving hackers who obtained information from 680 clients, the bank’s Western Europe chief said on Wednesday.

Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, Revolut’s CEO for Western Europe, told BFM TV that the company had provided assistance to all 680 affected customers, including 55 in France. She said Revolut would cover associated costs if customers needed to change their identity documents, although she did not say whether any replacements had yet taken place or how much the bank could face in costs.

Revolut disclosed last month that customer information had been sent to hackers who had gained control of an email address belonging to an Italian government agency. The incident involved a request for customer data that appeared to originate from the Reggio Calabria police system.

Cossa-Dumurgier said Revolut would not pay a ransom to the attackers when asked whether the company had done so. Revolut had previously said it had not received a ransom demand.

Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi told lawmakers on 30 September that the email address used by the attackers came from the Reggio Calabria police email system but had never previously been used. Piantedosi said Revolut could and should have verified the request through basic due diligence.

A Revolut spokesperson declined to comment on Piantedosi’s remarks. Cossa-Dumurgier said government agencies can sometimes be the “weak link” in the system, while stressing that Revolut’s own systems had not been compromised.

The incident highlights the exposure created when financial institutions respond to requests for customer information from external authorities. Banks and other financial institutions are required to provide customer data to authorities when requested as part of investigations into potential crimes.

Revolut’s assistance covers the customers identified as affected by the incident, with the company yet to disclose the total financial impact of the response. The bank has not said whether any customers have already incurred costs replacing identity documents.

---