Bidvest Bank Warns of Third-Party Cyber Incident Risk

In Short

Bidvest Bank says it is responding to a cyber incident at a third-party service provider. The bank says its own systems are not affected.

What Happened

Bidvest Bank has published an “important notice” after a cyber incident at a third-party service provider.

The bank said limited categories of Bidvest Bank data are held by that provider. The provider has confirmed that Bidvest Bank data was stored in the affected environment. Bidvest Bank said the data should be treated as potentially affected, while the extent of any access is still being determined.

An independent forensic investigation is ongoing. Forensics is a specialist investigation that examines systems and logs to understand what happened and what data may have been accessed.

Bidvest Bank said its own banking systems have not been affected. It also said customer accounts and banking services are operating normally.

The bank said it does not yet know which clients may be affected. It plans to contact affected clients directly once it has more clarity.

Bidvest Bank also warned customers to be alert to scams linked to the incident. These scams often include phishing attempts, where criminals pose as a bank to trick people into sharing sensitive details.

The bank repeated standard safety guidance. Customers should not share PINs, passwords, or OTPs, which are one-time passwords used to approve logins or transactions. It also warned customers not to move money to a so-called “safe account”, and to verify any suspicious contact by calling the bank using official numbers.

Why It Matters

Third-party cyber incidents are a growing risk for banks and fintechs, because vendors can hold customer data or provide critical services.

Even when core banking platforms are unaffected, attackers can use leaked data for social engineering, which is when criminals use personal details to make fraud attempts more convincing.

For customers and businesses, the practical next step is to monitor statements and transaction alerts closely for the next few weeks and report anything unusual quickly. For the wider banking sector in South Africa, it is another reminder that vendor security and incident response plans matter as much as internal controls.