Fidelity Bank has been hit with a hefty fine of N555.8 million by the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) for violating customer data privacy laws. The announcement was made by NDPC National Commissioner, Vincent Olatunji, on Wednesday during a validation workshop on the Nigeria Data Protection Act General Application and Implementation Directive in Abuja.
The bank was found to have breached both the Nigeria Data Protection (NDP) Act of 2023 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) of 2019. The penalty, which represents 0.1 percent of the bank’s total annual revenue in 2023, is the largest fine ever imposed by the NDPC.
Olatunji explained that the severity of the fine was due to Fidelity Bank’s uncooperative behavior and disregard for the investigation process. The NDPC has issued a 14-day ultimatum for the bank to settle the fine after receiving the notice.
