The Italian Data Protection Authority fine against Poste Italiane and Postepay has reached over €12.5 million, after regulators found unlawful processing of personal data affecting millions of users.

Italy’s Italian Data Protection Authority imposed a €6.6 million penalty on Poste Italiane and €5.8 million on Postepay. The action follows an investigation launched in April 2024 after multiple complaints from users regarding how their data was being handled through mobile applications.

Italian Data Protection Authority Fine Linked to Intrusive App Monitoring

The Italian Data Protection Authority fine centers on how BancoPosta and Postepay apps collected user data. Customers were required to allow monitoring of information stored on their devices, including details about installed and active applications.

According to the companies, this access was necessary to detect malware and prevent fraud in line with payment security requirements. However, the regulator found that the scope of monitoring went too far.

Authorities stated that the data collection methods were not proportionate and resulted in excessive intrusion into users’ private lives. The ruling emphasized that fraud prevention cannot justify blanket access to personal device data.

Multiple Compliance Failures Identified

The investigation behind the Italian Data Protection Authority fine also revealed broader compliance failures. Regulators flagged insufficient transparency in how users were informed about data collection practices.

The companies were also found to have not conducted an adequate Data Protection Impact Assessment. Such assessments are required when processing activities pose high risks to individual privacy.

Further issues included weak security measures, unclear policies on how long data was stored, and irregularities in defining data controller responsibilities. These gaps raised concerns about how user data was governed internally.

As part of the enforcement action, both companies have been ordered to stop the disputed data processing practices if still ongoing. They must also align their data retention policies with regulatory requirements and report compliance to the Authority.

Italian Regulator Steps Up Enforcement

The action reinforces a broader trend of stricter enforcement by the Italian Data Protection Authority across the financial sector. The Italian Data Protection Authority fines Poste Italiane and Postepay case follows another high-profile enforcement action earlier this year involving Intesa Sanpaolo. In March 2026, the regulator imposed a €31.8 million penalty on the bank after uncovering serious lapses in how customer data was protected. The case involved unauthorized access to sensitive information of more than 3,500 customers over a period of more than two years. Investigators found that a single employee had accessed customer records more than 6,600 times without any legitimate business reason. The breach went undetected for months, exposing weaknesses in the bank’s internal monitoring systems.

Insider Risks and Monitoring Gaps under Focus

The Intesa Sanpaolo case highlighted a different but equally critical issue. While Poste Italiane and Postepay were penalized for excessive data collection, the bank was fined for failing to detect misuse of legitimate access. According to the Authority, the bank’s monitoring systems were not designed to identify slow, repeated misuse of access over time. This allowed the unauthorized activity to continue without triggering alerts, even when it involved high-risk individuals such as public figures. Regulators concluded that the controls in place were not aligned with the risks associated with broad internal access to sensitive financial data. The case has since raised concerns about insider threats and the effectiveness of existing detection mechanisms within financial institutions.

Growing Pressure on Financial Services

Together, these cases reflect a tightening regulatory environment in Italy, where financial institutions are being held accountable for both overreach and underperformance in data protection. The Italian Data Protection Authority fines Poste Italiane and Postepay decision highlights the importance of balancing fraud prevention measures with user privacy. Security controls must be proportionate, transparent, and supported by proper risk assessments. At the same time, the Intesa Sanpaolo breach demonstrates that insufficient monitoring can be just as damaging, particularly when insider threats go unnoticed for extended periods. With enforcement actions increasing in scale and frequency, organizations operating in the financial sector are facing mounting pressure to reassess their data governance frameworks. The regulator’s recent decisions make it clear that both excessive data collection and weak oversight can lead to significant financial and reputational consequences.

The Intesa Sanpaolo data breach has resulted in a €31.8 million fine from Italy’s data protection authority, after an investigation found serious lapses in how the bank protected customer data. The case centers on unauthorized access to the banking information of more than 3,500 customers over a period of more than two years, raising fresh concerns around internal threats in the financial sector. The Intesa Sanpaolo data breach, first reported by the bank in July 2024, turned out to be far more extensive than initially disclosed. Regulators found that a single employee had accessed sensitive banking data of 3,573 customers without any professional justification, making over 6,600 queries between February 2022 and April 2024.

Internal Access, No Early Detection

What stands out in the Intesa Sanpaolo data breach is not just the unauthorized access, but how long it went unnoticed. According to the Italian Data Protection Authority, the bank’s internal monitoring systems failed to detect repeated anomalous access. The activity continued for months, exposing a clear gap in how employee actions were being tracked. The access also involved individuals considered high-risk, including public figures and politically exposed persons. These profiles typically require stricter oversight, but the investigation found that enhanced controls were either not applied or were ineffective.

Regulator Flags GDPR Violations

The authority concluded that the Intesa Sanpaolo data breach violated key provisions of the GDPR, particularly around data integrity, confidentiality, and accountability. At the core of the issue was the bank’s access model. Employees were able to query customer data across the system without sufficient restrictions. While such systems are often designed for operational flexibility, regulators noted that they must be backed by strong controls—which were lacking in this case. The findings pointed to broader weaknesses in both technical safeguards and organizational oversight.

Delays in Intesa Sanpaolo Data Breach Notification

The bank’s response to the incident has also come under scrutiny. Authorities found that the breach notification was incomplete and delayed, falling short of legal requirements. Customer communication was another weak point. Many affected individuals were informed only after the regulator intervened in November 2024, months after the issue had come to light. This delay limited the ability of customers to take timely action, a factor that weighed into the final penalty.

Scale of Exposure Raises Concerns

The Intesa Sanpaolo data breach was not limited to a small set of accounts. The investigation showed that the employee accessed data linked to politicians, public figures, bank staff, and thousands of ordinary customers. The information viewed included personal identification details as well as financial data such as account activity and payment card information. While the bank stated there was no evidence of data being extracted or misused, regulators emphasized that unauthorized access alone constitutes a serious breach under GDPR.

Bank Responds, Tightens Controls

Intesa Sanpaolo has since taken corrective steps following the data breach. The bank said it dismissed the employee involved and has introduced stricter controls on data access. New measures include requiring justification for accessing customer data outside assigned portfolios, enhanced alert systems to detect unusual activity, and additional layers of authorization. The bank also argued during proceedings that not all breaches can be prevented and that its systems did eventually detect anomalies. However, regulators maintained that the delay and scale of the breach pointed to deeper issues.

A Broader Signal to the Banking Sector

The Intesa Sanpaolo data breach highlights a persistent challenge for financial institutions: insider risk. Even with existing safeguards, employees with system access can misuse data if controls are not tight enough or actively monitored. The case shows that compliance is not just about having systems in place, but ensuring they work in practice. For the wider banking sector, the message is clear. Monitoring cannot be passive, and access cannot be overly broad. Without that balance, even established institutions risk facing similar regulatory action.