Global Payments Inc., which processes Visa and Master Card credit cards and debit cards for banks and merchants, has been violated by a massive security breach.
The incident has put some 50,000 cardholders at risk, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The full extent of the breach could not immediately be determined. It also was not yet clear if cardholders have been hit by fraudulent transactions.
The news comes as MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. have been alerting their card-issuing bank customers about the potential breach. It was not immediately known if the banks are planning to reissue cards to their customers.
MasterCard, of Purchase, N.Y., said law enforcement has been notified of the matter and an “independent data security organization” is conducting a forensic review of the matter.
