'Small number' of RBC credit card holders affected in Equifax breach, bank says

The Royal Bank of Canada sign is seen at its former head office in downtown Toronto, Dec. 2, 2011. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

TORONTO -- RBC says "a small number" of its credit-card clients' personal information may have been affected in the massive Equifax security breach.

Bank spokesperson A.J. Goodman said in an email that RBC has not yet identified any impact to clients and is continuing to investigate the issue.

Earlier this month, Equifax said hackers gained unauthorized access to its files in a massive cyber attack that saw the personal information of about 100,000 Canadians compromised.

Equifax previously said it has provided information to MasterCard and Visa about Canadian customers whose credit-card details may have been compromised for communication to the financial institutions involved. Those institutions were then to communicate with consumers, according to Equifax.

Now, the company's website says the credit-monitoring service will reach out directly to impacted customers by mail.

Equifax Canada said those customers will be able to enrol in complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection service for one year.