by. Julian Hattem

Target’s holiday shopping season data breach is costing the nation’s credit unions an estimated $25 to $30 million, they report.

A survey from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), a trade group, found that the hack cost about $5.10 per new credit card issued. Added up, that comes to tens of millions of dollars for the financial institutions.

Credit unions and banks have criticized Target over the data breach. Even though the financial institutions had no involvement with the incident, they have to finance the cost of reissuing new cards for shoppers affected by the hack.

“Contrary to what some may think, these expenses will not be reimbursed to credit unions and their members by Target or other retailers,” CUNA president Bill Cheney said in a statement. “Rather, credit unions must solely cover these costs of card program administration, including in these circumstances of reacting to a merchant data breach.”

Cheney added that the costs could rise, if greater losses are reported as result of the hack.

continue reading »