Latitude Financial Services, also trading as GEM Finance and Genoapay in New Zealand, (Latitude) is an Australian and New Zealand consumer finance company. They recently advised customers of a cyberattack which may have resulted in unauthorised access to personal customer information held by the company.
Information related to the cyberattack continues to evolve and we will update this page as required.
More information for New Zealand customers is available on the Gem Finance website(external link)
Latitude is contacting affected customers who have had their personal information stolen. This includes people who provided their New Zealand photo driver licence as part of an application process.
Latitude is informing each individual of the type of information that has been taken.
For New Zealand driver licences, this includes images and/or details of the licence (photograph, name, address, date of birth, licence number, version number and expiry date).
Latitude has confirmed to customers who had an image of or version number from their driver licence card impacted that they have arranged with us to replace eligible driver licenses with ones that have a new version number. Replacement licences will have the same licence number but a new version number. The version number is a critical part of the driver licence number – it’s like the three-digit CVV number on your credit card – you want to keep this safe as it’s used to verify the licence is yours.
If any of the following has occurred since you originally provided Latitude with your driver licence card details, Latitude is unable to organise a replacement driver licence card for you:
If you have not received information from Latitude but believe you are impacted, please contact Latitude directly.
More information for New Zealand customers is available on the Gem Finance website(external link)
If you’ve been informed that the image of or version number from your driver licence card was impacted, there are two options to arrange a replacement driver licence. Option 1 is the recommended option:
Note: Our Contact Centre and driver licensing agents are experiencing increased enquiries because of this unexpected Latitude data incident, and this may result in delays.
Order a replacement driver licence card online(external link)
Apply for a RealMe verified identity(external link)
More information on replacing your licence(external link)
Read the advice published by Latitude(external link)
Visit CERT NZ for guidance(external link)
The driver licence card version number is a critical part of the driver licence number – it’s like the 3 digit CVV number on your credit card – you want to keep this safe as it’s used to verify the licence is yours.
If the image of or version number from your driver licence card was impacted and you opt into Option 1, Latitude will replace your driver licence card for you. There’s no cost to you.
If the image of or version number from your driver licence card was impacted and you replace your driver licence card via our online system or at a driver licensing agent, Latitude is reimbursing the cost incurred for replacement driver licenses in New Zealand.
Latitude is requesting that you keep your receipt and they will advise the reimbursement process on their website.
Yes, you can if your eligibility to drive remains the same. Ensure you keep the communication with Latitude in a safe place in case you need to prove you've been affected by the data incident.
If you are stopped and spoken to by Police and your driver’s licence is showing as cancelled due to an issue identified by the Latitude incident, Police staff will conduct due diligence to check and ensure any action taken is aligned with the true status of your driver’s licence.
Your driver licence card remains an important identification document. If anyone asks to take a copy of your driver licence card or record details from it, you can ask why they need the information, how long they need to keep it for, and how they intend to store it.
A temporary class exemption applies to any holder of a current photo driver licence who has been advised by Latitude Financial Services (or a subsidiary) that an image of or details from that photo driver licence retained by Latitude (or a subsidiary) has been illegally taken by an unknown third party (the Latitude data breach).
The Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999: Latitude Data Breach – Easier Replacement of Compromised Driver Licence Class Exemption Amendment Notice 2023 came into effect on 4 April 2023.
