Shoppers left unable to make payments or withdraw cash as card systems dropped today
A third party system which supports card payments for Visa and Mastercard went down this morning leaving shoppers across the country unable to use their debit card to pay or withdraw cash
Shoppers across the country were left unable to make purchases on their cards this morning due to a nationwide issue.
Cardholders took to social media to complain of problems when paying for items at some major retailers and also when trying to withdraw cash. According to DownDetector, more than 600 people reported issues with Visa at around 8am. Issues with Mastercard started to be reported a little later on, although this only reached 130 at its peak.
Both Visa and Mastercard confirmed this morning that they were aware of the issues people were facing, but both said their networks were working as they should. Earlier today a Mastercard spokesperson said: “We are aware of some payment transaction issues at select merchants in the UK and are working with our partners to gather more information. There is no current indication that these issues are related to our network.”
According to Visa, the issues stemmed from a merchant payment provider which helps process card payments for some retailers but systems have now been restored. A Visa spokesperson said: “We are aware that a merchant payment provider reported issues this morning that impacted some cardholders. It has been reported that this issue is now resolved. Visa’s systems continue to operate normally.”
Many Brits took to social media to share their frustration with the problem this morning. One X - formerly Twitter - user shared that they had issues at the supermarket chain Asda this morning. They said: "Huge issues with card payments in Asda and ATMs in my area seems to be countrywide, with long queues, machines not working, card declined."
Another also faced a problem doing their Asda shop this morning. They said: "Just did a whole shop in @asda got to the till and told card payments aren’t working across supermarkets/shops in the UK. Does anything work in this country?" Another shopper faced issues at Sainsbury’s saying: "No card payments accepted at @sainsburys today...is this a National issue??".
More reported issues at other major high street chains including McDonald’s and M&S. One X user said: "McDonald’s what a s*** show – cash only but didn’t think to put signs up before your drive thru to warn people idiocy.” Another X user said: "No card payments being taken in North West England this morning. ATM’s still OK. Any updates?" Asda and Sainsbury’s both acknowledged the issues at the time and released statements. Both have said systems have now been restored.
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