Visa Apologises- Card Payments Back to Normal
Visa Apologises- Card Payments Back to Normal
Visa services have returned to normal after a hardware failure left European customers unable to make some payments. Firm assures customers disruption was ‘not associated with any unauthorised access or cyberattack’.
Visa’s payment system is operating at “full capacity” after a hardware failure affected customers in the UK and the rest of Europe on Friday.
A statement posted on the Visa Europe website in the early hours of Saturday said: “Visa Europe’s payment system is now operating at full capacity, and Visa account holders can now use Visa for any of their purchases and at ATMs, as they normally would.”
The issue was not associated with any unauthorised access or cyber-attack, the statement said.
Millions of people were left unable to pay for goods and services across Europe after the unprecedented crash, which began at around 2.30pm.
Visa apologised late on Friday, saying it had fallen “well short” of its goal to ensure cards worked reliably at all times.
Major retailers had earlier confirmed that card purchases were failing. Queues built up at petrol stations and shopping was left at supermarket tills as customers were unable to pay.
For around six hours, customers across Europe were affected by the disruption, with some supermarkets reportedly facing angry customers after shoppers were unable to pay for their shopping.
The firm has apologised for the technical failing, and ruled out any “malicious” activity as the cause.
An estimated £1 of every £3 spent in the UK is on a Visa card.
Leanne Mascoll from London was among those affected by the disruption. She told The Independent: “I had to leave some shopping in Sainsbury’s because my card wouldn’t work.”
In their statement Visa didn’t clarify whether or not retailers will be compensated for potential loss in earnings.
While major retailers such as Marks & Spencer having confirmed they had been affected by the disruption, Transport for London didn’t report any problems with customers using contactless Visa cards to pay for their journeys.
Several business were forced to place temporary signs on their doors explaining to customers that they were unable to accept card payments due to the fault.
Customers have reported money going missing from accounts when their cards were declined – including one man who lost £10,000 when paying for a car.
Tom Mitchell, from Kent, said the money left his Natwest account, but his bank told him it was up to Visa to complete the transaction – instead, his money has been left in “limbo”.
The 33-year-old said: “I live in Kent and went to Ipswich to get this car. It took four hours by train.
“I woke up a few times in the night to check my bank balance so there is a bit of a worry there… and I haven’t heard anything today.”
Payments processed through Visa’s systems account for £1 in £3 of all UK spending.
First time I’ve ever left without paying for my fuel ⛽️ #visa fail ? good job my local garage knows me ?
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) June 1, 2018
On Friday, Visa said the system was “close to normal” five hours after publicly acknowledging the problem.
The company’s chief executive, Al Kelly, apologised for the trouble caused by the hardware failure.
“Our goal is to ensure all Visa payments work reliably 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” he said.
“We fell well short of this goal today and we apologise to all of our partners and Visa account holders for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Source: independent.co.uk, bbc.com, theguardian.com
