IThere was a widespread disruption to card payments in Germany on Thursday morning. Users report on social networks that they were unable to pay with their cards at supermarket chains such as Lidl, Edeka or Rewe. However, gas stations and small shops such as bakeries were also affected. According to the savings banks, the outage lasted from 7:12 to 9:50 and affected Girocards, which are still commonly called EC cards.
Savings bank customers who wanted to pay cashless were particularly affected. But clients of Commerzbank and Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken also periodically reported problems with non-cash payments. The reason was an error in the Girocard processing network, which led to failures in payment processing. Problems arose when using the internal encryption process, meaning valid cards were rejected at the terminals.
Violations are still possible
This has led to restrictions on Girocard transaction processing for many payment service providers across the country. The problem has now been resolved by the Girocard network. An insider told FAZ: “It appears to be an issue with background service providers because Lidl, Edeka and Rewe have different service providers,” said an industry expert from a major bank. According to the Association of Savings Banks and Giraud, the problem has now been resolved, but there may still be failures or cancellations in individual transactions. When asked by FAZ, representatives of supermarket chains have not yet commented on the incidents.
Thus, the disruption was significantly less than two years ago. At the end of May 2022, payment chaos reigned for several days at many cash desks throughout Germany. Card payments became impossible in many places, and in many stores this was evidenced by feverishly painted cardboard signs.
Less impact than in 2022
The reason at that time was a faulty terminal from Verifone H5000. It was the most popular payment terminal in Germany, but it is already a little outdated. At that time, the certificate had expired and could not be replaced with a new one. This resulted in terminals no longer being able to authenticate transactions.
Finally, two years ago the terminals had to be replaced. However, this took time as many terminals were not available overnight. In addition, specialists were required for installation. It was possible to install an update from time to time, but again only if a technician was on site. Others have taken action and activated an electronic direct debit process, which only checks the card and not the funds in the account.
Source: Frantfurter Allgemeine
I work as an author at the World Herald News, a news website that also covers the economy. I have been writing about economic topics for over six years and have written extensively on topics such as unemployment, housing prices, and the stock market. My goal is to provide readers with expert insight into these important issues so they can make informed decisions.
