Shoppers throughout the United Kingdom were left in a panic this past week after an extreme magnitude global tech outage left retailers unable to accept digital card payments.
The newly cash-only operations encountered hordes of angry and confused people who were unable to buy food from the local supermarket because they were heavy on cards and low on cash.
The issue began after a Microsoft software product failed, taking down air traffic control towers, television channels, banks, government office operations, and phone lines. Cybersecurity software firm Crowdstrike claims the collapse of the Microsoft system was prompted by a flawed anti-viral update.
Many retailers and card providers also got swept away with the tech outage, putting an immediate halt on commerce throughout all of the affected areas. The Sun reported that the following retailers, pubs, and banks were affected by the tech blackout:
- Morrisons
- Metro Bank
- Wetherspoons
- Waitrose
- Sainsbury's
- Co-op Food
(Related: Did you know that Microsoft has a plan to make video game characters fatter and uglier to "avoid stereotypes" and cater to America's bloating demographics.)
Trouble buying and selling
Just 24 hours into the outage, Visa customers reported an astounding 700 different issues primarily with purchases and payments at stores. Visa, however, claims otherwise:
"There is no indication of any impact on Visa's ability to process payments from this issue," a company spokesperson told the media.
"Our systems are operating normally. We are aware of reports of people being unable to make payments and are working with our financial institution clients to understand any impact on their services to cardholders and merchants."
At Morrisons grocery stores, customers had to use either a chipped or pinned card as contactless payment systems were not working properly.
"No contactless payment in Morrisons this morning – cash or chip and pin only," one customer reported.
In a statement, a company spokesperson admitted to having "some issues" with payment systems in some of its stores, but that it was "working hard with our partners to resolve this issue."
The Wetherspoons smartphone app reportedly failed to allow orders and payments as a result of the Microsoft outage. The pub giant said it could only accept cash from customers to pay for their food and booze.
"This is bloody serious, the Wetherspoons app is down," one alcohol lover complained during the outage.
"I hope no one was planning on going to Wetherspoons tonight," said another. "Microsoft has crippled them."
The situation was much the same at Co-op Food stores and the many independently-run affiliates of its parent company, The Co-operative Group. Customers were told that it was cash only until the problem was remedied.
At Metro Bank, phone lines were down which mean customers had a much more difficult time getting through to someone for help with their finances. Some of Metro Bank's faster payment options were also brought down in the tech collapse.
The entire Barclays investing platform failed to operate during the outage with a company spokesperson also revealing that some customers were "unable to manage their account in the app, Online Banking or over the phone."
Sainsbury's denied encountering any problems during the outage despite customers complaining on social media about issues, including one who said her card payment for a shopping delivery was declined "without a reason."
"You have advised my card payment has been declined for my delivery," the woman whined online.
"I have tried calling you and have been on hold for 60 mins. You have now sent a text asking me to call and the line is not working. Please can you resolve this for me?"
When the grid eventually goes down for good, cash and other tangible objects will be the only way to trade. Learn more at Collapse.news.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.