Problems also in Bonn Card payments not possible in many supermarkets and drugstores

Bonn · The nationwide disruption in payments by EC or credit card is also being felt in some shops in Bonn. Certain payment terminals have failed due to a software error. The solution to the problem is still being worked on.

 Payment by giro or credit card in Germany has been disrupted nationwide since Tuesday evening, according to payment service providers. Photo: dpa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

Payment by giro or credit card in Germany has been disrupted nationwide since Tuesday evening, according to payment service providers. Photo: dpa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

Foto: dpa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

Nationwide, there have been problems with card payments since Tuesday morning. Customers report that they can no longer pay with their EC card or credit card in supermarkets, petrol stations or even other retailers. Card payments are also not possible in some markets and drugstores in Bonn and the region.

Payment service providers also report problems. "Like other network operators, we are currently experiencing considerable restrictions in the processing of transactions with card payment terminals of the type H5000 from the manufacturer Verifone throughout Germany," the payment service provider Payone announced in Frankfurt on Wednesday. According to initial findings, the cause was a malfunction within certain versions of the software provided by the US manufacturer.

No card payment possible: Problems also in Bonn and the region

Therefore, card payment is currently not an option in some retail shops. "Due to a Germany-wide disruption in the entire retail sector, card payment is unfortunately also not possible in some Aldi Nord shops at the moment," the discounter said. The drugstore chain Rossmann and Edeka made similar statements. Aldi Süd and the Rewe Group, i.e. the stores of Rewe, Penny and Toom Baumarkt, said they were not affected. The German Retail Association (Handelsverband Deutschland, HDE) stressed that businesses depend on the smooth running of payment processes. "Temporary and system-related failures are now rare and usually affect only a few systems," it added.

The branches of the drugstore chain dm are affected by the disruption both in Bonn and nationwide. At the branches in Post- and Sternstraße as well as in Brühler Straße, payment can only be made with cash. The Netto shops in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler and Endenich have signs at the entrance indicating that card payments are currently not possible. Netto informed the GA that some, but not all, of the shops are affected by the disruption. Rewe stores in Heerstraße and Friedensplatz reported no problems.

SWB Bus und Bahn wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning that only cash can be paid at the service centres. In a random survey of petrol stations in Bonn, neither Aral or Jet nor SVG reported any payment problems.

Card payment failures: problems with EC and credit cards

The Association of German Banks, on behalf of the German banking industry, clarified that although the terminals in question fail completely for all payment types, the corresponding type only accounts for a small proportion of all devices used in Germany. "Network operators and technical service providers are working intensively on troubleshooting," it continued.

The financial service provider Concardis also confirmed a problem with card payments using the terminal type. However, a spokesperson for the company made it clear that affected merchants should not reboot the devices themselves. The devices should also remain connected to the power and network. This is the only way the manufacturer can solve the card payment problem, he said.

Payone and Concardis also said they were in contact with Verifone and were working on a fix for the problem. Meanwhile, the Troisdorf-based electronics company HUTH clarified in a press release that it is not involved in the large-scale payment failures. Contrary to what is currently being reported in various media, the company does not provide software, but only the interfaces for the affected card terminals. Some partners are currently affected by a software malfunction.

Many users also expressed their annoyance at allestörungen.de and reported malfunctions at Visa and other banks and card providers. On Twitter, many users were still complaining on Wednesday morning that payment by card was currently not possible in supermarkets and at petrol stations.

Original text: dpa/ga

Translation: Mareike Graepel

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