No card payments at Aldi, Edeka & Co. possible: Details of a possible solution

Created: 05/28/2022Updated: 05/28/2022 15:12

By: Fee Halberstadt, Alina Schroeder

Card terminals are currently disrupted nationwide.

For this reason, only cash payment is possible in many supermarkets, discounters and drugstores.

Update from Saturday, May 28, 3:56 p.m .:

In many supermarkets in Germany, customers still cannot pay by card.

Affected are branches of Aldi Nord, Edeka and the Edeka subsidiary Netto.

The reason for the problems is a malfunction in a widespread payment terminal from the US manufacturer Verifone, which is used by several payment service providers in Germany.

"Unfortunately, the manufacturer has not yet provided an update for the failed card terminals," said an Aldi spokesman on Saturday (May 28) of the German Press Agency.

This means that card payments are only possible to a limited extent in some Aldi Nord branches.

Customers would be informed at the entrance and at the checkout.

The payment service providers Payone and Concardis confirmed that the problems are ongoing.

They sell terminals and process payments.

Due to a nationwide disruption of card payment systems, customers can only pay with cash.

(Iconic image) © Sven Hoppe/dpa

Disturbance at Aldi, Edeka and Co.: A solution could be provided on Saturday

From industry circles it was said that a solution would be provided from Saturday.

Devices would not have to be exchanged for this.

Thus, it is not an issue with an expired certificate that confirms the identity of a computer or other electronic device.

There had been corresponding assumptions in the past few days.

According to industry circles, a hacker attack is not the cause of the problems.

Germany-wide problem with card payments: disruption could last for days

+++ 7:20 p.m .:

The disruptions in card payment systems in various shops that have been ongoing since Tuesday evening (May 24) could continue for days.

According to the affected payment service providers, an early solution is currently not to be expected.

According to dpa, the device manufacturer Verifone also spoke up for the first time and reported that they are currently working at full speed on a solution.

"We will shortly provide a software update for our customers to fix the problem and will inform our customers as soon as this is available," said a spokesman for Verifone Germany on Friday (May 27) in Bad Hersfeld .

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Various retail branches across Germany are currently struggling with the failure of card payments - although some shops are exempt from this.

Nationwide disruptions at Aldi, Rewe, Rossmann and Co.: Payment only in cash

Update from Friday, May 27, 10:19 a.m .:

Many supermarkets, discounters and drugstores such as Aldi, Rewe and Rossmann are said to be affected by a disruption in the card terminals.

As a result, card payment is currently not possible in many branches.

Now the manufacturers have spoken for the first time.

"The disruptions continue," said a spokesman for the financial service provider Concardis on Thursday afternoon (May 26).

"We are still waiting for signals from Verifone." A spokeswoman for the payment service provider Payone made a similar statement, according to dpa.

There have been significant restrictions nationwide since Tuesday evening.

"We will shortly provide a software update for our customers to fix the problem and will inform our customers as soon as this is available," said a spokesman for Verifone Germany.

Aldi, Rewe, Rossmann and Co. - the cause behind the nationwide disruption to card payments

According to Payone, the cause of the disruption is a certificate error within certain versions of the software provided by Verifone.

The payment service provider does not expect that the announced software update can be implemented quickly, since manual intervention at the terminals is currently required.

"This complex process can therefore not be carried out ad hoc in the area, but will take a long time," it said.

We want to support our customers with this.

The Concardis spokesman made a similar statement: “We are trying to support the retailers affected as much as possible, for example by exchanging terminals where possible”.

Problems with card payments: nationwide disruptions at Aldi, Rewe, Rossmann and Co.

First report from Wednesday, May 25:

Kassel – In many shops, drugstores and supermarkets such as Aldi, Rewe and Rossmann, customers cannot currently pay with EC or credit cards.

As early as Tuesday (May 24) there were reports of problems with card payments in supermarkets, petrol stations and drugstores.

"Unfortunately, due to a Germany-wide disruption, no card payment is currently possible in our stores," informed the grocery retailer Konsum in Dresden at 12 noon via Facebook.

As of Wednesday (May 25), the technical problems that prevent payments with debit and credit cards are still unresolved.

The problem appears to be with the Verifone H 5000 card terminal, which, according to Lebensmittelzeitung, is widespread in Germany.

The reason seems to be remote maintenance of the terminal, whereupon the malfunction occurred.

Nationwide disruption at card terminals: Currently only cash payments are possible

This means that in many Netto, Edeka and Rewe stores it is currently only possible to pay with cash.

These problems also occur at Aldi, as well as drugstores such as Rossmann and dm, as Chip reports.

When exactly the disruption will be lifted remains unclear for the time being.

However, the German Banking Association assures that "network operators and technical service providers are working intensively on troubleshooting", as dpa reports.

All customers are advised to check whether the card system works at the checkout before making a purchase.

In addition, some branches already have signs at the entrance to inform them whether the branch is affected.

Alternatively, it makes sense to carry cash with you for the time being in order to avoid unnecessary waiting times and discussions at the checkout.

If necessary, the purchase must be left in the store.

At gas stations, ID cards or something similar are sometimes taken as a deposit, as Chip reports.

(fh/slo/dpa)

At the beginning of May, the mobile phone company Vodafone experienced a Germany-wide disruption to the mobile Internet and fixed network connections.