Pos on tilt throughout Italy. Blame the work on the gas network in Switzerland

POS services returned to normal in the late afternoon of Friday 29 November after the serious critical issues that prevented payments with ATMs and Pagobancomat throughout Italy since the morning of the day before.

“On November 28, 2024, Worldline (which manages Nexi payments, ed.) suffered connection problems – we read in a company note – due to a third-party network interruption that affected connections to its data centers in Italy By the late afternoon of November 29, services returned to normal thanks to the various measures taken. We continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure any remaining issues are resolved and we will maintain increased vigilance in the days ahead sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused and apologizes to consumers for the inconvenience suffered”, it adds.

Bank of Italy, “services restored except for exceptions”

The Bank of Italy “informs that the monitoring activities of the operational difficulties that have affected some credit and debit card payment services have continued starting from yesterday, 28 November”. “Based on the most recent updates provided by the operator affected by the malfunctions, – we read in a note – the services have been restored except for some types of credit card payments. Interventions are continuing to return to full operations. Where If necessary, further updates will be released.”

Worldline’s November 28 note

“On November 28, 2024, Worldline’s services – the company announced – were affected by connection problems on its data centers in Italy, due to an interruption in the third-party network. The cause of the interruption has been identified. Gas pipe installation work by local authorities has severely damaged our supplier’s cables and network. Restoration work has begun by our supplier.

The impacts are mainly localized in Italy, with effects also in other markets. In the meantime, Worldline is working tirelessly to identify potential solutions to reactivate services, pending the restoration of the physical infrastructure. Worldline is working closely with the network carrier to monitor the progress of the restoration work. Worldline regrets this event and apologizes to consumers for the inconvenience.”

Confesercenti, “we will evaluate the appropriate actions”

A real Black Friday, therefore, for electronic money and for local shops which have seen customers leave and sales and business disappear. One in four stores among Confesercenti members has reported critical issues regarding the use of electronic money and the consequent impossibility of making payments, except in cash. Lost sales are estimated at around 100 million euros. Confesercenti reserves the right to evaluate appropriate actions to protect the entire category: the situation that has occurred in recent days and the less than total reliability of the system that supports electronic money confirm the absurdity of the proposal to completely overcome the use of cash.

ModaItalia-Confcommercio, “damage to businesses”

The slowdowns and blockages of the POS represent damage to fashion businesses. This was stated by the President of the FederazioneModaItalia-Confcommercio Giulio Felloni: “More than Black Friday, we can talk about the Black Friday of the POS. Slow motion or even haywire electronic payments have created severe inconvenience to our stores with purchases postponed to a particular time for consumption. The problems are also turning into damage for our activities and frustrations for consumers. A solution is urgently needed – he adds – because it is not possible to invite Italians to prefer electronic tools for their purchases and then witness a incredible chaos. We have entered the Christmas period and we cannot afford slowdowns in sales”.

Fida-Confcommercio, avoid further moments of tension

Donatella Prampolini, president of Fida-Confcommercio, comments on the blocking of electronic payments on the POS: “We express great concern about the poor service on electronic payments which, in addition to creating moments of tension in our shops, is causing real economic damage. In fact, many consumers now accustomed to paying with POS, they have no alternatives and in many cases they abandon the shopping already done at the checkout” he explains, adding that “in the case of fresh and very fresh products, this leads to real food waste, as we cannot put that type of product back on sale, we need certain times to resolve the problem – he continues – to give the right information to those who have to deal directly with customers. We would like to avoid further moments of tension with consumers, which unfortunately we have today registered, even though we too are victims of this disservice”.