A FAULT in AIB’s computer system yesterday resulted in thousands of failed card transactions for Christmas shoppers across the country. This was the second time in the busiest shopping week of the year that such a problem occurred.
Up to 30 per cent of the activity at AIB payment points and ATMs was affected on an intermittent basis yesterday afternoon. However, for most of this time some 10 to 20 per cent was affected.
As a result, some retailers were refusing to accept credit and debit card transactions for a number of hours yesterday. There were long queues at a Bank of Ireland ATM near Henry Street, Dublin, yesterday as shoppers sought cash.
By 6.30pm last night the problem had been resolved, all systems were back in operation and the backlog had been cleared, an AIB spokesman said.
The Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) was also investigating reports from cardholders. Customers from many different banks were affected, it said.
AIB was last night working to ensure that the problem would not happen again and was analysing why the fault had arisen. It apologised for any inconvenience.
