Visa apologises as service returns to normal following Europe-wide disruption

Firm assures customers disruption was ‘not associated with any unauthorised access or cyberattack’

Millions of customers were affected by the disruption (Reuters)

Visa says its service has returned to normal after millions of customers across Europe were left unable to pay for goods and services on Friday.

For around six hours, customers across Europe were affected by the disruption, with some supermarkets reportedly facing angry customers after shoppers were unable to pay.

The firm has apologised for the technical failing, and ruled out any “malicious” activity as the cause.

In a statement Visa said: “The issue was the result of a hardware failure within one of our European systems and is not associated with any unauthorised access or cyberattack.

“Visa Europe’s payment system is now operating at full capacity, and Visa account holders can now use Visa for any of their purchases and at ATMs, as they normally would.”

Al Kelly, CEO of Visa, said: “We apologise to all of our partners and Visa account holders for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

An estimated £1 of every £3 spent in the UK is on a Visa card.

Leanne Mascoll from London was among those affected by the disruption. She told The Independent: “I had to leave some shopping in Sainsbury’s because my card wouldn’t work.”

In its statement Visa didn’t clarify whether or not retailers will be compensated for the potential loss in earnings.

While major retailers such as Marks and Spencer confirmed they had been affected by the disruption, Transport for London didn’t report any problems with customers using contactless Visa cards to pay for their journeys.

Several businesses were forced to place temporary signs on their doors explaining to customers that they were unable to accept card payments due to the fault.