German consumers are facing problems using their debit and credit cards at home and abroad this week because of a programming glitch. The glitch renders some 30 million chip cards unable to recognize the year 2010, making it impossible for millions of consumers to use their cards at ATMs and point-of-sale terminals. Unclear was whether the glitch originated in cash machines and terminals or on card chips.
The glitch affected approximately 20 million electronic cash cards, often called EC cards or Girocards, and about 3.5 million credit cards, according to a statement from the German Savings Banks and Giro Association. The trade group did not identify the brands affected. Press reports indicated that up to 6.5 million more cards issued by private and cooperative banks also were affected.
German banking authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gemalto NV, a major supplier of German bankcards, said Jan. 6 it was “working with customers on investigating and fixing the situation since first informed on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 3),” according to a statement from the France-based card vendor.
Gemalto says it and its banking customers hope to avoid replacing all the defective cards, which means the cards likely would be reprogrammed when used at ATMs and payment terminals. Further comment from Gemalto was unavailable. The vendor said cards it sold to banks in other countries have experienced no problems.
Oberthur Technologies, another major card vendor based in France, said Wednesday that none of its cards used in Germany or elsewhere has experienced problems.
German banking authorities said they hoped to fix most of the problems by late this week but warned some consumers still could have trouble using their cards into next week.
