Gemalto NV said Wednesday it will set aside between 6 million euros (US$8.7 million) and 10 million euros to “cover the potential consequences related” to an apparent programming glitch that left millions of German payment cards useless earlier this month (
The France-based card vendor will include the charge in its 2009 financial results, scheduled for release on March 4. Gemalto on Wednesday said it has “provided a secure procedure to its customers in Germany” to correct the glitch.
“The problem came about due to the configuration of certain cards wherein the process of the date verification caused a rejection of the card,” a Gemalto spokesperson tells PaymentsSource. “We have, therefore, worked closely with our customers to help resolve this inconvenience.”
The glitch rendered 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. German banking authorities did not return calls Wednesday.
“Not all German cards are affected, and not all Gemalto cards,” the Gemalto spokesperson says. “The configurations impacted are specific to Germany and, therefore, [was] not present in other countries.”
Though the spokesperson would not provide details about the “secure, corrective procedure” Gemalto provided to its bank customers, he says cardholders will receive the correction when they use their cards at ATMs or payment terminals, thus eliminating the expense of replacing the defective cards.
