h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, about 30 million credit/debit/bank cards 'of the new generation' here in Germany haven't worked properly (if at all) since the start of 2010. There's a programming fault in the software, so ATMs and others are unable to read out the 2010.

Fortunately, I seem to have a card that works (or we would have had to starve over the weekend).

My husband wasn't so lucky, his card didn't work when he tried to pay for the fuel he bought.

Is this just a problem in Germany, or do other countries have similar problems?

That sounds terrible. It must be a nightmare for people with no working cards.

Some ATMs and card-readers here seem to think the date is January 2016. I'll find out tomorrow if I can access my account...

Yes, especially since nobody knew. My hsuband said, when his card read as 'invalid', the man at the garage told him he was the 7th person that day. I can't believe they didn't put a note on the petrol pumps, after all, that was on Saturday afternoon, so must have happened since Friday.

I just found this article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/06/year_2010_payment_card_bug/

and it seems it's a German problem (with the cards), but other computer system are affected as well.

Sounds like a programmer's excuse to me...

If the software couldn't read the date 2010 then surely the problem would have occurred the first time anyone was issued with a card with an expiry date of later than 01/01/2010 (which would have been a couple of years ago).

My bet is that whoever's in charge of the computers decided to install a software upgrade when all the banks were shut over the holidays, and they got something seriously wrong!

So it's not just Germany then, Ivan? Good luck with your card. I know where I'll go shopping today.

Things seem to be working here in France... Or at least my card did this morning...

They say it is something they programmed the golden chip with. Now my EC card is older, but my husband got his one sent a month or so ago, so he has a new chip version - as do both my sons.

Lucky me, I guess.

Golden chips where?

RF

Everywhere in Germany.

Why does the IT industry always take the blame when these things happen?

Do we always want everything tested to destruction? Is it really cost-effective?

Sometimes, well, you've just got to 'wing it' and see what happens.

I haven't had a problem, neither in France nor in Germany. On the other hand, I'm statistically insignificant.

>>Why does the IT industry always take the blame when these things happen?<<

Not always! I blame 2legs

The Bank of Queensland in Australia thinks it's 2016, our eftpos machines wouldn't work all weekend. We had to shut up shop early. It's still not fixed, they just put a patch on so all BOQ eftpos machines ignore expiration dates.

I avoided the Bank of Queensland ATM today and tried out the RediATM; that's the other network that was said to be having trouble here. It behaved nicely and gave me money. It was quite a relief as I only had $2.15 left in cash.

They said there were no problems in retail (apparently they can read the magnetic bit on the back of the cards).