Denied Transactions: The Collapse of Crédit Mutuel and CIC Bank
Card Payment Outage Causes Convenience and Frustration in Strasbourg
In an unexpected turn of events, a nationwide card payment outage affected thousands of customers in Strasbourg on Friday, August 30th, between 5 PM and 8 PM. The outage, which affected customers of Crédit Mutuel and CIC, caused inconvenience for many and sparked frustration on social media.
During the outage, shop owners found themselves in a tricky situation. Julien Devoille, manager of the bakery Les mains dans la farine, had to deal with two hours without card payments. Other shop owners faced similar challenges, with customers unable to pay for their purchases. One resident commented that if they had not had cash on hand, it would have been a problem.
The outage was due to an internal malfunction, according to Crédit Mutuel. The incident was resolved later that evening. However, the exact cause of the outage remains unspecified in the available information.
Social media posts reflected the frustration and inconvenience felt by many. Examples include "The trip to Decathlon was for nothing as I got a declined payment," and "No more going out without cash, thanks Crédit Mutuel." Some users even expressed thoughts of switching banks, such as "I'm thinking about switching to an online bank."
Despite the difficulties, not all customers were left empty-handed. Some managed to find some cash during the outage, while others had to leave without buying anything. Interestingly, one resident's daughter, who uses a different bank, was able to pay during the outage.
The incident sparked a wave of resignation and frustration among the affected customers. However, it also highlighted the importance of having cash on hand in such situations. As one customer put it, "A bank run by interns, that's a game-changer."
Despite the incident, Crédit Mutuel has not provided any information about the leader of the department responsible for the internal error causing the card payment outage on Friday, August 30, between 17 and 20 hours. Furthermore, no information is available on whether the outage affected all card transactions or just certain types of cards.
This incident serves as a reminder for customers to always have some cash on hand and for banks to ensure the reliability of their systems to prevent such inconveniences in the future.
