German credit cards hit by Y2K10 bug

Posted on Thursday, January 07 2010 @ 19:02 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Guardian reports millions of German debit and credit card holders are unable to withdraw money or make payments in shops due to a software bug related to the year change to 2010.
About 30m chip and pin cards – a quarter of those in circulation in Germany – are thought to have been affected by the programming failure, which meant that microchips in cards could not recognise the year change to 2010.

A French card manufacturer, Gemalto, admitted today it was to blame for the failure, which it is estimated will cost €300m (£270m) to rectify. Gemalto, whose shares dropped by 2.6%, said it was attempting a software update, but might have to replace the cards. Gemalto-manufactured cards in other countries were not affected.


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Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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