Small businesses hit hard by payment platform outage

Today, small companies throughout Australia have faced challenges in handling their sales due to a widespread disruption in the operation of the online payment platform Square.

Tim Webbers, the proprietor of Smartronic, expressed to 9news.com.au that he incurred a considerable loss in revenue as his Square device experienced an outage earlier today.

A representative from Square mentioned that they were well-informed about the "interruption" that was unsettling business operations, and this effect was being felt by businesses on a global scale as well.

The representative mentioned that we are presently facing problems with various Square services.

We comprehend the significance of having our services operational for businesses and we are actively striving to resolve the issue.

Webbers, the proprietor of numerous establishments throughout the eastern area of Melbourne, stated that he had not received any direct communication from Square regarding the interruption.

He mentioned that the system had been authorizing transactions for clients but not recording them on the company's end.

According to Webbers, when individuals were sliding their card for payment, there was a possibility of encountering a moment where the system would indicate that it's processing the transactions, and ultimately, it would give the approval. However, subsequently, users might face a situation where the Square service was inaccessible.

Between 9 in the morning and 10 in the morning, my store was distributing items at no cost. It would have been considerate of them to inform us about the difficulties they were facing, but unfortunately, they chose not to share this information.

The payment service is a tool primarily utilized by small and medium enterprises to handle card transactions.

The general manager of the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory, Rhiannon Druce, encountered comparable challenges earlier today.

The company had to begin accepting only cash payments.

She mentioned that today, a majority of our customers are unable to make card payments due to technical problems with Square, which is affecting businesses nationwide. As a result, we are requesting customers to return and make payments using cash.

We comprehend that technology has its constraints, but I believe this underscores the significance of cash in our community.

Just three days ago, we were experiencing difficulties with Square. To resolve the problem, we completely replaced the physical equipment. However, we received new hardware yesterday and unfortunately, it is not functioning today due to a major issue that will affect businesses globally.

In the recent 3.45pm update, a representative from Square expressed their gratitude towards customers for their understanding and mentioned that they have the "appropriate individuals working on this matter" to address the issue.

Just a quick update to inform you that our team of engineers is currently investigating the issue and striving to find a solution. We will keep you posted with any new information we acquire.