The problems with Bancontact in Belgium have seemingly been resolved. Payments via the service were not working this afternoon, causing chaos in supermarkets. Electronic payments are now working again.
Shortly before noon on Monday, users reported problems with Bancontact: they were unable to withdraw cash or make payments in shops. The website Allestoringen.be, which records reports of service disruptions, received thousands of reports of problems with electronic payments.
Bancontact confirmed that there was widespread disruption, making it impossible to withdraw cash or make electronic payments. The cause of the problem is not yet known.
Last night, the payment service was also down briefly due to scheduled maintenance.
Payment processor Worldline confirmed that there had been issues with Bancontact transactions since 11:56 on Monday.
Worldline carried out maintenance work on the electronic payment network during the night from Sunday to Monday. The work was scheduled to take place from midnight until 06:00. It is not clear whether the current disruption is linked to last night’s maintenance work.
Update: This article was updated at 13:17, after Bancontact services resumed working.
