A MAJOR global tech outage has left shoppers unable to make card payments across the UK.
The Microsoft outage has sparked chaos around the world with flights grounded and TV channels and banks knocked offline.
It comes as television channels, banks, GPs and supermarkets around the world have been rocketed by the issues.
Cybersecurity software firm Crowdstrike say they have identified the issue behind the global outage as a flawed anti-viral update.
Retailers and card providers are said to be experiencing problems in some stores.
Big supermarkets such as Morrisons and Co-op, and pub chains like Wetherspoons are experiencing issues.
Some major banks have also confirmed that they’re having trouble communicating with customers.
Here’s the full list of retailers, pubs and banks affected:
- Morrisons
- Metro Bank
- Wetherspoons
- Waitrose
- Sainsbury’s
- Co-op
- Visa
- Tesco Ireland
Visa
Visa customers have reported more than 700 issues in the past 24 hours.
Purchases and payments are the main source of the reports.
A spokesperson for Visa told The Sun: “There is no indication of any impact on Visa’s ability to process payments from this issue. Our systems are operating normally.
“We are aware of reports of people being unable to make payments and are working with our financial institution clients to understand any impact on their services to cardholders and merchants.”
Morrisons
Elsewhere, Morrisons shoppers have also been asked to pay using chip and pin this morning, with contactless not working at some sites.
One said: “No contactless payment in Morrisons this morning — cash or chip and pin only.”
Another wrote: “Morrisons, contactless payment is down, chip and pin is working so please remember your card! Cheers ta!”
A spokesperson said: “We are experiencing some issues with payment in some stores this morning. We are working hard with our partners to resolve this issue.”
The problems are now thought to have been resolved at Morrisons stores.
Retailers which aren’t affected by the outage
SOME retailers have already been in touch to say they are unaffected by any problems:
Nationwide
A spokesperson said: “We aren’t currently seeing any customer impacts following the global IT outage, but we will continue to monitor our systems closely, as we always do.
“Systems like our Banking App continue to work normally.”
Iceland
Iceland confirmed that it is not affected at this time.
Tesco UK
Customers can shop in Tesco stores and online as normal, it confirmed.
Lidl
Lidl says it is not currently experiencing any operational issues and its stores are trading as normal.
Wetherspoons
Pub giant Wetherspoons also reported that its app, which can be used to make orders and payments, was not working earlier this morning.
Wetherspoons, which has over 800 branches across the UK, confirmed to Sun Money that its app went down at around 9am.
Customers were only able to use cash to pay for their food and booze.
One punter wrote: “This is bl***y serious, the Wetherspoons app is down.”
Another commented: “Wetherspoons is only taking cash (sign on the door as I walked past).”
A third said: “I hope no one was planning on going to Wetherspoons tonight, Microsoft has crippled them.”
Co-op
Some Co-op stores have also urged shoppers to pay using cash only, posting signs around the shops.
Staff members have reportedly told customers that the issues are affecting all Co-op sites in the UK.
The Heart of England Co-op Food account Tweeted: “We are experiencing issues with our card payments.
“This is affecting many other retailers and we are working with our card payment provider to resolve this as soon as possible.
“We apologise for any inconvenience.”
Metro Bank
It’s not just retailers and pubs affected, banks are also having trouble connecting to customers this morning.
A Metro Bank spokesperson said: “Along with many other organisations we have been affected by the reported global IT outage.
“Currently we are having problems with our phone lines, which means customers may have trouble getting through and we have issues with some faster payment options.”
“Customers can still transact via their app or online banking or visit us in-store if they are close by.”
Tesco Ireland
Downdetector reports have also been climbing for Tesco Ireland over the past few hours.
They reached a height of 450 at around 7am and have been slowly declining.
According to the site, issues are stemming from both checkout payments and website-related problems.
Sun Money has contacted Tesco Ireland for comment.
Sainsbury’s
Other big names such as Sainsbury’s are reportedly affected by the Microsoft issues this morning.
Writing on X one said her card payment for her shopping delivery had been declined without a reason.
She wrote: “You have advised my card payment has been declined for my delivery, I have tried calling you and have been on hold for 60 mins. You have now sent a text asking me to call and the line is not working. Please can you resolve this for me?”
A second shopper asked: “What is happening? Why are customers holding on for over 25 minutes because our orders cannot be processed due to payment issues? Is your system down???”
Sainsbury’s SmartShop in-store handsets appear to not be working also, with shoppers sharing images online.
Sainsbury’s told The Sun it is unaware of any issues.
A spokesperson said: “We’re not seeing any impact to our stores but continue to closely monitor the situation.”
Waitrose
Waitrose branches are also said to be experiencing problems with payments today.
Taking to Facebook one shopper said: “Computer system outage!
“Waitrose in Mill Hill Affected! Accepting Cash Only Payments!
“Langstone Way Surgery can’t see anyone if you have an appointment booked for today it will be rescheduled…
“Just passing on the message I’ve just got from Langstone Way Surgery.”
While another posted: “Waitrose cash only at the moment
“Chaos people wandering around like lost souls”
Sun Money has contacted Waitrose for comment.
Global services affected by IT outage
UK trains
- Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – urged passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”
- Gatwick Express – warned travellers they are “currently experiencing widespread IT issues”
- South Western Railway – all ticket vending machines are currently non-operational – buy tickets online
- National Rail – some train operators are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice train cancellations
- TransPennine Express – some TPE stations and systems are having IT issues – buy tickets online
Airports and airlines
- Manchester Airport – delays for those checking in for Swissport flights
- London Gatwick – passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security but should still arrive for their normal check-in time
- Ryanair – advises passengers to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions
- Edinburgh Airport – wait times longer than usual
- Stansted Airport – some airline check-in services reverted to being done manually, but main operational systems are unaffected and flights are still operating as normal
- Luton Airport – running manual systems
- Heathrow Airport – is affected but flights are operational – check with airline on the latest journey information
- American Airlines – all flights cancelled
- United and Delta – no flights taking off
- Mumbai Airport – check-in desks shut down for IndiGo, Akasa and Spice Jet flights
- Australian airline Qantas – flights grounded
- Schipol Airport in Amsterdam – flights to and from the Netherlands affected
- Spanish airport association AENA – reported issues at 42 airports
Television Networks
- Sky News – Friday morning breakfast show unable to air but now back on screens with reporter reading from printed notes
Britain’s GPs
- The Wilmslow Health Centre in Cheshire – without access to their IT systems
- Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands – affected ability to book/consult with patients this morning
- Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside – stated there has been a “big effect” and delays on the phone expected
- Pocklington Group Practice in the East Riding of Yorkshire – appointments needing to be cancelled and rearranged
- Hulme Hall Medical Group, in Stockport – unable to offer any appointments
- Windrush Medical Practice in Witney, Oxfordshire – continuing as normal for urgent enquiries but asking for routine concerns to wait until Monday
- Grimethorpe Surgery in Barnsley – no access to the clinical system, EMIS Web
- The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) confirmed the IT outage is disrupting community pharmacies
- A surgery in Putney, southwest London – Displaying an error message online to patients who attempt to book
Global hospitals
- Two German hospitals have been forced to cancel emergency operations
- The hospitals, in the northern German cities of Luebeck and Kiel, cancelled all elective operations scheduled for today
Supermarkets and restaurants
- Morrisons are affected
- Some Waitrose and Co-op are now cash-only
- Gails and Waterstones experiencing some issues
- Wetherspoons pubs – only accepting cash
- Woolworths supermarkets in Australia – self-service machines not working
Events
- Manchester United ticket release postponed – the morning’s ticket release will be postponed until midday and the website will remain unavailable
Banks and supermarkets in Australia including Beyond Bank Australia have also been experiencing issues this morning.
Various Microsoft services in Japan and New Zealand are also battling tech issues.
What is the Microsoft outage and who is affected?
The severe issues at Microsoft have crashed computer systems across the world leaving major businesses, newsrooms and television networks all plunged into chaos.
Sky News and Sky Sports have also been rocked by the outages with them going off air completely – leaving viewers baffled by the severe disruption.
The chaos comes on what is set to be the busiest day for flights in five years as the school holidays get underway for summer.
Various Microsoft services in Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania have all been facing tech issues this morning.
The tech issues have affected people’s ability to access Microsoft 365 apps and services.
Cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike say they have identified the issue behind the global outage as a flawed anti-viral update.
Microsoft has since announced it is taking “mitigation actions” against the issues.
They said via X: “Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions.
“We remain committed to treating this event with the highest priority and urgency while we continue to address the lingering impact for the remaining Microsoft 365 apps that are in a degraded state.”
A Microsoft spokesperson told Bloomberg that a “resolution is forthcoming”.
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