In an unexpected IT failure, AIB Merchant Services have encountered severe technical difficulties, severely impacting the ability of merchants across Ireland to process credit card payments through terminals. This outage, linked to wider issues within the European financial processing network, has led to significant disruption for small and medium-sized businesses relying on third-party terminals like Clover for quick transactions.
According to a statement from AIB, there is currently no estimated time for when the services will be restored. “Our team is prioritizing this issue and is working diligently to resolve it as swiftly as possible,” a spokesperson from AIB commented on the urgency of the situation.
The impact of this outage has been profound, with numerous business owners voicing their concerns. “We are unable to process any transactions this morning, putting our business at a complete standstill,” mentioned one frustrated owner, who operates six different locations. The sentiment was echoed across various social media platforms, where several traders shared similar distressing experiences, indicating a substantial loss of revenue and customer dissatisfaction.
The bank clarified that this disruption is due to a “wider European issue” that affects the processing services of AIB MS, a joint venture with Fiserv. While AIB’s own systems were not directly impacted today, their merchant services are bearing the brunt of this technical glitch.
For ongoing updates, AIB has directed merchants and customers to their dedicated services page, Aibms.com, assuring that any progress or resolution will be communicated there. As of now, the outage has not affected online credit card payments, providing a slight relief amid the broader payment challenges.