Processing credit card payments is a significant part of online and in-person business. When a company cannot process credit cards due to an outage, the consequences can be serious.
Here, we’ll discuss what a processing outage is, how it happens, and steps you can take to prevent it. We will also discuss some “survival skills” to get you and your team through the stressful time your processing is down, but you still want to serve your customers.
Credit Card Processing Outage Table of Contents
What is a Credit Card Processing Outage?
A credit card processing outage is when you cannot process payments. It can happen for various reasons, but the key to an outage is that your customers’ transaction data cannot be sent through your payment system to your merchant account. This means that your customers can’t pay for goods and services.
In short, a credit card processing outage is any circumstance in which your payment system is disrupted and unable to receive payments.
Why do Credit Card Processing Outages Happen?
Credit card processing outages can happen for several reasons, including internet issues and loss of power. Many of these reasons are controllable by the merchant, but some are much larger than that.
Processing System Outage
One of the most concerning reasons for a credit card processing outage is a system failure on the part of the payment processor. When you process transactions for your customers, the card data is sent to your merchant account through your payment processor. If your payment processor has a system outage, all of their clients will, too.
For example, in 2021, a significant payment processor experienced a system failure, and their entire system was down for a few hours. During this time, all their clients nationwide could not process transactions. For this reason, choosing a payment processor that offers a backup plan for system outages is vital. (We’ll discuss this in greater detail in the section on how to prevent credit card processing outages).
Power Outage
A power outage is another likely cause of a credit card processing issue. This can be as simple as a blown breaker in your brick-and-mortar store or a widespread power outage in your area, caused by a storm. It can also happen at your payment processor’s data center. This means that although your store has full power and can function, the data center where your processor keeps their equipment could lose power.
Lack of Internet Connectivity
Most credit card processing systems operate on Wi-Fi or hard-wired internet. Any disruption in your internet service could cause a credit card processing outage for your business. There are tons of reasons why your internet connectivity could be interrupted and depending on your internet provider, it could take quite a while to fix the problem.
Payment Terminal Malfunction
Payment terminal malfunctions can happen when equipment is old or not maintained properly. They can also occur when you purchase hardware incompatible with your payment processor’s software. If your credit card terminals malfunction or need rebooted, your processing abilities will be disrupted.
How to Prevent Processing Outages
Preventing credit card processing outages is an art and a science. It requires a specific set of details to be managed that you may not always consider when running your business daily.
Purchase the correct hardware. You must purchase the right equipment if you run a brick-and-mortar business with credit card terminals at your cash registers. Most payment processors have a preferred vendor who provides equipment compatible with their software. It could ultimately cost you if you try to save money by buying off-market equipment elsewhere.
Maintain your hardware. Regardless of where you purchased your hardware, you should take steps to maintain it properly. Most manufacturers have a list of preventive maintenance steps to help keep the hardware functioning properly. This can include blowing out the dust with compressed air or rebooting the terminals at the end of each business day. Be sure to follow the manufacturers’ recommendations.
Keep your terminals updated. In addition to properly maintaining the hardware, keep your software updated. Most software systems deploy updates regularly. You must update the software at these times to ensure it continues operating properly.
Choose a processor with a backup plan. Ask your processor if they provide a backup plan for processing outages. Some processors can take payments without Wi-Fi or have other solutions available to their clients for these occasions. Finding a provider with this feature can greatly benefit your business.
Use tools for weak connections. There are various tools on the market that can be used in areas where connections are weak. Since your internet is only as good as the signals available in your area, you may want to employ some of these tools. Whether you need additional access points or higher speed internet, you can purchase and install some simple tools to provide that to your business. You can also inquire about hardware that requires reduced internet speeds with your processor.
How to Handle a Credit Card Processing Outage
Regardless of how many steps you take to prevent outages, there is never a guarantee. However, having a plan in place that can walk you and your team through an outage can prove to be a lifesaver if and when the outage occurs. Our recommended 5-step plan for dealing with a credit card processing outage is here.
Determine the problem. Check your internet connectivity, phones, power source, card terminals, and any other factors within your control.
Resolve the situation yourself if possible. If connectivity is the problem, reboot your internet router. If you have a blown breaker, flip it back. If credit card terminals are malfunctioning, reboot them. Be sure to check wires and cables during this time to make sure they did not disconnect or become loose. Follow all the troubleshooting instructions provided to you by your processor and by common sense.
Contact customer service. If you determine that the issue is out of your control, contact the customer service team for your processor, your internet provider, or your power company (depending on what the issue is). Give the representative as much information as you can, including the troubleshooting steps you’ve already taken.
Communicate with customers and staff. In business, most major problems can be resolved with basic, efficient communication. Be honest with your team and your customers about what’s happening. Build a relationship that will help them overlook the inconvenience that they are facing at the moment. The most important part of this process is to be positive! It’s frustrating for everyone involved, but delivering the information is critical.
Deploy the backup plan. If your processor offers a backup plan, now is the time to use it. This will look different for every processor, but it could be a solution that can process transactions without the internet or even a system of manually entering credit card information. If your processor doesn’t have a backup plan, consider having credit card imprint machines on-hand for times like these. Some merchants also resort to PayPal business accounts and other options that work on cell phone data without internet or power.
Final Thoughts
If you accept credit card payments in your business, you can expect to face a credit card processing outage at some point. However, you can mitigate the risk by implementing preventive measures. You can also minimize the damage to your sales and your reputation by having a solid plan to implement when the occasion arises. Treat your customers and staff respectfully, keep calm, and execute your backup plan until your processing resumes.
