News

Processing glitch disables Kentucky FI bankcards

August 30, 2012

Lexington, Ky.-based Central Bank and Trust Co., experienced an ATM/debit processing error on Tuesday night that left customers unable to use ATM/debit cards for most of the following day. Just one day earlier, a system failure at South Africa's FNB left cardholders similarly affected.

On Wednesday, the bank's website advised customers that debit and ATM cards "are temporarily out of service. Please do not attempt to use your card at a merchant or ATM until further notice."

Steve Kelly, the bank's director or marketing, told Kentucky.com that the bank had experienced "an issue" with cards not processing transactions. He said he expected the problem to be resolved by 5:30 p.m. that day.

As with the FNB snafu, cardholders took to social media to express their worry and annoyance. The bank posted regular Facebook updates to keep users up to the minute on the situation and to reassure customers that the problem was no more serious than a temporary service interruption.

On Thursday, the bank's website provided an update:

Service was gradually restored to the affected customers until all customers had full access by around 6:00 p.m. The processing issue did not affect customer transaction records or the security of customer accounts.

The Bank will contact customers whose cards were retained by its ATMs to arrange a convenient time to retrieve the cards.

We apologize for the inconvenience the issue caused to our customers and deeply regret any embarrassment that resulted.

For more on this topic, visit the transaction processing research center.