A rare component failure within Nets’ infrastructure, managed by a global partner, triggered Saturday’s widespread disruption of card payments. According to a press release issued on Thursday, a backup system failed to activate upon detection of the error, exacerbating the issue.

The system outage, lasting approximately three hours, impacted various sectors, including transportation at the Great Belt Bridge and payment processing at events such as the Musik i Lejet music festival and Grøn Koncert. Businesses and consumers have expressed concerns regarding the lack of timely information from Nets following the incident.

Allan Bonke, country manager for Nets, acknowledged the criticism and stated that the company is taking it seriously. “Some people don’t think we communicated well and quickly enough, and we need to look at our process to see how we can change it so that it meets the needs of the market,” Bonke said. Nets is reviewing its communication procedures to improve transparency during future outages.

Bonke commended businesses that utilized offline payment systems, enabling them to continue accepting Dankort payments despite the disruption. Nets is focusing on educating its customers about offline payment options and is in the process of implementing a new offline function that will support international cards and mobile payments. The initial rollout will prioritize large supermarket chains and pharmacies, followed by other stores.

The Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs has requested an explanation from Nets, via the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, detailing the cause of the outage and the company’s contingency plans. Nets, which was acquired by the Italian payment group Nexi in 2020, holds a significant market share of up to 80 percent in card payment acquiring in Denmark. According to Bonke, this specific error will not happen again.