Several ATM's were "unable to dispense cash" today at EXACTLY the same time

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My wife and I went to several ATM's in our small town this afternoon to get cash. At EACH machine we stopped at, the text read "Temporarily not in service" or, after keying in the required data, the message "Unable to dispense cash" came up.

We have lived here two years, and this is a small town (9000), and I've never seen FOUR ATM's inoperable at the same time.

Don't know if Y2K-related, but..... wasn't there a news story earlier in the week about how "remediated ATM software" caused a bunch of machines to croak?

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 31, 1999

Answers

Dennis, Yes, there was such a story.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 31, 1999.

I didn't need to visit an ATM today but I did manage to venture out to the movie theatre.

"CASH ONLY. WE CANNOT PROCESS CREDIT CARDS AT THIS TIME. SYSTEM DOWN."

read the sign at the ticket window.

Interesting.

Mike

===================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 31, 1999.


Dennis,

The thread on this is here:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0019Wz

"ATM Problems due to Y2K upgrade"

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 01, 1999.


I saw the same sign on the door of the restaunt where I ate breakfast. I didn't think much of it at first but then again saw it at the dollar store when I went to get more supplies. Hmmmmm got me thinking now.

-- shellie (shellie01@hotmail.com), August 01, 1999.

Yeah spelling police will get me on that one....

-- shellie (shellie01@hotmail.com), August 01, 1999.


Couple of things happened in last week or so:

1) Currency shortage at two grocery stores. 2) Change shortage & no pennies at McDonalds yesterday. 3) Amex couldn't get through for a half hour at restaurant today.

I've had the last thing happen before, but never all three in same week.

Jolly isn't paranoid - but he certainly looks like it.

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), August 01, 1999.


FWIW, two restaurants(Lyon's) posted for about 10 days that as of Aug 1, they will only be able to process visa and master, but no atm transactions. Pete

-- Pete (phytorx@lanset.com), August 01, 1999.

Just to add to the pot, locally in the past few days:

Credit card authorization not working at automobile dealership Credit card authorization not working at convenience store Checking account verification not working at grocery store

I have never had even one of these things happen...let alone 3 within as many days time...

-- RUOK (RUOK@yesiam.com), August 01, 1999.


I was under the impression that these areas were already compliant.

-- rw (cwiowa@uiowa.edu), August 01, 1999.

could this possibly have anything to do with the solar flares? The KP INDEX has really shot up in the red today. http://sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.cgi

-- DJ (dgram@hom.com), August 01, 1999.


went to bank on friday and ATM was down, computers were down and I cashed a check for $500. Had choice of $20,50 or 100 bills. Couldn't give me any fives or tens as they were so low on them. When I asked if problems was y2k remediation was told", thats supposed to be done, but they are trying to install some kind of safety system and it has been up and down for a week".

-- Hannah (Hannah@Colonial America.com), August 01, 1999.

How widespread is this situation ?

Location info , if you would,please.

-- mchnst (Gunmkr52@aol.com), August 01, 1999.


The solar flares wouldn't have affected my HOME BANK, which is where I went FIRST. (At least, I don't THINK so...)

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), August 01, 1999.

Local Bank - Outer Banks, NC - All ATMS(4 locations) were down July 24th-

-- truman (jude@aginet.com), August 01, 1999.

Dennis,

Were you using all the ATMs from one bank or were you just hitting random ATMs from different banks trying to get cash?

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), August 01, 1999.



A fairly recent article on ATM's:

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/99/07/bz072801.html

"Y2K repair leaves cash machines on the blink"

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 01, 1999.


[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Y2K repair leaves cash machines on the blink

Up to 5 percent of the nation's ATMs temporarily malfunction after a company upgrades its system for the year 2000

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

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By Steve Woodward of The Oregonian staff

A software glitch rattled up to 5 percent of the nation's automated teller machines for more than two weeks earlier this month. The glitch resulted in failed machines, slow transactions and incorrect bank balances for tens of thousands of ATM transactions.

The mistakes occurred after a little-known Texas company in late June finished installing a new computer system designed to process ATM transactions properly in the year 2000.

"We don't take it lightly," said T.G. "Tim" Connor, president of the financial industry group of Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a $1 billion-a-year Dallas company that processes 20 million ATM transactions each month.

The problem follows repeated assurances from the federal government that ATM terminals are expected to work normally after the year 2000 calendar rollover.

Affiliated Computer Services employees are still working to repair faulty accounting that occurred sporadically between late June and mid-July. The amount of incorrectly credited money has not been determined.

"We aren't dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars," Connor said.

ACS executives said the software problems, which were not actual Y2K- related date problems, have been resolved. The machines affected by the glitch and current transactions are proceeding normally.

The glitch affected as many as half of the 17,000 ATM terminals for which Affiliated Computer provides transaction processing. Those terminals are located largely in merchant locations, such as convenience stores, bowling alleys and fast-food restaurants.

Jim Welsh, owner of Manzanita Fresh Foods on the Oregon coast, first noticed something was awry on June 26, when a discrepancy between the in-store ATM he leases and his bank statement popped up for the first time in his 11-year experience with the machines.

Welsh's ATM reported that $1,180 in cash had been withdrawn. U.S. Bank, where Welsh banks, said $1,400 had been withdrawn.

And so it went for 17 days -- sometimes in Welsh's favor, sometimes against. By July 13, when his accounts began reconciling properly again, he was $237 ahead.

"Even on July 1, my machine was down the whole day, and they still put $180 in my account," Welsh said.

When the problems began, Welsh had never heard of Affiliated Computer Services. He leases his ATM from Evergreen Teller Services of Grass Valley, Calif., the nation's second-largest operator of nonbank ATM terminals. (The largest is Card Capture Services Inc., based in Portland.)

Evergreen, in turn, contracts with ACS, one of 10 major ATM transaction processors in the United States.

All ATM processors were required by federal regulators to be Y2K- compliant by June 30, meaning that their computer systems had to be able to process dates in the year 2000 and beyond. ACS began installing a new operating system in January, upgrading an old system that was not able to properly process dates beyond 1999. The company had been moving terminals systematically onto the new system without incident, until it moved the last of the terminals on the last weekend in June.

At that point, some machines broke down, stalled or rejected cardholders' requests. Other cardholders received the proper amount of cash from the machine, but the bank accounts were wrong.

The problems were isolated to terminals that used a certain kind of device "driver" and high-speed, dial-up connections with ACS, said Joni Floyd, the executive vice president in charge of the project. The sudden influx of 17,000 ATM terminals, 3.5 million cardholders and a transaction rate of 20 million per month exposed weak points in the new software, Floyd said.

Connor said ACS had set up a testing laboratory with more than 15 types of ATM terminals but acknowledged that lab testing can't find every potential problem.

"Until you can touch every single terminal out there," he said, "you can't test every conceivable transaction out there."

The glitch also affected terminals operated by Card Capture Services. The company intends to reimburse merchants who lost ATM fee income while their terminals broke down, David G. Grano, president and chief executive officer, said through a spokeswoman. Card Capture, which operates more than 7,000 terminals nationwide, will base the reimbursements on the average daily number of transactions per machine.

Although some Card Capture machines had problems, the Portland ATM operator apparently was not affected by accounting problems, the spokeswoman said. Individual cardholders must resolve account discrepancies with the institutions that issued their cards, ACS's Floyd said.

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You can reach Steve Woodward at 503-294-5134 or by e-mail at stevewoodward@news.oregonian.com.



-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 01, 1999.


I was using RANDOM ATM's after MY bank's failed. Very small town in western Wisconsin. Only one branch of each bank....

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), August 01, 1999.

ATM in small town in Michigan has been out since at least Tuesday....still not working. Sounds pretty universal!

-- Jo Ann (MaJo@Michiana.com), August 01, 1999.

The computers were down at my credit union last Tuesday....in Florence, AL.

-- Destiny (Destiny@getaway.net), August 02, 1999.

Wait untill rollover, they'll be so down they'll be doing a "China Syndrome"!!!!!!!

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), August 02, 1999.

Bought a car in Denver Saturday. Charged it to my Visa. $9K charge went thru without a hitch (8.5% interest, plus I get clear title to the car). No problems with ATMs here(?)

No change shortage. In fact, people no longer seem to pick up pennies if they drop them on the ground. I pick up pennies and other change every day.

Don't start hyperventilating.

-- d. ownboy (downboy@remain.calm), August 02, 1999.


'Scuse me, but a credit-card purchase is not the same as an ATM withdrawl. Doesn't use the same software....

So, please don't try to compare it. Besides, my Amex Corporate Platinum card trumps your lowly Visa. ;^)

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), August 02, 1999.


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