TOKYO – Credit cards could not be used at convenience stores and other merchants across Japan for hours on Thursday following a system outage that also affected some transportation companies’ credit card-linked electronic money apps.
Major credit card issuer Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos Co. said the trouble began around 8 a.m. when card payments could not be processed at some merchants, while Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co. reported a similar problem.
The card companies said the trouble was caused by an outage in an international credit card brand’s network connecting merchants with card issuers. Sources familiar with the matter said the outage occurred within Visa’s network.
Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos apologized on its website for the disruption, saying transaction failures persisted through midday.
According to East Japan Railway Co., users of its Mobile Suica app were also temporarily prevented from purchasing commuter passes and conducting other transactions using the service’s credit card payment function.
Users of the Mobile Pasmo app for public transport in the Tokyo metropolitan area faced similar problems.
AloJapan.com