Retail businesses across the country have lost thousands of dollars over the long weekend because a computer glitch left shoppers unable to use the Bank of Queensland’s (BOQ) Eftpos terminals.

BOQ’s Eftpos machines skipped ahead six years when the clock ticked over to January 1 and started date stamping January 2016.

BOQ staff have not been able find what caused the problem, but a temporary solution has been put in place to ease retailers’ frustrations.

The glitch cost businesses untold amounts as the Eftpos terminals read customers’ cards as having expired and refused their transactions.

Barry Jones, owner of Sharky’s T-shirt and souvenir store in Cairns, said his business was without an Eftpos machine for two days.
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photo credit: Andres RuedaAustralian remains a cash-based society but the use of plastic credit and debit cards is growing as consumers seek more convenient payment methods and loyalty or reward program benefits, new central bank research shows.

A Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) study of consumer payment behaviour released on Wednesday found cash is still king, accounting for 70 per cent of all transactions.

EFTPOS and MasterCard and Visa debit card payments make up 15 per cent of all transactions, followed by MasterCard and Visa credit card transactions at nine per cent and American Express and Diners Club cards at one per cent.
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photo credit: Andres RuedaThe total value of credit and charge card transactions, including advances, rose by 9.6 per cent in March, figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) show.

Australians spent $18.775 billion on their credit and charge cards in March, up from $17.130 billion the previous month and the second straight monthly increase.

The rise in spending was matched by an increase in repayments, the RBA’s monthly bulletin says.

Credit card repayments rose 17.5 per cent in March to $19.720 billion - the highest level since December.
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