The ongoing cataclysmic IT outage currently affecting Microsoft’s Windows operating system could have a knock-on effect on iPhone users trying to make payments with Apple Pay or contactless in certain stores.
Humanity is waking up to a seismic global tech meltdown caused by a Crowdstrike issue. The world over, major infrastructure points including airports, trains, shops, and more are reporting significant issues because of the problem, and even iPhone users aren’t immune.
While the most significant disruption we’ve seen so far includes the grounding of flights across the world, hospital IT systems, and banking disruptions, there are scattered reports of payment issues that could affect iPhone users. Here’s what we know so far.
Global IT outage hampers Apple Pay
To be clear, the outage isn’t affecting Apple or any of its services. However, there are early reports of payment issues in some stores. Notably, the BBC is reporting that UK supermarket chain Morrisons is having “some issues” with payment in its stores, while The Telegraph reports similar problems in UK-based Waitrose. To back this up, we’re seeing scattered reports across X of iPhone users experiencing Apple Pay issues. 7NEWS Australia is reporting similar payment issues ongoing in the country.
Downdetector.com is also tracking a spike in Apple Pay problems reported on the site. As we’ve noted, this likely tracks a broader payment issue, because Apple Pay itself isn’t affected by the outage.
While the global outage is also affecting systems related to ticketing and events, Apple Wallet isn’t affected. Notably, the Aussie rules outfit Essendon FC reported Friday that, despite ongoing ticketing issues for a game this evening, “Tickets stored in Apple wallets for tonight's game should not be affected by this outage.”
The global IT outage remains a developing situation, with no sign of a clear fix in sight. We’ll keep an eye out for any other specific issues that could impact Apple customers and update you as they come. In the meantime, if you're heading out to do some shopping, it might be worth taking your physical card, or better yet some cash, to avoid any disruption.
