The findings of the preliminary analysis shows that the incident was caused by a network error occurring at around 9 a.m., which resulted in card payments being declined. Payment processing was gradually normalised by approximately 2 p.m. the same day. The incident mainly impacted customers and consumers in Denmark and Sweden, and to a much lesser degree in Norway and Finland.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers, partners and consumers. Stable operations are essential to maintaining trust in the payment's infrastructure, and we take this very seriously," says Lars Erik Tellmann, Chief Regional Officer in Nordics, Nexi Group.
Network error and subsequent overload prolonged recovery
The analysis indicates that the incident was caused by a network error that affected connectivity to Nets' platform environment. Once the connection was restored, an unusually high load occurred due to the large number of transactions that had accumulated during the disruption.
The increased load caused the system to enter a locked state and prevented it from responding to standard recovery procedures. To restore operations, a full restart of the payment system was required. This extended the time needed to normalise operations while also processing the accumulated transaction traffic in a safe and controlled manner.
“Since the incident, we have worked closely with our suppliers to identify the root cause and implement the improvements needed to further strengthen the resilience of the system. This work will continue in the coming weeks and months," says Lars Erik Tellmann.
Nets' new offline solution featuring deferred authorisation, which has recently been introduced in Denmark, functioned as intended and the negative impact of the incident was partly offset by offline/deferred solutions especially in supermarkets.
Nets continuously works to strengthen the resilience of the payment's infrastructure in close cooperation with authorities. Based on the continued analysis, efforts to improve monitoring, contingency preparedness and preventive processes will continue.
