https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/leap-year-glitch-broke-self-pay-pumps-across-new-zealand-for-over-10-hours/

Skip to main content
 

  * Biz & IT
  * Tech
  * Science
  * Policy
  * Cars
  * Gaming & Culture
  * Store
  * Forums

Subscribe
 
[                    ]
Close
 

Navigate

  * Store
  * Subscribe
  * Videos
  * Features
  * Reviews

  * RSS Feeds
  * Mobile Site

  * About Ars
  * Staff Directory
  * Contact Us

  * Advertise with Ars
  * Reprints

Filter by topic

  * Biz & IT
  * Tech
  * Science
  * Policy
  * Cars
  * Gaming & Culture
  * Store
  * Forums

Settings

Front page layout


Grid

List

Site theme

light
dark
Sign in

Thanks, Julius --

Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can't handle
Leap Day

"We'll add it to our Outlook reminders..."

Scharon Harding - Feb 29, 2024 6:00 pm UTC

A gas station displays an out-of-order sign on February 29, 2024.
Enlarge / A gas station displays an out-of-order sign on February 29,
2024 in New Zealand.
Mark Coote/Bloomberg via Getty Images

reader comments

95

Today is Leap Day, meaning that for the first time in four years,
it's February 29. That's normally a quirky, astronomical factoid (or
a very special birthday for some). But that unique calendar date
broke gas station payment systems across New Zealand for much of the
day.

As reported by numerous international outlets, self-serve pumps in
New Zealand were unable to accept card payments due to a problem with
the gas pumps' payment processing software. The New Zealand Herald
reported that the outage lasted "more than 10 hours." This
effectively shuttered some gas stations, while others had to rely on
in-store payments. The outage affected suppliers, including Allied
Petroleum, BP, Gull, Waitomo, and Z Energy, and has reportedly been
fixed.

In-house payment solutions, such as BP fuel cards and the Waitomo
app, reportedly still worked during the outage.

As noted by Bloomberg, New Zealand is one of the first countries to
experience February 29 quadrennially because of its location. The gas
pump breakdown sent stakeholders into a frenzy as they tried to
resolve the problem caused by software being unequipped to process
the bonus day.

Advertisement

John Scott, the CEO of Invenco Group, the provider of the
self-payment terminals that malfunctioned, confirmed to Reuters that
a "leap year glitch" caused the problem. Scott said the problem only
affected New Zealand code. Invenco is investigating for more
information about what caused the glitch.

Scott also told The New Zealand Herald that Invenco worked with
Worldline as it rolled out the fix. France-headquartered Worldline
makes software for processing card payments. Worldline claimed that
all non-Invenco terminals using its technology continued to work
during the outage, per Otago Daily Times.

The outage highlights how extensive people's reliance on technology
has become and how an error based on something as trivial as a
calendar date can upturn entire businesses and disrupt people's day.
While some gas stations were still able to accept other forms of
payments, those that relied on the broken terminals found themselves
missing out on business. RNZ reported speaking to someone who was
declined service by four gas stations due to the outage.

As the companies involved work to issue apologies--and, in some cases,
discounts--to make up for the inconvenience, there's hope that the
scale and embarrassment associated with the outage will help prevent
similar events.

A representative for Petroleum, when prompted via Facebook to "maybe
remember Leap Day in four years' time," responded:

    We'll add it to our Outlook reminders 

reader comments

95
 
Scharon Harding Scharon is Ars Technica's Senior Product Reviewer
writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer technology, including
laptops, mechanical keyboards, and monitors. She's based in Brooklyn.
Advertisement

Channel Ars Technica

- Previous story Next story -

Related Stories

Today on Ars

  * Store
  * Subscribe
  * About Us
  * RSS Feeds
  * View Mobile Site

  * Contact Us
  * Staff
  * Advertise with us
  * Reprints

Newsletter Signup

Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates
delivered to your inbox. Sign me up -

     
 

CNMN Collection
WIRED Media Group
(c) 2024 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on
any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement
(updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1
/20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). Ars may earn
compensation on sales from links on this site. Read our affiliate
link policy.
Your California Privacy Rights | [privacyopt] Do Not Sell My Personal
Information
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed,
transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written
permission of Conde Nast.
Ad Choices