New Zealanders on Thursday got a taste of what Y2K could have been like at the gas pump. For the majority of the day, gas stations across the country were unable to process payments due to a technical glitch caused by leap day.
The issue originated in the pumps’ payment processing software, which was unable to process payments because of the extra day on the calendar. Some stations were forced to shut down entirely, while others were able to keep operating on in-store payments only. Users were also able to use in-house payment options like BP fuel cards and the Waitomo app. The outage reportedly lasted more than 10 hours.
The affected self-pay stations all came from Invenco Group, whose CEO John Scott confirmed that the issue was caused by a “leap year glitch” and only affected New Zealand. Apologies and some discounts are being issued to affected customers, and the company has promised to add a leap day reminder to its Outlook calendar four years from now.
Where did leap day break self-pay gas pumps?
Answer: New Zealand.
(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
