Cash to the Rescue in Global IT Outage

A worldwide IT outage disrupted transport, healthcare, broadcasting, telecoms, banking and other sectors last Friday. Fortunately, many businesses were able to continue operating on a cash-only basis while the problem was resolved.

The outage—which came just days after a nationwide outage saw UK supermarkets go cash only—was caused by a flawed software update dispatched by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. As planes were grounded, channels went off air and banking ground to a halt, cash came to the rescue of many businesses, with Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium in the US one example of those quick to pivot to cash-only operations.

In the UK, taxi drivers were also able to go cash-only, with the BBC reporting on London cabbies who could serve customers able to pay with banknotes and coins, while those without either needed to pay extra for a trip to an ATM, or go without a ride.

Australian supermarket Coles was reported to be accepting cash, enabling people to purchase groceries and essentials. Social media posts showed Card Only machines displaying the Blue Screen of Death and covered with upturned baskets.

In Japan, not all businesses were able to adapt, with Universal Studios Japan obliged to close its restaurants early and around a third of McDonald’s outlets suspending operations.

In its article A Surprise Return to Cash, WIRED notes that Starbucks—which said in 2020 it was ‘shifting toward more cashless experiences—was ‘particularly hard-hit’, though workers did their best to shift to analogue operations.

WIRED also spoke to Richard Forno, a cybersecurity lecturer at the University of Maryland, who says the outage demonstrates ‘the vulnerability of our current cloud and internet infrastructure.’

The outlet further cited warnings from the American Civil Liberties Union about the risks of a cashless society, among which would be enhanced consumer surveillance and the exclusion of low-income customers who are less likely to have a bank account and more likely to depend on cash. Fortunately, such concerns have been a driving force behind pro-cash legislation across the US.

While this major outage has shone a light on the need to rethink infrastructure, IT security, and redundancies and failsafes in systems design, it is also an occasion to be grateful for the resilience of cash, and a reminder that—in a world where many governments and fintech operators are pushing for ‘cashless societies’—its availability should never be taken for granted.