18:51

Business owners and shoppers out in Broomhill in west Sheffield seemed intensely relaxed about the Visa machine difficulties.

“I usually just pay by cash anyway,” said Mandy Stevens, as she came out of Morrisons with her shopping. The store had problems taking card payments all afternoon, with customers going outside and waiting patiently to take money out of a cash point, before returning.

Stevens, who runs the SM Hair hairdressers across the road, said the first thing she knew of the troubles had been when a client asked if her machine was working because he had read the news. Her salon’s machine was working fine on Friday. “Maybe it’s just certain types of machines or certain places that are having trouble,” she said.

Most businesses on Broomhill’s high street reported having some problems taking card payments on Friday afternoon. Richard Stacey from the Record Collector record shop said it had been a quiet day anyway, so the difficulties had not damaged business.

A barista at Costa Coffee said he had heard that nearby cash machines were running out of money, which could cause difficulties if the problems persisted. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings”, he said. Remo Sineone, who runs Remo’s, a cafe and deli, said he had been having particular trouble taking contactless payments on Friday afternoon. “Short term, I can’t really see it being much of a problem to be honest,” he said.

