The Racal machines supplied by HSBC can be made to work by pressing a combination of numbers on the keypad, but most retailers do not know the combination, Beck said. We think it's typically small businesses. The problem is that the swipe machines are polled periodically by central computers for four-day diagnostic checks. During those checks, the date change from 1999 to 2000 is not recognized, said West, the Racal spokesman. I wouldn't describe it as a Y2K bug, but it's very difficult trying to convince someone that it isn't.
Transactions are all entirely secure and statements are unaffected.
So customer confidence should not be dented by this at all. Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy applicable to this site.