Problems with Multilink network corrected
THE pressure on the Multilink network, which caused hundreds of debit cards to decline over the weekend and up to yesterday, have been corrected.
Both shoppers and businesses in the Corporate Area said yesterday that they were no longer experiencing problems with the use of the debit card to purchase goods.
“We have not had a problem with the debit cards today,” said an employee at Record Plaza in Tropical Plaza on Constant Spring Road. It was a similar response at Super Plus Food Store at the Pavilion Mall on Eastwood Park Road. “Most of the cards are going through but once in a while one or two from Scotiabank Jamaica does not go through. It seems they are still working on their system,” a representative of the supermarket said.
On Saturday a number of debit card holders from the National Commercial Bank (NCB), RBTT Jamaica and ScotiaBank had their transactions declined although they had money in their accounts to cover the expenses. Stores such as Sharells and Central Pharmacy in Central Plaza, Record Plaza and Super Plus were among those which reported problems with the point-of-sale system.
There were also reports that some automated banking machines (ABM) malfunctioned Saturday because of the pressure on the Multilink network.
“I had to leave the things I had picked up in Sharells. When the card would not work I told them to put them up for me while I went to the ATM. I had an RBTT debit card so I went to that ATM to get some money but it was not working,” one distraught shopper told the Observer.
Marketing manager of RBTT, Bridgette Watson, however said that they had had no reports of their system malfunctioning on Saturday.
“From all indications the point-of-sale system operated as normal on Saturday. If there were any problems it must have been outside of our system,” said Watson.
In addition a manager at the NCB told the Observer that the problems experienced by another bank affected the Multilink system.
The problem, he said, slowed down the network and so it seemed that we were having problems too but that was not really the case.
