Starbucks Suffers Payment System Outage

A payment system outage at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks locations caused the stores to turn into cash-only businesses, with some even handing out free coffee to customers.

According to Reuters, the company blamed an overnight software update for knocking some cash registers offline. Starbucks spokeswoman Madeleine Löwenborg-Frick said the outage was unrelated to the WannaCry ransomware attack that infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide.

“Our systems have not been compromised by any third party,” she said in an email, adding that the company hoped to have all stores back online “shortly.”

TechCrunch reported some locations were giving out free coffee to make up for the inconvenience to customers.

“As part of our normal course of business, overnight we worked to install a technology update to our store registers in the U.S. and Canada,” read a statement from the company. “A limited number of locations remain offline, and we are working swiftly to resume full operations in each of these stores. The stores will remain open during this time, and, as always, our partners are prepared to take care of our customers to ensure they have the best experience possible.”