P.E.I. businesses grapple with widespread Rogers outage

Joe Sawler figured it was going to be a long day at work when he realized at 7 a.m. that the debit machine at his Charlottetown automotive shop wasn't working.

Turns out it wasn't just him.

The dreaded beeps of rejected debit transactions could be heard in businesses across Canada on Friday, due to a massive outage at the Rogers network.

The outage began some time early Friday morning, and as of 8 p.m. AT had not been fixed — and the company didn't have an esimate as to when a fix might be expected.

"It really brings to light how fragile our system is and how we are really reliant on technology," said Sawler, owner of JustJoes Automotive Repair.

It meant most customers had to pay with good old-fashioned cash, a credit card, or handshake and a promise.

'It does hurt'

"At this point we're kind of making a gamble whether it's, we turn the customer away or we do the work and hope to get paid when the system's back," Sawler said.

The outage had a big impact for businesses such as the Chip Shack on the Charlottetown waterfront.

"As a small business I would prefer debit of course because the fees are so low," said owner Caron Prins. "It is too bad the banks in Canada, the fees are so large for credit card transactions. It does hurt small businesses."

There were signs up at many businesses saying cash or credit card only. Some, like 5th Wave Espresso and Tea Bar in Charlottetown, found other ways to receive payment.

"We're pretty fortunate that we have a POS system that can send a payment link to our customers so we have had several this morning just take the air drop link or the email and pay it digitally online," said owner Laura Noel.

Some cities across the country reported issues with 911 services, but both Summerside and Charlottetown police told CBC News their emergency lines were still operational.

At the Confederation Bridge — which connects the Island to the mainland over the Northumberland Strait — only cash and credit were being accepted Friday.

Government services including already bottlenecked passport offices, Service Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency were also affected.

'It's scary how quickly things can come down'

The debit disruption came at a time when P.E.I. was seeing a huge influx of people arriving for the tourist season. Gordon and Peggy Barton came from Truro for the Cavendish Beach Music Festival this weekend. While the outage was a bit of a nuisance, Gordon seemed to be taking it in stride.

"When I left Nova Scotia I took some cash and put it in my bank machine so I'd have it for spending cash over here, now I can't spend it ... But that's maybe not a bad thing."

Debit machines were still down by the end of the Sawler's business day Friday. But he realizes it's all part of doing business in the technological age. 

"I mean, I don't think a cash-only system is the answer … but it's scary how quickly things can come down."