Greggs has confirmed the "majority" of its sites can now take card payments after being forced to shut stores across the UK after being hit by a huge IT glitch.
Earlier today, customers of the bakery chain reported store closures in major cities, including London, Cardiff and Newcastle.
Some Greggs stores had been able to remain open but were only accepting cash until the issue is resolved.
Around 10:38 am today, a spokesperson said: "We have now resolved the technical issue that affected tills in some of our shops earlier this morning.
"The majority of shops affected are now able to take card and cash payments again and we expect the issue to be fully resolved shortly. We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused to our customers.”
GB News visited a Greggs just after 9am, which was open and not experiencing card payment problems.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
Greggs has been forced to close some stores after an IT glitch
GETTY
This represents the latest major IT outage which has impacted a high street retailer in the last week.
Technical issues impacted Sainsbury's and Tesco stores on Saturday, while McDonald's locations ere affected by similar issues last Friday.
Taking to social media, commuters complained about the inconvenience of Greggs stores being closed or having to resort to “cash-only”.
One X, formerly Twitter, user wrote: “First McDonalds, then Tesco, then Sainsbury's - and now Greggs? What is happening to UK shops?”
Another added: “McDonalds, Tesco, Sainsbury's and now Greggs tills all get borked within a week?
“One or two … meh, three unlikely, but four major retailers? Surely that can't be a coincidence.”
Experts have previously warned of the dangers posed by IT errors on the ability of retailers to make a profit.
Speaking to The Times, Retail Economics’ chief executive Richard Lim highlighted the “fragility” of the retail sector amid a digital reliant economy.
He explained: “While the immediate consequences of wasted food, lost revenue, and a potential erosion of customer trust are a blow to the retailer, the situation highlights a larger concern around operational resilience.
“This incident underscores the fragility of growing dependence on digital infrastructure and the critical nature of investing in robust IT solutions.
“Digital disruption is a principal risk for most retailers, but ensuring contingency planning is in place is vital.”
The popular bakery chain currently operates more than 2,450 shops across the country.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Commuters are complaining about the Greggs closures on social media
PAWhile there are some reports of closures, many Greggs chains continue to be open despite the disruption on Wednesday morning.
Some stores have asked customers to place orders outside using the Greggs mobile app before food could be given to them.
Andrew Martin, founder of financial technology company SMEB, said the outages “shone a fresh light on the continued importance of cash in today’s society”.
He added: “It is the latest sign that the march to a completely cashless society is a bad idea."
