Quick answer
When EFTPOS is down, first work out whether it's the terminal, your internet or your provider. Then keep trading: restart the terminal, switch to a hotspot, use offline mode if your provider supports it, or take PayID and Osko transfers, which run 24/7. Check the money has landed in your own banking app before handing over goods. On Monday, log your lost sales and put your claim to the provider in writing.
Key points
- Spend the first ten minutes on diagnosis: terminal, connection or provider-wide outage. They have different fixes.
- Offline mode is not automatic. Square, for example, supports it on selected hardware, and you carry the risk of any payment that later declines.
- PayID and Osko payments clear 24/7 on the New Payments Platform, but only trust a payment you can see in your own banking app, never a screenshot.
- Outage compensation has often depended on owners lodging their losses, so start the paper trail tonight.
- If the escalation stalls, AFCA treats a business with fewer than 100 employees as a small business for complaints about financial firms.
EFTPOS down on a busy night is a diagnosis problem first and a payment problem second. Work out whether the fault is the terminal, your internet or your provider, then keep trading with a restart, a hotspot, offline mode (if your provider supports it) or PayID and Osko transfers, which run 24/7. Confirm money in your own banking app before you hand anything over. Monday is for the paper trail and the claim.
It’s 9:40pm on a Saturday, the queue is out the door and the terminal says “unable to connect”. Here’s the order to do things in.
What do I check in the first ten minutes?
Don’t start by ringing the provider. Their support line may be closed, and the fault might be yours. Run through these in order, because each one rules something out:
- Read the screen. “No connection”, “declined” and “terminal error” are different problems. Note the exact wording and the time.
- Test the internet. Load a web page on your phone over Wi-Fi. If that fails, it’s your router or line, not the terminal.
- Power-cycle. Restart the router and the terminal, in that order, and wait two minutes.
- Try a hotspot. If your terminal supports Wi-Fi, connect it to your phone’s hotspot. Some terminals only use a SIM or ethernet, so check what yours does.
- Check the provider’s status page or social account. A widespread outage is often posted there before anything else. If neighbours’ machines are also down, it’s the network, and no amount of restarting will help.
- Check your other devices. If an app-based reader works but the countertop terminal doesn’t, you’ve found your fallback.
Write down the time you started and what you tried. You’ll want it on Monday.
How do I keep taking money while it’s down?
Pick the options your setup allows, and be honest with yourself about the risks of each.
Offline mode. Some systems store card payments and upload them when the connection returns. It isn’t universal and it isn’t risk-free. Square’s Australian help page, for example, lists selected hardware, says payments must be uploaded within 72 hours of the offline session starting (and recommends doing it within 24 hours), and says you’re responsible for any expired, declined or disputed payments. You don’t get a decline notice at the counter. Stored payments can also be lost if you sign out, switch modes or reset the device before uploading. If you use it, accept chip or tap rather than manual entry, and keep the amounts modest.
PayID and Osko. Payments over the New Payments Platform are designed to clear in seconds at any hour, every day. That’s why a PayID transfer works on Saturday night when a batched settlement doesn’t. Put your PayID on a printed sign or QR code at the counter. Our page on fast payments on the weekend explains what runs when.
Cash and a tab. For regulars you know, writing down a name and number and invoicing on Monday is a real option, as long as you’re comfortable with the credit risk.
The golden rule for transfers: open your own banking app and see the money. A customer’s screenshot, a “payment sent” email or a text from “the bank” is not proof. Fake payment confirmations are a known scam, and they thrive in a busy, noisy venue. Our guide to the fake PayID payment email shows what the tricks look like.
When is it the provider’s outage, and does that change anything?
Yes. A widespread outage means you’re not alone, and that matters for what you can claim later.
Australia has a history of these. In January 2021 a fault left Tyro merchants without working terminals for weeks, according to SmartCompany’s reporting; the provider later settled a merchant class action over it without admitting liability. Earlier outages, including a national Telstra EFTPOS disruption in 2018, prompted ombudsman guidance that affected small businesses may be entitled to compensation, with the onus on owners to raise it. The pattern is consistent: the money tends to go to the owners who documented their loss and asked.
So tonight, while it’s still happening:
- Screenshot the provider’s status page or any error message.
- Note when the outage began, and when (if) it ended.
- Keep a simple tally of sales you couldn’t complete. A notepad by the till will do.
- Take a quick photo of the terminal display showing the error.
What should I sort out on Monday?
Monday is when the provider’s phones open and the claim begins. In this order:
- Call the provider and get a reference number. Ask what caused it, how long it lasted and what they’re offering.
- Put your claim in writing. Include the dates and times, your normal takings for the same window (last four or five equivalent weekends from your statements), the sales you turned away, and any extra costs, such as a hotspot, casual hours spent chasing payments or a courier for a replacement.
- Ask about the terms. Some offers are a rebate on future fees, which may lock you into the same provider. Read it before you accept.
- Escalate if it stalls. Ask for the decision in writing with reasons, use the provider’s complaints process, and if you’re still stuck, look at external dispute resolution. AFCA treats a business with fewer than 100 employees as a small business for complaints about its members, and a telco-based fault may sit with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman instead. Check which one fits before lodging.
- Check your insurance. Some business policies include cover for interruption caused by supplier or utility failures. It’s worth a short call to your broker.
What if I need a new terminal, or the takings are short?
Two money problems tend to show up after an outage. The first is a hole in takings: a Saturday night that should have brought in a normal amount didn’t. The second is a replacement cost, if the terminal is dead or the provider locked you out.
Treat the first like any short week. Work out what has to go out before normal takings return: wages, rent, supplier debits. Our guide on a payroll that’s short covers what to do about the most urgent item, and the equipment breakdown page covers the replacement side. Message suppliers early; a call on Sunday is easier than a bounced debit on Tuesday.
If you’re also waiting on weekend takings to settle, remember the batch timing from our guide on EFTPOS settlement on weekends. An outage plus a Monday pile-up is where small gaps become big ones.
Short of cash after a bad weekend? See if you qualify. Enquiring takes about a minute and doesn’t involve a credit check.
A worked example: the bar that lost its Saturday
Illustrative example only. Not a real business.
A small bar in Newcastle trades Thursday to Sunday, with Saturday its biggest night. At 9:30pm the terminal drops out. The owner restarts it, tries a hotspot and finds the provider’s status page already showing a fault. A counter sign with the bar’s PayID goes up, and staff check each transfer in the banking app before pouring. About a third of the usual card sales go through that way. The rest walk out.
On Monday the owner puts together the log: outage times, the last five Saturdays’ takings from the bank statements, the estimated shortfall, and the notes from the night. They send it to the provider in writing and ask for a reference number. They also order a second, phone-based reader on a different provider, to keep in a drawer.
The shortfall isn’t enough to sink the bar, but the pay run is Tuesday and the rent is due Wednesday. A small short-term facility sized on the bar’s trading history covers it, and gets repaid as normal takings resume. The compensation, when it comes, is a bonus rather than the plan.
How do I stop this hurting next time?
You can’t prevent an outage. You can make sure one doesn’t stop you trading:
- Second way to take payments on a different provider and a different connection (a phone reader plus the main terminal).
- PayID sign or QR code that’s always up, not just on bad nights.
- Written outage routine at the till: the first five steps in this guide, taped where staff can see it.
- Buffer or standby facility. An outage becomes a crisis mostly when there’s no cash cushion. Setting something up before you need it is much easier than applying on the night, and our midnight borrowing decision guide helps you think it through calmly.
- Know your weekend rhythm. The weekend trading cash flow guide shows how to size a buffer from your own numbers.
When the cash gap is the real problem
A dead terminal is stressful, but the lasting damage is usually the gap it leaves: a short weekend, a delayed settlement, a replacement bill and a pay run that doesn’t move. That’s the part we can help with.
We work with business owners who trade nights and weekends, and we know a bad Saturday doesn’t pause Monday’s wages. If you need to cover the shortfall or fund a replacement, the form is open tonight and takes about 60 seconds. There’s no credit check when you enquire, so your credit file isn’t touched just for asking. Your details go to one team, not a pile of lenders, so there’s no flood of calls on Monday. A real person reads your situation and phones you on the next business day.
Please fill the form in accurately, with roughly what you take in a normal week, what the outage cost you and what’s due and when. That way we can match the right option the first time.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first when my EFTPOS machine stops working?
Check whether it's just your terminal or a wider problem. Look at the screen for an error, test your internet on a phone, and check your provider's status page or social account. Restart the terminal and router, then try a mobile hotspot. If other businesses nearby are affected too, it's likely the provider or network.
Can I still take card payments if the internet is down?
Sometimes. Some terminals and apps have an offline mode that stores payments and uploads them later. Square, for instance, supports it on selected hardware and gives a limited upload window, but you wear the risk if a stored payment is declined or disputed. Ask your provider whether your terminal supports it before you need it.
Is it safe to accept a PayID transfer when the card machine is down?
Yes, if you check the right thing. Open your own banking app and confirm the money is in the account. Never rely on a screenshot, an email or a text saying the payment was made. PayID doesn't email you or ask you to pay a fee to receive money.
Can I claim compensation if my EFTPOS provider has an outage?
It's worth asking. Past outages have led to compensation, but often only where owners came forward with their losses. Keep a record of the outage times, your normal takings for the same period, the sales you turned away and every call or message to the provider, then put the claim in writing.
What if the provider rejects my claim?
Ask for the decision in writing with reasons, then use the provider's internal complaints process. If that doesn't resolve it, AFCA can consider complaints from small businesses about financial firms, and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman handles telco-related faults. Check which applies to your situation.
How do I cover the cash gap if takings are short or I need a new terminal?
Start by working out the shortfall against what's due this week: wages, rent and supplier payments. For a gap that a few days of normal trade won't close, a line of credit or an unsecured option sized on your turnover can bridge it. A specialist can talk through whether it fits.
Should I keep a backup way to take payments?
Yes. A second terminal or phone-based reader on a different provider, plus a printed PayID or QR code at the counter, means one outage doesn't stop trade. Set it up in daylight, not during a rush.