In an era dominated by digital payments, the necessity of carrying cash remains crucial. A widespread cyber outage impacted numerous sectors, leaving many residents unable to shop, refuel, or pay bills. Awais Toor, a resident of Al Nahda in Sharjah and an engineer at a consultancy firm, experienced this firsthand during his Friday morning shopping trip. His debit card was repeatedly declined at the counter, leading him to initially suspect a hack. Upon checking his banking app, he found his account was secure. When he asked the grocer to try another bank's card, it too failed. Toor had to withdraw cash from an operational ATM to complete his purchase. He later learned about a technical glitch in the CrowdStrike software update.
Nida Huq, a Pakistani national living in Abu Hail, encountered a similar predicament at a petrol station while dropping her son off at summer camp. Noticing her fuel was low, she stopped to refuel, only to find the station accepted cash only. With only Dh70 in cash against a Dh88 charge, she had to return an hour later to settle the remaining amount. This incident underscored the importance of traditional payment methods in a digital age.
Mohammed AbuHamid, a marketing executive at Gift4me, faced an awkward situation at a restaurant in Al Nahda. After a meal with colleagues, they discovered the POS machines were down. With only Dh50 among them for an Dh140 bill, they had to leave without settling the account, returning later to pay. This experience highlighted the vulnerability of relying solely on digital transactions.
