Plastic troubles

A microchip in the cards was unable to recognize the year 2010 and subsequently treated the cards as invalid, much resembling the Y2K software problem a decade ago.

Retail groups said they reprogrammed all the point-of-sale terminals in Germany to ignore the defect and access other security features on the cards. Automated teller machines at banks have already been altered.

"The problem was relatively limited," said a spokesman for the German retailers' federation HDE.

Many customers had to pay in cash rather than with cards.

The banks are now trying to find a way to reprogram the chips one by one when owners insert them into bank machines.

Problems abroad

Although the cards appear to be working within Germany, there are still issues for those trying to access their money in other countries, including those within the eurozone.

"Whoever wants to withdraw their money or shop abroad with the EC-cards must deal with the same problems as before," German consumer protection minister Ilse Aigner wrote in a guest article for the German daily Bild.

She added that account holders should check with their banks before leaving the country.

The blame for the card malfunctions has been placed on the French manufacturer of the cards, Gemalto. In Paris, the CGT trade union said the company had overworked the staff at its factory in Filderstadt, Germany. It also claimed that staff at a software development center near Marseille had also been told to cut costs.

mk/dpa/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Toma Tasovac