val974•10d ago

My payment gateway just failed on a $12,000 closing

I was closing a deal on a house in Maplewood last Wednesday and my credit card reader just died mid-transaction. The buyer was literally holding the card out and I had to ask them to write a check like it was 1995. I always thought having a backup plan was overkill, but now I carry a paper invoice pad and a mobile square reader in my car at all times. Has anyone else had a payment system go kaput right when you needed it most?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_john10d ago

And honestly, I wonder if a lot of these failures happen because we get so focused on the tech looking smooth that we neglect the physical stuff like card readers getting dropped or cables getting loose. Your backup plan only works if you remember to charge that square reader once a month too.

angelamurphy10d ago

@charlieh74 got me wondering if we secretly choose unreliable tech just so we have an excuse to look like heroes when we save the deal.

charlieh7410d ago

Man, ain't that the truth. It's like the universe picks the worst possible moment to test your backup plans. I've noticed this same pattern everywhere - its like we all think we're bulletproof until the one time we're not, and then we scramble. Really makes you wonder why we don't just build in a little extra cushion from the start instead of learning the hard way every single time.