A card-payment interruption needs a provider-specific response. Before promising a workaround, find out which part of the sale has failed, which alternatives your provider supports and who can decide whether trading should continue.
A terminal, internet connection and payment service are different dependencies. The fact that one is working does not prove the complete transaction can be processed.
Trace one sale from beginning to end
Use a desk exercise rather than disrupting live transactions. Describe an ordinary sale, from taking the order to confirming payment and retaining the required records. List the equipment, connections, services and people needed at each stage.
Ready Scotland recommends keeping continuity planning simple and concentrating on the things a business cannot operate without. [1] One complete transaction is a manageable place to start.
| Stage | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Order | Can staff establish what the customer is buying? |
| Payment | Which approved methods are genuinely available? |
| Confirmation | How will staff know the transaction has succeeded? |
| Receipt | What process applies if normal systems are unavailable? |
| Records | How will the transaction be recorded and reconciled? |
| Recovery | Who checks the backlog when systems return? |
Ask about supported alternatives
Contact the payment provider before you need the answer. Ask what happens if the broadband connection fails, whether the device supports another connection and what limitations apply to any offline mode. Record the instructions and where to find the current version.
Do not assume a hotspot is compatible or that an offline transaction is guaranteed. Follow the provider’s instructions for your agreement and equipment. Never make handwritten card details part of an improvised fallback.
This planning exercise does not decide the technical or contractual rules for a payment service. The provider must answer those questions for the arrangement you actually use.
Give staff a clear decision owner
Write down who can approve a supported alternative, who communicates with customers and who can decide to pause sales. Include cover for the normal decision-maker.
A simple customer message can state the current limitation and the next update time. Avoid promising a restoration time you have not received from the responsible service. Clarity helps staff apply the same decision consistently.
Keep support information accessible
The NCSC advises identifying critical information and systems, maintaining useful external contacts and testing that backups can be restored. [2] Apply that approach to the small set of information needed during your exercise.
Keep the provider’s support details and the agreed procedure accessible if the usual workstation or cloud account is unavailable. Protect credentials and customer information; an emergency contact sheet should not become a list of passwords or payment data.
Test the explanation
Ask another authorised member of staff to explain the response using the written note. Can they identify the first contact, the permitted options and the point at which they need a decision? Record uncertainties instead of filling them with assumptions.
Use the free Business Downtime Test to check dependencies beyond payments, including suppliers, staff and access to essential information. READY/10 — Business / 72 Hours is the matching system for retaining the decisions. It is a planning aid; your provider’s current operating instructions remain the authority for payment handling.
RUN YOUR BUSINESS DOWNTIME TESTSources
Source review: 2 November 2026. READY/ Editorial. Independent planning aid; current official and provider instructions take priority.