Visa said some card payments are currently failing across the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
The company said it is investigating the cause of the disruption.
The extent of the problem is not clear, but Visa customers across Europe have been complaining on Twitter that payments have been denied.
"We are investigating the cause and working as quickly as possible to resolve the situation," Visa said in a statement.
The Payment Systems Regulator told the BBC it understood the problem to be limited to Visa card payments only.
Responding to customer complaints on social media, HSBC said there were issues with processing Visa payments, which were intermittent, but were "slowly recovering".
First Bank told customers on Twitter there aren't "any timescales for resolution at the moment".
Makes sense hitting our economy, was out today. Saw plenty of people putting items back and walking out of shops. The only thing that would be a surprise is that they have done before the World Cup
Makes sense hitting our economy, was out today. Saw plenty of people putting items back and walking out of shops. The only thing that would be a surprise is that they have done before the World Cup
In light of the recent issues with visa card transactions, if you have a visa card we would recommend that you bring cash tomorrow
Musselburgh RacecourseIn light of the recent issues with visa card transactions, if you have a visa card we would recommend that you bring cash tomorrow
I was in the supermarket on the way home from work. They were only serving people with cash. Anyone with a visa card couldn't buy their stuff or were waiting for it to work!
I was in the supermarket on the way home from work. They were only serving people with cash. Anyone with a visa card couldn't buy their stuff or were waiting for it to work!
I drove back to Northants from Devon last night and of all the food outlets at Strensham Services on the M5, only McD's and Costa had even bothered to stay open! Saw people having issues paying for fuel too.
I drove back to Northants from Devon last night and of all the food outlets at Strensham Services on the M5, only McD's and Costa had even bothered to stay open! Saw people having issues paying for fuel too.