The Great Belt Bridge is prepared for future breakdowns with a new payment system.

The Great Belt Bridge is prepared for future breakdowns with a new payment system

Now traffic on the bridge can continue even if payment cards cannot be approved during an outage.

If another breakdown occurs in the payment systems, the Great Belt Bridge is better prepared than before. (Archive photo) (Photo: © Claus Bech, Ritzau Scanpix)

By Ritzau ([email protected]) 5 minutes ago

A major Nets outage last summer prompted Sund & Bælt to test a new payment system so that motorists can cross the Great Belt Bridge even if payment cards fail.

Read also: Problems at Nets with card payments created long queues: At the Great Belt Bridge it ended in death threats (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/nedbrud-hos-nets-giver-store-problemer-med-kortbetalinger)

Subsequently, the new payment solution has been adapted and tested.

Sund & Bælt now informs Ritzau that the system is fully implemented.

During an outage, transactions with the new solution are registered and stored, and when the connection is restored, they are sent.

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Could test the system during another outage

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The purpose is to handle a future Nets outage in such a way that most customers do not even notice it is down, said Jens Villemoes, press chief at Sund & Bælt, in April.

Just over a month later, the company behind the Great Belt Bridge had the opportunity to test the payment system called "deferred authorization" during another Nets outage on May 21.

Sund & Bælt was able to announce the same day that it did not affect traffic on the bridge, as was the case during the outage the year before.

- During the roughly five hours that the outage lasted, there was full passage across the Great Belt, and no customers had to sit in a queue on their way across the bridge, it said in a press release.

A "small group" of customers experienced problems with the new payment method, which is why the bridge temporarily opened the barriers in individual lanes to avoid queues.

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Will open barriers during long queues in an outage

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In June, the system was tested in all lanes, where it worked without problems, Sund & Bælt informs Ritzau.

In the future, during outages in peak season, Sund & Bælt will open the barriers for motorists paying by card "when traffic forecasts exceed 15 minutes of queue during daytime hours," it said to Ritzau in April.

The outage in the summer of 2025 affected traffic on the Great Belt Bridge to such an extent that queues formed in both directions. Heavy holiday traffic and many foreign motorists created a large queue.

RITZAU

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