Leap Year glitch shuts down gas pumps across New Zealand

March 1 (UPI) -- Dozens of unattended gas pumps across New Zealand were out of service for several hours due to a Leap Year-related software issue.

Gas station chains including Allied Petroleum, Gull, Z and Waitomo reported they could not process card payments on Thursday because their computer systems were not programmed to accept Feb. 29 as a valid date.

"Motorists have been turning up and unable to get fuel," Julien Leys, a spokesman for Gull New Zealand, told The New York Times. "It's been incredibly frustrating for our customers."

Lay said Gull stations, as well as all New Zealand gas stations with unattended pumps, use technology provider Invenco. Payments were still able to be processed at gas stations where employees were present, but some stations said customers had to go inside rather than paying at the pump.

John Scott, the chief executive of Invenco, said the company operates pumps in over 100 countries, but only New Zealand was affected by the issue.

"We clearly know about leap years," Scott said. "We've been dealing with them for the last 20 to 30 years."

He said the issue resulted from a specific software update from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the system was back online around 7 p.m. Thursday.