Worldpay partially admits to Etsy outage

Payment processing platform Worldpay isn’t naming names, but appears to be owning up to playing a major role in the Etsy transactional outage.



Since July 1, what Etsy has described as a third-party payments processing issue has stalled thousands or even millions of online transactions. In a running thread on the online marketplace’s “Bugs” community forum, some users have been posting that their delayed orders have gone through, but others still complain of inability to process payments.



Multiple media outlets have reported that the problem is only occurring with payments processed by Worldpay, and that no trouble has arisen with PayPal purchases. In a brief statement dated July 7 on its website that is specifically identified as a response to Bloomberg coverage, Worldpay acknowledges a problem is taking place.



“Worldpay is aware of an isolated issue impacting one of our gateways, resulting in a delay to settlement for a small number of our customers,” says the statement. “We are working to resolve this issue urgently and we have proactively communicated with all affected customers.”



According to TechCrunch, the ongoing Worldpay outage may have so far affected up to 1 million Etsy transactions, with no clear timetable for a full resolution. In an additional statement to TechCrunch, Worldpay said it has “proactively communicated with all affected customers.” The statement did not mention Etsy by name.



Etsy will need to do some serious damage control with both buyers and sellers to avoid irreparable harm to its brand image. The retailer may also want to revisit its arrangement with Worldpay. Especially with significant competition from the similar Handmade at Amazon online arts and crafts marketplace, Etsy cannot afford issues with payment.