Cable theft blocks bank transactions in Hungary

Magyar Telekom has announced that 36 telephone cables were stolen overnight Sunday in Budapest's District IV, cutting 90% of the area's telephone and internet services and hindering inter-bank transactions across the whole city.

The bankcard clearing house transactions of Giro Bankkártya (GBC) were stopped for Banco Popolare, Citibank, Commerzbank, Ella Bank, Erste, Kinizsi Bank, K&H Bank, Magyar Cetelem, Sopron Bank, UniCredit Bank and Volksbank. However GBC clients KDB Bank and Takarékbank were able to continue their services, because they connect to the centre via satellite. Bankcard purchases and foreign transactions were stopped but ATMs continued to operate.

Magyar Telekom promised to restore the service by Monday night but full restoration of the network will take weeks.

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