In July, new ID cards started to be issued with a different chip platform. In early September, ERR reported that the new cards might not function properly in stores or at government institutions.

Prisma advised customers with the new ID card to inform the cashier before paying at a regular checkout, so the card data could be entered manually.

The supermarket chain told customers it was working on a software update to enable the use of new ID cards in its stores.

Prisma's head of IT, Ruve Kreek, confirmed to ERR that the problem has still not been resolved.

"Currently, the software upgrade for the two new ID cards (issued on July 1 and November 14) is in its final phase. Testing is underway, and the plan is to implement the updated software by the end of November," he said.

Kreek explained that in Prisma stores, customer loyalty card data is read from the ID card via payment terminals. This means that with each new version of the ID card, additional software development is required, followed by testing, piloting, and then deployment across all stores and terminals.

"The development is carried out by our partner in Finland, and this multi-step process is time-consuming. This time, the notice period was short, which caused the process to take longer than we would have liked," he noted.

Even newer ID cards will be introduced starting next week. Kreek said work to support these cards is already underway, and no issues are expected with their use.

He could not say if the ongoing technical issues have affected customer behavior.

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