Aussies issue warning after Telstra outage leaves thousands unable to pay: 'Cash is king'

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:26, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 01:51, 9 July 2026 Australians have taken to social media to urge people not to rely on digital payments after the nationwide Telstra outage left many unable to buy everyday essentials. The major outage on Wednesday cut off millions of customers from phone calls, mobile data and electronic payments. Cafes, taxis and retailers were hit by EFTPOS failures, forcing some businesses to close, while some ATMs also stopped working. 'This morning I was unable to get fuel or a haircut... both minor in the grand scheme of things and both definitely first-world problems,' one person wrote. 'It does highlight a genuine issue with going cashless. That any power our data outage really can cause major issues.' The widespread use of smartphones and tablets for transactions now means about 82 per cent of payments in Australia are made without cash, as the country moves towards a cashless society. However, the Telstra outage has raised concerns about the reliability of electronic payments. Another wrote: 'I try and always have around $300 cash on me and it has helped me in power outages several times. Many small businesses will give you a discount if you pay cash.' A third added: 'Always have cash... both on my person, stashed at home and in my vehicle. Reliance on a single system is a sure way to get caught with one's pants down.' 'Cash is king,' another said.   The outage began at about 4.30am on Wednesday after a software issue affected nodes responsible for keeping time across Telstra's mobile network. Australians have taken to social media to urge people not to rely solely on digital payments after the nationwide Telstra outage left many unable to buy everyday essentials The widespread use of smartphones and tablets for transactions now means about 82 per cent of payments in Australia are made without cash, as the country moves towards a cashless society The disruption left some customers unable to make calls or access mobile data, and also impacted EFTPOS terminals and business services. On Thursday, Communications Minister Annika Wells said the Australian Communications and Media Authority had started preliminary investigations into the outage. She said she was notified about the network problems at about 7am, more than two hours after Telstra first identified the issue. 'I think I would have liked to have heard earlier,' Wells told ABC radio. 'It would seem there was some sort of delay that will form part of the investigation.' Last year, Wells increased penalties for telcos that breach their Triple Zero obligations to $30 million. Asked whether individuals within Telstra should face punishment, Wells said her priority was restoring services. 'And then investigation can take foot, and we can learn out of that, and penalties can be administered, justice can be served,' she said. Experts say Wednesday's outage demonstrates how reliant critical infrastructure is on just a few telecommunications companies. It is the third major nationwide outage in less than a year for the $56 billion company, which provides about 25 million Australian mobile services.