McDonald’s drive-thrus in Auckland were also understood to be backed up amid the payment disruption.
One person described the situation as “super embarrassing”.
Some customers reported receiving a “system limit declined” message, while others said online transfers were still working.
One Auckland customer said they were “scrummaging our car for loose coins”, while another had to borrow money from their 9-year-old child to pay for dinner.
“Imagine turning around and asking your 9yo for his spending money,” they wrote.
ASB initially said the issue was affecting its EFTPOS, Visa Debit and credit cards, with some transactions being declined. Its ATMs were also affected.
The bank later confirmed card payments and ATMs were back up and running after a technical issue caused some payments to be declined in error.
“We thank customers for their patience, and apologise for the concern and inconvenience caused,” an ASB spokesperson said.