July 30th 2025
Original reporting by Disability News Service
A major technology failure at a care payments provider has left thousands of disabled people across the UK unable to pay their personal assistants or arrange vital support. The disruption highlights critical concerns around cyber resilience, data security and continuity planning in adult social care.
The outage began on 13 July and affected pre-paid cards managed by Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), a company used by over 100 local authorities to distribute direct payments. These cards are often used by disabled people to manage their care budgets, enabling them to pay support staff or agencies independently.
PFS is part of EML Payments, based in Brisbane, Australia. According to reporting by Disability News Service, the problems started when EML brought key processing services in-house in response to repeated failures by a third-party provider. The result was a severe disruption in access for many users, especially those who manage their own accounts.
At Digital Care Hub, we are deeply concerned about the wider implications for the sector. Payment systems may not always be considered part of the digital care infrastructure, but they are central to supporting independence and dignity for those receiving care. When these systems break down, the impact is immediate and harmful.
Some service users reported being unable to pay staff or book respite care, while others described being stranded abroad without access to funds. One individual said she had spent more than ten hours trying to access her account, and was left in tears after receiving no clear communication from the provider or council.
More than a payments failure, it is a failure in digital risk management. As the sector continues its journey toward greater digital adoption, it is crucial that systems are not only innovative but also robust, secure and governed by strong business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
We urge local authorities, providers and suppliers to reflect on the following:
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Is your digital infrastructure prepared for failure?
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Are your communication processes ready to support service users in the event of a disruption?
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Do your contracts include clear accountability for downtime and user impact?
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Are you regularly testing your continuity planning?
We hope this incident prompts stronger conversations across the sector about cyber security, ethical data handling and digital reliability.
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