By not recognizing leap years, the program leaves gas stations without fuel in New Zealand

A notice at a New Zealand gas station warns of a payment service failure across the country – Photograph: RYLAND JAMES / AFP

Several gas stations stopped working on February 29 in New Zealand due to a “glitch” in the payment software that did not recognize the extra day of a leap year.

Allied Fuel, Gull, Z Energy and BP companies operating in the country confirmed that fuel pumps that operate with a self-service system, without the presence of an employee, have stopped working due to problems in the payment system.

John Scott, an executive at Ivenco Group, which provides the payment software, confirmed that the system crashed due to a failure caused by a leap year.

According to Scott, the problem has been resolved and fuel pumps in New Zealand are now operating normally. The company said it would investigate what happened.

Due to New Zealand's proximity to the international date line, it is one of the first countries to introduce a new day – and therefore one of the first to experience any problems caused by February 29, which occurs every four years.