Goodwill Stores Open for Business, Cash-Only Transactions in Place

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids announced Friday that several stores across the region have been forced to operate on a cash-only basis after a cyberattack disrupted their point-of-sale systems.

The nonprofit confirmed the attack in a public statement released Friday morning, saying the breach impacted network resources used to run local stores throughout Kent, Ionia, Montcalm, Mecosta, Isabella, and Ottawa counties.

Impact on Operations

All 18 Goodwill locations in the region have been affected by the disruption. The organization expects the cash-only policy to remain in place for several days as it works to rebuild its payment processing infrastructure.

"We wish to thank our customers and community partners for their patience and support while we work through this issue," Goodwill officials said in their statement.

Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids operates stores in Kent County, Ionia County, Montcalm County, Mecosta County, Isabella County, and a portion of Ottawa County.

No Credit Card Data at Risk

Importantly, Goodwill officials confirmed that the organization does not store credit card data on its systems, meaning customer payment information was not compromised during the incident.

"The attack took down the point-of-sale system used to process purchases. As a result, all Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids locations are temporarily accepting cash only," the organization explained.

Investigation Underway

Goodwill immediately notified law enforcement agencies and brought in outside cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident. The organization is working to determine the full scope of the breach and restore its systems safely.

A group of cybersecurity experts is collaborating with Goodwill to fix the issue, and local police agencies have been alerted to the situation.

Other Services Unaffected

Despite the disruption to store operations, Goodwill emphasized that its other services remain fully operational. Job training programs and support services for people with disabilities were not impacted by the cyberattack.

Separate Systems Protect Other Locations

Goodwill stressed that its stores operate on separate systems from other Goodwill organizations around the country. The incident has no effect on Goodwill locations or networks in other communities outside the 18 stores in the Grand Rapids area.

What Shoppers Need to Know

Until the computer system can be safely restored, Goodwill locations in the region will only be able to complete sales through cash transactions. The organization has not yet confirmed a timeline for when normal payment processing will resume.

"We expect to continue cash-only transactions for the next several days," officials said. "We wish to thank our customers and community partners for their patience and support while we work through this issue."

Goodwill stores remain open for business despite the payment processing disruption.