Flathead Valley grocery stores affiliated with URM Stores were told late Monday that customers can resume using debit and credit cards because a cyberattack against URM’s payment processing system has been blocked.

The Spokane-based grocery wholesaler, which processes most of the electronic payments for its member stores, said enhanced security measures aimed at blocking cyber attacks are now in place.

The news brought a collective sigh of relief from grocery store managers who oversaw a temporary switch to cash and checks during Thanksgiving week, one of the biggest grocery-buying times of the year.

“We’re thrilled to be back in business,” Kalispell Rosauers Manager Bob Burris said. “Our customers were amazingly patient and appreciative that Rosauers took the pre-emptive move on a very difficult week.”

Rosauers, Super 1 Foods and Bigfork Harvest Foods were among the local stores whose credit and debit card financial transactions were vulnerable to a data breach reported in recent weeks by customers of area banks and credit unions.

Affected stores put plastic

bags over their credit-card readers at grocery checkout stands and accepted cards only through a slower but safer dial-up connection. Several stores gave customers a discount for the inconvenience.

URM Chief Executive Officer Ray Sprinkle said in a press release the company will learn from the experience and “will continue to constantly look for ways to make our system more secure.

“We are incredibly grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding,” Sprinkle added.

The extra security won’t protect customers who used their cards at the stores prior to Nov. 25.

Officials stress that anyone who used a credit or debit card at a URM-affiliated store prior to that date should pay close attention to bank statements and monitor their accounts for unauthorized charges.

URM is working with a payment card security firm, its payment processor and the credit-card companies to identify cards that may have been affected by this attack.

“The investigation will now turn toward identifying what stores were affected and for how long,” Sprinkle said.

A dedicated call center remains open for customers who have questions: Call 877-237-7408.