The UK's Financial Conduct Authority lifted restrictions on Wirecard today, eight days after imposing them. Thousands of customers can access their prepaid cards and digital wallets again. Several Bri
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority lifted restrictions on Wirecard today, eight days after imposing them. Thousands of customers can access their prepaid cards and digital wallets again. Several British FinTech startups resume services they halted when the freeze began.
On June 18, Ernst & Young auditors found a $2 billion shortfall in Wirecard's accounts. The German payments processor's share price collapsed. The FCA froze operations on June 26 to contain what E&Y called "an elaborate and sophisticated fraud, involving multiple parties around the world in different institutions, with a deliberate aim of deception."
The freeze blocked customer access and forced startups offline. The FCA confirmed today that Wirecard met conditions to resume business. "We have been working closely with Wirecard UK and other authorities over the last few days to ensure that the firm was able to meet certain conditions required to lift the restrictions we imposed on it. We are now in a position to allow Wirecard to resume operational activity," the regulator said.
Wirecard's UK operations don't qualify for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects consumers when regulated financial companies fail. That means customers here have no safety net.
About 70 companies dependent on Wirecard's infrastructure can restart services. Crypto.com and TenX, a Visa card platform, announced they would resume services in Europe. "We are glad to update you that the TenX Visa card has now been re-enabled along with Buy Bitcoin via credit/debit card feature," TenX said.
The FCA said it will monitor Wirecard closely: "We continue to work with the firm and are monitoring it closely to ensure it meets the conditions we have imposed and continues to protect consumers' money."
