• Wirex is a crypto payment app that provides debit cards to customers in the European Economic Area (EEA).
• The company has announced that its cards may stop working in the EEA due to a licensing issue with UAB PayrNet, its card provider.
• Funds held in customer accounts are safe and no action needs to be taken by customers.
Wirex Cards May Stop Working in EEA
Wirex is a multi-currency crypto payment app that offers users fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, as well as debit cards. On June 23, the company sent an email to some of its customers warning them that their cards may stop functioning in the European Economic Area (EEA) due to Lithuania’s central bank revoking UAB PayrNet’s license. This news comes after Wirex’s competitor, Cryptopay, also faced similar issues.
UAB PayrNet License Revoked
The Bank of Lithuania announced on June 22 that it was revoking UAB PayrNet’s electronic money institution license for “serious, systematic and multiple violations of legal acts.” These included failing to properly administer Anti-Money Laundering provisions which would prevent its services from being used for illicit financing. Despite this, the Bank assured customers that their funds were safe and held in separate dedicated accounts.
Funds Held In Accounts Are Safe
Wirex stated that despite the potential card outage there is no impact on customer’s ability to access funds through any other means such as their IBAN service or through transfer and purchase of cryptocurrency on the Wirex app. Furthermore, they reassured customers that funds are held safely within their account and do not need any action taken by them at this time.
Cointelegraph Contact Attempt Unsuccessful
Cointelegraph attempted to contact UAB Paynet through email but did not receive a response by the time of publication. However, Stephenas Couttie – director at UAB Paynet – reportedly claimed that the central bank’s actions were “not adequate for the violations committed”.
Conclusion
Despite concerns over card usage in Europe due to licensing issues with UAB Paynet, Wirex have reassured customers that their funds are held securely within their accounts and can still be accessed via other methods such as transfers or IBAN services. Cointelegraph will continue attempts to contact UAB Paynet for further comment but have been unsuccessful so far