Wirecard Collapse - Thousands Prepaidcard users Cannot Access A/Cs or Benefits
In the News
Hope this hasn’t affected any of you LDers. No time is good, but this has to be one of the worse times for this to happen.
Wirecard collapse sees ‘thousands’ of vulnerable UK customers unable to access bank accounts or benefits. Many companies that provide accounts in the UK relied on technology provided by the German company, which filed for bankruptcy last week.
Hundreds of thousands of Pockit, Curve, FairFX and other prepaid card users were locked out of their accounts this weekend, including thousands of vulnerable people.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has halted Wirecard Card Solutions’ UK licence after its German parent company filed for insolvency last week.
The move means that many firms which use Wirecard’s clearing service have also not been able to process payments, leaving thousands of customers unable to access cash held in accounts that use the German company’s technology.
Most funds held in these accounts are either ring-fenced, insured or otherwise protected, meaning that most customers will get their money back. But no timescale has been suggested for when many will once again have access to their cash.
Thanks for update Golfforall, but states ‘Customers should now, or very shortly, be able to use their cards as usual’, so some still without access. Terrible that this was allowed to happen, as thought protections were in place
From what I read, small businesses were the most affected. I don't believe that vulnerable people used these types of accounts like Pockit and Curve.
bzortead, I had no idea until I read this that so many relied on these types of a/c’s for benefit payments as they do not qualify for a bank account.
From the link above - Chris Murphy, from Birmingham, and his partner are the primary carers for two children with autism. He told i that being unable to access his Pockit account has “really messed up everything”
He added: “My partner puts all her benefits for herself and her children in the account. There’s probably just over £2,000 in there that we need and now we can’t get any money out for clothes and food.
“Pockit keeps saying that until they get it sorted the account has been frozen. They also said that they are insured by Barclays – if they are, then why can’t we gain access to our money?”
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