Millions of UK Customers bank accounts to be frozen as the FCA orders

Millions of UK Customers bank accounts to be frozen as the FCA orders Wirecard’s UK operations to cease activities

If you bank with Revolut, Pockit, Soldo, Anna Money, Holvi and Curve: you happen to have been using the services of a now defunct payments provider called Wirecard. It would be wise to check the statements below for more information.

For more context on the fall of Wirecard, see our articles from Wednesday ‘When short sellers become whistleblowers: the case of Wirecard’ and last Friday ‘Wirecard shares slump over missing €1.9BN’. The ex-CEO of Wirecard has since quit and was subsequently arrested by German police.

Anna Money

“We are urgently recommending you withdraw your money from your ANNA account as soon as possible. This is due to the FCA placing requirements on our UK payment provider.”

Pockit

“Pockit accounts will remain inaccessible for a short period of time. We are working with the FCA to reactivate all accounts as quickly as we can.”

Revolut

“Revolut used Wirecard only as an acquirer in certain locations, enabling customer card ‘top-ups’. We were already in the process of a phased migration from Wirecard to diversify our suppliers since late 2019. When we learned of Wirecard’s problems, we migrated the remaining customers to alternative providers worldwide to avoid any potential service disruption.”

Curve

“All Curve transaction and money transfer services have now been suspended with immediate effect. In April, Curve announced we would bring more processes in house such as card issuing and e-money and move away from a reliance on Wirecard. This disruption is expected to last for a limited time only and we are focussed on completing this transition as quickly as possible.”

Holvi

“Please be assured that all Holvi customer accounts and funds remain safe, secure and accessible at all times. This is because all Holvi customer funds are segregated and held in separate accounts in European banks in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the UK and France. No customer funds are held by Wirecard AG. Your money and your Holvi account are safe.”

Felix Blumer is an ex-lawyer and now Consultant at Rutherford, the executive specialists in legal and compliance recruitment.

Email: felix@rutherfordsearch.com