Crypto.com will refund users who had funds on the now banished MCO Visa debit cards following regulatory action from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
According to a press release published by the FCA, debit card issuer Wirecard is currently under investigation in Germany over law enforcement interest and insolvency proceedings.
As a result, any companies that use Wirecard’s services are to cease operations in the UK, with a series of official announcements to customers also being required.
This has a direct impact on Crypto.com as they use Wirecard’s services, which means all card transactions and top-ups are to stop immediately.
Our statement regarding MCO Visa Cards issued by Wirecard UK for Europe – https://t.co/mABCcBbNGK
— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) June 26, 2020
Crypto.com issued a statement that read: “Our customer funds are safe. Our team is working on processing credits to the crypto wallets equivalent to the fiat balances held on the cards. We expect this to be completed within 48 hours.
“Separately, we’re working on transferring the card program to a new provider, so that we can resume the issuing of cards in the UK and Europe and allow existing and new customers to benefit from our card program again.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused you.”
This is one of the first signs that the FCA are beginning to flex its regulatory muscles in order to clamp down on firms operating in the UK, which ties into the recent application deadline at the end of this month.
Cryptocurrency firms operating in the UK or serving UK clients must submit an application to become licensed by the FCA, with decisions being made in January, 2021.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.