Payoneer Mastercard frozen by FCA which has made them suffer a heavy blow. The online payment service provider for global freelancers has been affected by the decision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom to freeze all the prepaid MasterCard issued by its subsidiary, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCSL) based in the UK.
According to the statement issued to Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard users across the world and received by its million freelancers in Nigeria, the online payment service provider said “As you may have seen on the news, Wirecard AG filed for insolvency. Your Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard® Card is issued by its subsidiary, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCSL) in the UK”.
Payoneer further explained that pending further action from the FCA Payoneer cardholders will not be able to withdraw funds on their Wirecard issued prepaid MasterCard. According to them, “Today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates WCSL, issued requirements on WCSL, freezing all prepaid card activity for the time being. We believe that cardholder funds are properly safeguarded and that the freeze will be temporary.”
“The FCA has communicated that they have taken these measures with the primary objective of protecting the interests and money of consumers who use Wirecard. Pending further actions from the FCA, you will temporarily be unable to withdraw the funds on your card, nor receive new payments onto your card,” Payoneer stated.
How Do Existing Users Recover Their Funds
However, this new development by Payoneer isn’t all doom and gloom, because palliatives measures have been put in place for those whose funds were in excess of the maximum balance that can be on a card. According to Payoneer, the funds can be withdrawn via other means like bank transfer as those were held by Payoneer and therefore not affected by the FCA action.
In addition, “We are actively working on other solutions for you, and your patience and understanding are highly appreciated. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we’ll update you with more information as soon as we have it,” Payoneer said.
Furthermore, funds that are already on the client’s virtual currency balance is safe and available for bank withdrawals and will not be frozen. Also, future payments from marketplaces, platforms, and clients will not be affected by the freeze.
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