Customers locked out of accounts at Pockit, Curve and other prepaid cards - MSE News

dr_adidas01

SaveMeMillions said:

It is affecting my Sainsbury's Multi Currency Cash Passport too.  Message on their web site says all cards "temporarily suspended".  They give a number to ring (same as the phone number on the card) - just done that and the person there had no idea what I was talking about, all he could do was confirm my account is still active. My card says it is issued by R Raphael and Sons, not Wirecard....  what is the connection with Wirecard? 

It’s because in the terms and conditions of the account it says this:

These terms and conditions form the agreement between us, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (Company Registration No. 07875693), 3rd Floor, Grainger Chambers, 3-5 Hood Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6JQ), and you. Our agreement with you starts when you get confirmation of your card purchase. We are authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue e-money (Firm Reference Number: 900051).

Hence why it’s affecting your Sainsburys cash passport card. 

ozaz

From the article:

It should be safe if the correct procedures were followed. Wirecard is authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. Under these regulations, it's required to ring-fence any money you deposit in a bank account that's separate from its own cash

But does the FCA (or some other body) actually check emoney firms are following correct procedures?
If so, how often do checks take place?

inspectorperez

jjames1985 said:

EssexExile said:

Is my money safe?
It should be – even if you're unable to access it at the moment. Wirecard is authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. Under these regulations, it’s required to ring-fence any money you deposit in a bank account that’s separate from its own.

But isn't the "ring fenced" money the money that's missing?

As I understand it, not exactly.

My understanding of it (and I may be wrong) is not that customers ringfenced money has vanished, but that they have overstated, to the tune of  €1.9bn, the amount of ringfenced money they have. This was presumably done with the intention of making the company look like they're doing a lot better/are a lot bigger than they actually are to draw in investors.  So the genuine customer deposits should still be safe, but getting access to them is going to be a problem for the time being.

I'm not so sure your analysis is right.

My understanding is that the customer ringfenced money should at all times in theory equal the customer liability balance. They are equal and opposites. My guess is that the ringfenced money is potentially €1.9Bn light when compared to the customer liability balance.

Dr_Crypto

I’ve never seen the appeal of these new payment methods. I’ll stick to a normal bank and know my money is safe. What is advantage of using these services? 

HarbingerOfWins

Dr_Crypto said:

I’ve never seen the appeal of these new payment methods. I’ll stick to a normal bank and know my money is safe. What is advantage of using these services? 

No credit checks or Government issued photo IDs required to open an account. Saves the hassle and cost of applying for a passport in order to prove your identity. (Applying for passports is on hold currently too unless you're traveling out of the country in the next few months).

eDicky

Dr_Crypto said:

I’ve never seen the appeal of these new payment methods. I’ll stick to a normal bank and know my money is safe. What is advantage of using these services? 

Virtually no advantages over the basic bank accounts now available to everyone, which don't have the fees of prepaid products.

Prepaid 'travel' cards are in general particularly bad value - many people are lulled into thinking that they need their foreign currency on a card such as Cash Passport, but in most cases using their regular bank debit or credit card overseas is cheaper overall. Plenty of fee-free 'travel' cards are available of course.

LittleVoice

HarbingerOfWins said:

Dr_Crypto said:

I’ve never seen the appeal of these new payment methods. I’ll stick to a normal bank and know my money is safe. What is advantage of using these services? 

No credit checks or Government issued photo IDs required to open an account. Saves the hassle and cost of applying for a passport in order to prove your identity

No need to have a Government-issued passport to prove identity to high street banks and building societies either..

isdo0

Fairfx: card account won't even show a balance and they hang up on you 7 mins into waiting "we have no advisors to answer your call"

HarbingerOfWins

LittleVoice said:

HarbingerOfWins said:

Dr_Crypto said:

I’ve never seen the appeal of these new payment methods. I’ll stick to a normal bank and know my money is safe. What is advantage of using these services? 

No credit checks or Government issued photo IDs required to open an account. Saves the hassle and cost of applying for a passport in order to prove your identity

No need to have a Government-issued passport to prove identity to high street banks and building societies either..

That's contrary to the information they provide on their websites. Can you provide an example of a high street bank not requiring either a passport or driver's license?

EssexExile

ozaz said:

From the article:

It should be safe if the correct procedures were followed. Wirecard is authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. Under these regulations, it's required to ring-fence any money you deposit in a bank account that's separate from its own cash

But does the FCA (or some other body) actually check emoney firms are following correct procedures?
If so, how often do checks take place?

BaFin is the regulator in Germany, it launched a criminal complaint about two Financial Times journalists who had the temerity to suggest that something wasn't right at Wirecard.
Then of course there is the auditor EY who said "there seems to be something wrong", which makes a change because for the last four years they've taken Wirecard's word for it that the right money was in the right place.