Following the collapse of Wirecard in June, the German FinTech giant is now officially winding down its regulated services in the UK.
Wirecard announced on Friday August 28 about its intentions to close up its e-money and payment services in Britain, which are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Wirecard will continue to trade while the process is ongoing. Alternative arrangements are being made with its card providers, ensuring that existing customers and products are transferred to another provider as appropriate.
“Customers should contact their card provider with any queries,” the FCA said in a statement. “We are working closely with Wirecard throughout this process to ensure that its customers are treated fairly.”
Railsbank has reportedly agreed to buy Wirecard UK in a deal expected to close in November. However, few details about the deal have been made public as of yet.
Wirecard filed for insolvency in June after $2.1bn of its balance sheets were revealed to have never existed in the first place.
Authorities are now investigating if the black hole in the former FinTech unicorn’s finances is part of worldwide multi-billion fraud.
Since the collapse of the company in June, several members of the company’s executive leadership have either been arrested or are being sought after by international authorities.
Wirecard’s implosion has also motivated calls for regulators to do more to scrutinise FinTech companies, given that the financial irregularities in the company’s balance sheet seemingly slipped through their fingers for years.
Several law firms have also mounted class action lawsuits against Wirecard as well as the regulator BaFin on behalf of investors.
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