Wirex Risks Plunging into Card Outage in EEA as UAB PayrNet Loses License

The organization claimed there is a possibility of Wirex cards ceasing to work in the European Economic Area. However, it assured the safety of the funds held in the account. 

Wirex Cards Faces Imminent Outage

An email sent on June 23 by the organization to some clients revealed that the debit cards provided via Wirex, a crypto payment service, might cease functioning in the European Economic Area (EEA). The cancellation of UAB PayrNet’s license by Lithuania’s central bank was the reason behind the stoppage threat. 

This news follows an announcement by Cryptopay, Wirex’s competitor, that its cards might cease functioning in the region owing to a similar issue. Wirex is a multicurrency crypto payment application featuring debit cards and on-ramps and off-ramps. In 2020, it stated that it had more than 3 million users across Asia and Europe. 

Wirex Partner Ceases Operations Leaving Card Services Interrupted

Clients received an email claiming that the present card partner had acquired issues, thus resulting in EEA clients experiencing an interruption in the debit card service. Further, this interruption lacked an effect on one’s capability to access their funds via other Wirex means, for instance, IBAN service or through the cryptocurrency purchase and transfer on the Wirex application. 

Clients should take no action because of this information because the funds are contained in the application, and the card service issue does not affect them.

According to Wirex, UAB PayrNet was the reason behind the issue, not problems in Wirex’s system. 

Bank of Lithuania Issues Cease Operations Citing Violation of Governing Laws

An announcement dated June 22 by the Bank of Lithuania revealed that grave, systematic, and various violations of the legal acts were the reason behind the revocation of UBAB PayrNet’s electronic money institution permit. 

According to the central bank, it did not effectively implement Anti-money Laundering regulations aimed at averting the utilization of its services for illegal financing. The announcement by the bank ensured the safety of clients’ funds by revealing that they were protected in distinct dedicated accounts. 

UAB PayrNet Bound to Face Extreme Penalties

By the time of publication, attempts to contact UAB PayrNet via email failed to elicit response. 

A Google translation of information from the site Veslo Zinions showed that Stephenas Couttie, Cointelegraph’s director, stated that the actions by the central bank are inadequate for the violations carried out.

This indicates that UAB PayrNet is experiencing extreme penalties consistent with the infringements carried out. 

Wirex Cards Face Outage Despite Shifting Debit Services

An email by Wirex to its clients claimed that it is shifting to Transact Payments Malta Limited to deal with debit card services. Despite the plan being worked on, present issues have accelerated. In this case, the organization is working with Transact and PayrNet to ensure the system becomes functional within the shortest time possible. Meanwhile, clients within the EAA region might lack the ability to utilize their cards.

Over the past two years, Wirex has been improving its service offering. For instance, it collaborated with 1inch in August 2022 to offer wallet-founded token swaps to its clients. Further, it partnered with the Avalanche network in February 2022 to permit clients to deposit AVAX and use a debit can to spend it.

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