Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCS), the UK subsidiary of now collapsed German Fintech Wirecard AG, has officially decided to wind down its business as local rival Railsbank agreed to purchase card technology and associated assets, including existing client business and some employees.
The confirmation came with a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announcement and a meeting is also scheduled for today by the WCS program managers to present the proposal of the ordinary migration.
The UK subsidiary holds an FCA’s e-money license that allows it to process Payments and also issue prepaid cards. Its license was briefly suspended in June following the revelation of missing €1.9 billion from the books of its German parent.
“On 28 August 2020, Wirecard announced that it was intending to wind-down its FCA-regulated business,” the regulatory announcement stated. “The business will continue to trade while alternative arrangements are being made with its card providers. Customers should contact their card provider with any queries.”
Insolvency Kicked Off
Notably, the German parent also filed for insolvency, and that was initiated with the job loss of around 730 employees, Finance Magnates reported recently.
Meanwhile, Railsbank's interest in WCS’s business is already known as the fintech reportedly placed bids to buy its UK business. The migration of the WCS customers to Railsbank is anticipated to be completed by November this year.
Ideally, the WCS cardholders should be able to use the services before and after the migration.
“We are working closely with Wirecard throughout this process to ensure that its customers are treated fairly,” the FCA noted.
The regulator also warned the WCS customers against the possibility of fraudsters trying to take advantage of the situation and dupe them.
