Wirex, a fiat and crypto Payments platform, announced today that the company has decided to temporarily pause new UK-based customers on its popular app. The Fintech company serves nearly 3.5 million clients worldwide.
According to the official announcement, the pause is a temporary measure and follows constructive dialogue with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulatory authority of the United Kingdom. Wirex has decided to strengthen its 5AMLD (Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive) compliance protocols through the allocation of relevant resources.
Wirex has seen significant growth in the last two years. The fintech company raised over £3.7 million recently with participation from 7,000 investors.
Commenting on the latest announcement, Pavel Matveev, Co-Founder & CEO of Wirex, said: “The UK's '5AMLD' will help increase transparency in financial transactions. The FCA, in dialogue with us, made suggestions on how we can implement changes to our operational procedures, which we welcome and intend to follow. We believe London is the capital of fintech, and the FCA's recommendations will help us create a stable environment to operate in. We fully endorse the Khalifa Fintech Review findings of growing the UK-based fintech ecosystem and see ourselves as an integral partner in achieving this. UK-based users keen to register for our app and card will be invited to join our waiting list during this temporary pause.”
Cryptocurrency Boom
Wirex highlighted the growing public interest in cryptocurrency assets and mentioned that crypto-related transactions are surging. Founded in 2014 by Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, Wirex developed the world’s first crypto-enabled payment card in 2015. The fintech company is currently offering services to customers in 130 countries. Wirex became the first company to issue a Mastercard-enabled crypto card in 2020.
Several fintech companies and payment providers around the world are taking advantage of the recent boom in the cryptocurrency market. The users of digital currencies have been growing rapidly since the start of 2020. According to an estimate, there are more than 100 million cryptocurrency users worldwide.
