Payoneer CEO Scot Galit has released a video message talking Wirecard and the impact Payoneer customers have been facing resulting from funds being frozen temporarily.
Now to understand the issue, you should know that Payoneer uses Wirecard UK as the primary issuer of its MasterCards and since the parent company of Wirecard UK which is Wirecard AG in Germany was involved in a massive fraud they filed for insolvency so that they can continue with their business and don’t have to pay creditors right away.
Now Wirecard UK is separately regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and when they found out that Wirecard AG had applied for insolvency, the FCA instructed Wirecard AG to freeze all funds in order to protect customers so that those funds do not get caught up in the insolvency proceedings.
According to the Payoneer CEO Scott Galit, the company is working non-stop with Wirecard UK and the FCA to get business running back to normal. Based on the video statement, Payoneer has been reassured that the cardholder funds have been safeguarded and they are on their way back to the UK.
For now, customer funds in their Payoneer cards are frozen however, future payments will not be affected and can be withdrawn to bank accounts. It is to be noted that funds over the card limit are held by Payoneer and those are still accessible and can also be transferred to linked bank accounts.
Read more: Payoneer transactions frozen after Wirecard UK scandal.