Visa Shuts Down Prepaid Cryptocurrency Cards
The decision has taken users by surprise.
Electronic payments company Visa has closed prepaid cryptocurrency cards, affecting companies including BitPay, Cryptopay, Bitwala, Wirex and TenX.
These cryptocurrency cards were issued by the Gibraltar-based card provider WaveCrest. Visa issued a statement regarding the shutdown, “[We] recently terminated a single prepaid card issuer in Europe from our network for violating Visa’s operating regulations. That issuer, WaveCrest, was required to close its Visa card products, some of which were linked to cryptocurrency wallets.”
Users were able to transfer cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to prepaid crytocurrency cards. They were then used to buy goods and services or to perform routine transactions. Through an email, WaveCrest informed CNBC that it has closed all Visa cards immediately.
TenX was the first company to make the announcement on Twitter.
#TenX advisory: Following an urgent communication from our card issuer WaveCrest, payments on the TenX card will be unavailable. We are working on a solution and will let you know further details as soon as we have them. We apologise for the inconvenience.
— TenX (@tenxwallet) January 5, 2018
BitPay informed its users of the sudden decision by releasing an official statement.
The BitPay Card is no longer available from our European card issuer Wave Crest Holdings, Ltd. Learn more and see what's next for the international BitPay Card: https://t.co/lI9wFpyPWx NOTE: BitPay Card users in the United States are unaffected by this change. pic.twitter.com/uns1GVcgWJ
— BitPay (@BitPay) January 5, 2018
Bitwala announced that its team was working on resolving the situation.
Following an announcement from our card issuer on behalf of Visa Europe, Bitwala cards are taken out of operation starting today. Our team is holding an emergency meeting to resolve the issue with the card holders best interest in mind and will make an update shortly.
— Bitwala (@bitwala) January 5, 2018
Cryptopay followed suit with a similar statement.
Unfortunately, our card issuer instructed us to cease all Cryptopay prepaid cards starting January 5th, 2018. All funds stored on cards are safe and will be returned to your Cryptopay accounts ASAP. Sorry for all the inconvenience caused, we’re working on the solution!
— Cryptopay (@cryptopay) January 5, 2018
Wirex apologized for the inconvenience, but promised users that new cards would be available in the future as they were working with a new card provider.
Following an urgent communication from our card issuer WaveCrest, VISA card operations are no longer available. We have a new card issuer, with new cards available very soon. Customer funds will be transferred back from prepaid VISA accounts. (1/2)
— Wirex (@wirexapp) January 5, 2018
We are working on a more short term solution and will let you know further details as soon as we have them. More information available on our blog. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. (2/2)
— Wirex (@wirexapp) January 5, 2018
Users took to social media to express their anger towards Visa. Many claimed that the company was intentionally attacking the cryptoworld and cryptocurrencies. Visa clarified the situation by stating, “Our actions were not specific to cryptocurrency but rather reflect the issuers’ failure to comply with Visa’s policies, that we put in place to ensure the safety and integrity of our payment system.”