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SINGAPORE (The Straits Times / ANN): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has ordered Wirecard entities here to cease their payment services in Singapore, it announced on Wednesday (September 30).
He added that these entities must return the funds of all clients before October 14.
“MAS has been monitoring the impact of the insolvency of Wirecard AG on Wirecard SG’s ability to continue providing payment services in Singapore,” he said.
“MAS has also worked closely with Wirecard SG in recent months to safeguard the interest of Wirecard SG customers. This includes requiring Wirecard SG to hold customer funds in Singapore banks and help customers switch providers. of alternative services “.
Wirecard, a German digital payments company, filed for bankruptcy in June after revealing that 1.9 billion euros ($ 3 billion) in cash, purportedly in Philippine bank accounts, did not exist.
Singapore is home to Wirecard’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Pasir Panjang.
Last year, police raided Wirecard’s office here after an employee alleged that a member of the company’s finance team incurred accounting violations.
MAS noted that Wirecard SG told the authority that it could not continue to provide payment processing services to a significant number of merchants.
Therefore, MAS assessed that it was in the public interest that Wirecard SG cease its payment services and promptly return all client funds.
“This provides the greatest certainty to clients about their appropriate course of action, including finding alternative service providers,” he said.
He added that credit card payments in businesses that use Wirecard SG services, as well as the use of prepaid cards issued by the company, would be affected.
Other forms of electronic payments such as Nets, PayNow and SGQR will continue to be available.
The MAS also encouraged customers who have not yet made alternative arrangements to do so promptly, as merchants look to other payment processing service providers.
Banks such as DBS, United Overseas Bank, and OCBC provide commercial acquisition services, in addition to other providers such as Nets.
Wirecard’s main business activities in Singapore were processing payments for merchants and helping companies issue prepaid cards. Entities under Wirecard are currently not licensed by MAS.
The Payment Services (Period-Specific Exemption) Regulations 2019, which were made pursuant to the Payment Services Act 2019, provide a grace period ranging from six months to one year for companies providing certain regulated payment services request the corresponding license.
During this grace period, such companies can provide the regulated payment service without a license and the MAS can issue instructions to them.
The Act regulates the provision of payment services in Singapore and entered into force on January 28 this year.
Payment services regulated by the Law include new ones, such as merchant acquisition services, and services that were already subject to the previous legislation, such as money exchange and cross-border money transfer services. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network
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