FCA stops Wirecard from carrying out regulated business in the UK, hitting Curve and other clients

City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority today suspended scandal-struck Wirecard’s permission to carry out regulated business in the UK, potentially leaving thousands of people unable to access their cash.

Card companies such as Curve which use Wirecard’s services were told this morning of the FCA’s actions, meaning users can not transfer money through their services.

Curve, a fast growing start-up that claims to have more than 1.3 million customers, had to issue a message to users to say their cards had been suspended.

The message said: “This has happened because the FCA has this morning suspended its permission for Wirecard Card Solutions (the company who currently issues Curve Cards) to operate, without prior notice.”

Other companies are likely to be in the same position as Curve, scrambling to find new card issuers to take Wirecard’s place.

Curve is a banking platform that allows customers to consolidate all their bank cards into one card and app and is backed by Betair co-founder Ed Wray among others.

It said it was now trying to find a new provider to take Wirecard's place.

The FCA stopped Wirecard’s UK subsidiary carrying out regulated activities after the German owner filed for insolvency on Thursday.

Payment processing sources said the suspension could affect merchants and other fintechs who used Wirecard’s services exclusively to handle card issuance or payments.

“You’re looking at lots of small companies not being able to operate until they get a new payment provider,” said one industry expert.

Wirecard had a reputation in the industry for being willing to take on board customers that rivals such as Worldpay would be wary of. However, its client list included many blue chip operators, although they are likely to have multiple providers.