Payoneer: Prepaid Card Has Been Frozen Temporarily

[akamit]

I hope that regular users already know about this issue.
This post is for irregular users who might have not got informed about the issue.


The Email Copy,

As you may have seen on the news, Wirecard AG filed for insolvency on Thursday. Your Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard® Card is issued by its subsidiary, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCSL) in the UK. Today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates WCSL, issued requirements on WCSL, freezing all prepaid card activity for the time being. We believe that cardholder funds are properly safeguarded and that the freeze will be temporary.

What does this mean?
The FCA has communicated that they have taken these measures with the primary objective of protecting the interests and money of Wirecard customers. Pending further actions from the FCA, you will temporarily be unable to withdraw the funds on your card, nor receive new payments onto your card.

Any funds that are in excess of the maximum balance of your card are held by Payoneer and are therefore not impacted by the FCA’s temporary freeze.

How can I get paid during this time?
Any future payments that you receive from marketplaces, platforms and clients will not be affected by the freeze. You can sign in to view your funds, and you can now add your bank account for withdrawal of your future incoming payments.

We are actively working on offering additional options for you and your patience and understanding are highly appreciated. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we’ll update you with more information as soon as we have it.

Wondering about this term though, and what really happened...

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[adzino]

-snip-


Wondering about this term though, and what really happened...

The terms and conditions of the site. Payoneer can now use this term to protect themselves as everyone agreed to the conditions when signing up an account over there. The term clearly says that if their card provider faces insolvency, your funds can't be used. There are also chances that you will never be able to claim your money any more when bankruptcy gets declared.
The same thing happens when a bank fails, though a part of your funds are always insured.
Looks like various Crypto debit Cards were also issued by wirecards. The funds over there got frozen too. The company is short around 1.9 billion and was involved in a fraud to hide assets.

[RapTarX]

Wirecard former CEO Markus brown has been arrested in Germany due to a missing amount of $2 billion. Due to a part of investigation of that issue, Payoneer has decided to freeze accounts temporary.

https://www.gurualpha.com/payoneer-freezes-all-prepaid-cards-worldwide-due-to-2-billion-scandal/

[khaled0111]

I just heard about this from a friend. He told me that he received two emails from Payoneer. The first email informing him about freezing his prepaid card and the second assuring that the problem will get resolved soon.
I believe Payoneer customers should not panic as it appears restricting WCSLs activities and freezing prepaid card is temporary and was taken as a preventive measure to protect card holders in first place.
Let's just hope investigations will not take too long and the freeze will be lifted soon.

[coupable]

That's a disaster for many people worldwide who have no options to receive funds but to use Payoneer. I am one of them, but fortunetly i have no funds in my account.
As we all, Payoneer is the first concurrent of PayPal. So the bad for Payoneer is the great news for PayPal.

Wirecard former CEO Markus brown has been arrested in Germany due to a missing amount of $2 billion. Due to a part of investigation of that issue, Payoneer has decided to freeze accounts temporary.

https://www.gurualpha.com/payoneer-freezes-all-prepaid-cards-worldwide-due-to-2-billion-scandal/

No one knows how much time it will take for the issue to be solved as stated in the emails sent by Payoneer. It may also not be solved.
Investigations may take a long time to be handled, as users are waiting for a official statement from a legal authority.

[khaled0111]

That's a disaster for many people worldwide who have no options to receive funds but to use Payoneer. I am one of them, but fortunetly i have no funds in my account.

You can still use your Payoneer account to receive payments. However, you can only withdraw to your bank account.
AFAIK the max amount of money that can be held by the prepaid card is capped to 10k $ and any amount above that is being held by Payoneer and hence isn't frozen and can be withdrawn too via bank transfers.

[Senaia]

Well, thousands of people are stranded since their funds are frozen. Some are stuck with Hotel/AirBNB payments, while most can't pay their bills. I can only imagine how hard it is for them, cause of COVID-19 lockdown.

[joniboini]

From what I can understand from the e-mail they sent me is that they'll likely make the card available again, encourage user to move their money to their bank account or e-wallet, and then find another card issuer. Future payment to Payoneer is still possible, but you won't be able to use your card.

Fortunately, I don't have lots of money on my card, but direct bank withdrawal from Payoneer is really expensive. I hope they can resolve this situation sooner so their users don't have to spend $10 just for fees.

[AlexPCS]

Situation around Wirecard seems to be affecting a lot of industry players. Just in case you were looking for alternative card products: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5244746.0

[irfan_pak10]

It's a great news today

Following our ongoing updates on the current situation with Wirecard, we are happy to share that the UK Financial Conduct Authority has declared Wirecard can resume regulated activity at 00:01 on June 30, London time. Read the full update from the UK FCA:

Reference: https://twitter.com/Payoneer/status/1277709321183408128

[Slow death]

It's a great news today

Following our ongoing updates on the current situation with Wirecard, we are happy to share that the UK Financial Conduct Authority has declared Wirecard can resume regulated activity at 00:01 on June 30, London time. Read the full update from the UK FCA:

Reference: https://twitter.com/Payoneer/status/1277709321183408128

my experience with Payoneer is not good, in 2016 I asked for their card twice, but their card never arrived in my country and I contacted their support to send the card by DHL but they did not answer me and I ended up giving up. I wonder if they still send their card to my country (mozambique)? I contacted them again to find out and I am waiting for the answer. But if anyone wants to tell me the answer will be welcome

[akamit]

my experience with Payoneer is not good, in 2016 I asked for their card twice, but their card never arrived in my country and I contacted their support to send the card by DHL but they did not answer me and I ended up giving up. I wonder if they still send their card to my country (mozambique)? I contacted them again to find out and I am waiting for the answer. But if anyone wants to tell me the answer will be welcome

This page shows that they accept Mozambique. So as your country is listed there then it is most likely they will send a card, if not then I can't see a reason.

[irfan_pak10]

It's a great news today

Following our ongoing updates on the current situation with Wirecard, we are happy to share that the UK Financial Conduct Authority has declared Wirecard can resume regulated activity at 00:01 on June 30, London time. Read the full update from the UK FCA:

Reference: https://twitter.com/Payoneer/status/1277709321183408128

my experience with Payoneer is not good, in 2016 I asked for their card twice, but their card never arrived in my country and I contacted their support to send the card by DHL but they did not answer me and I ended up giving up. I wonder if they still send their card to my country (mozambique)? I contacted them again to find out and I am waiting for the answer. But if anyone wants to tell me the answer will be welcome

I never have any issues with their card delivery system, My few friends got their cards in the expected time. I'm not saying you are making it up, but I believe your country's carrier services might have some issues or its due to your house address, they aren't able to find your house, in all those scenarios your card might have returned to the company.

[Anonylz]

Wirecard former CEO Markus brown has been arrested in Germany due to a missing amount of $2 billion. Due to a part of investigation of that issue, Payoneer has decided to freeze accounts temporary.

https://www.gurualpha.com/payoneer-freezes-all-prepaid-cards-worldwide-due-to-2-billion-scandal/

Will you look at that! Such huge amount for just one greedy soul, now his reckless action has put many peoples account in danger, am just glad he has been apprehended by the law, some people will just want to ruin a good business with their insatiable greed not minding who will get affected along the line.

[irfan_pak10]

Payoneer has annouced latest news on their twitter regarding Cards services are active again.

Your Payoneer card is active again. You can withdraw funds from your card at ATMs or spend them online & in stores. We are in the process of enabling you to withdraw funds to your local bank account and use your balance to make payments.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Payoneer/status/1277934193889214464

[act now]

Some  features are still frozen, for example you cannot make EUR/USD exchange inside your account

[layoutph]

I was enlighten by this post. Never knew theres a serious issue with Payoneer. Good thing I never withdraw my earnings from Upwork through Payoneer card. Hope they could find another partner card company.

[act now]

Some  features are still frozen, for example you cannot make EUR/USD exchange inside your account

Since today, exchange operations are restored as well.
Looks like Payoneer is too big to fail 

[joniboini]

Looks like Payoneer is too big to fail 

They'll find another provider soon it seems, and it was not their fault, to begin with. Hopefully, their next partner is not as bad as this one. It would affect their reputation for sure if their next partner is as shady as Wirecard (or their parent company).

[BitSat19]

Some  features are still frozen, for example you cannot make EUR/USD exchange inside your account

Since today, exchange operations are restored as well.
Looks like Payoneer is too big to fail 

You are right now I am also feeling better with this news because if they are going to fail then surely its going to hurt this free lancing industry very badly.