Payments Firm Wirex Pauses New Customer Onboarding on FCA Orders

The crypto-friendly firm will use this pause to strengthen its anti-money laundering controls.

AccessTimeIconMar 24, 2021 at 12:33 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:31 p.m. UTC
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Payments platform Wirex has temporarily suspended onboarding new U.K. customers following discussions with U.K. financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

  • The crypto-friendly firm announced Wednesday it will be using this pause to strengthen its anti-money laundering (AML) controls.
  • Prospective customers will be invited to join a waiting list in the meantime, Wirex CEO Pavel Matveev announced.
  • The FCA became an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing supervisor for businesses in January 2020. Since then, crypto firms have raised concerns over delays in processing of their required registration applications.
  • Wirex offers its users in-app buying, selling and transacting services in over 20 cryptocurrencies and fiat options, including BTC, ETH, XRP and XLM.
  • The company says it has 3.5 million customers worldwide.
  • It announced the launch of a multi-currency Mastercard debit card in the U.K. and European Economic Area on March 9.

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