Crypto.com Refunds European MCO Visa Users Following Collapse of Card Issuer Wirecard

Key highlights:

• Crypto.com has refunded European MCO Visa card customers
• The issuer of the cards, Wirecard Card Solutions, has been ordered to stop all regulated activities
• Wirecard Card Solutions parent company Wirecard is in the midst of a scandal with €1.9 billion missing from the company's balance sheet

Crypto.com refunds European MCO Visa users

Crypto.com has refunded customers from the UK and Europe who were using the company’s MCO Visa prepaid cards. 

Crypto.com’s hand was forced by the troubles of Wirecard, a German fintech company whose UK-based subsidiary Wirecard Card Solutions has been ordered by the FCA to stop carrying out all regulated activities. Wirecard Card Solution was the issuer of MCO Visa crypto cards for Crypto.com.

The collapse of Wirecard

Earlier in June, Wirecard announced that its auditor could not find sufficient evidence for the existence of €1.9 billion, or about a quarter of the company’s supposed balance sheet. Wirecard’s former CEO Markus Braun was arrested in Germany on suspicion of falsifying accounts shortly after stepping down from his position.

Wirecard shares, which were trading at almost €105 on Jun 17, have cratered all the way down to €2.9 at the time of writing. The company filed for insolvency on June 25. 

Looking for alternatives

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek told CoinDesk that his company is looking for alternatives to continue offering their crypto cards to the European market:

“We’ve been working on alternative solutions with our partners to make sure our customers can continue their cards, and will provide an update on this in due course.”

The company says that all affected MCO Visa card owners have been refunded in the form of cryptocurrency equal to their fiat balances:

“For all Europe / UK MCO Visa Cards, all credits have been processed successfully to cardholders’ crypto wallets equivalent to the fiat balances held on the cards.”

Crypto.com’s US card program remains unaffected, and its Singapore-issued cards are still active as well. However, the company says they have temporarily disabled credit card top-ups in Singapore.

Wirecard’s collapse also affected TenX, another company that had its crypto cards issued by Wirecard Card Solutions. In a statement released on June 26, TenX reassured customers that their funds are safe and accessible, even though the cards are no longer functional.