MasterCard(MA) and Visa(The) they informed some Wirecard customers that the company could suspend access to their payment networks, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the problem.
Not even a credit card companythey commented directly on the report, but both said they were closely monitoring the situation. It would be the loss of the two largest payment networks in the world another blow on Wirecard, which brings income helping companies process payments from customers.
“We continue to closely monitor developments and evaluate new information as it becomes available,” a Visa spokesman said in an email statement. “Our priority is and will always be to maintain the integrity of the Visa payment system and protect the interests of consumers, merchants and our customers.”
Likewise, Mastercard said in a statement that it follows the news from Wirecard. “Our priority is to ensure that people can continue to use their cards. We will continue to work with all parties and we are ready to take all necessary measures,” Mastercard said.
Wirecard did not immediately return a comment request for this article. However, in a statement on monday, Wirecard said that “in order to avoid misunderstandings, the company wants to inform that its IT systems continue to work without restrictions”.
Founded in 1999, Wirecard was once considered one of the most promising technology companies in Europe. It processes payments for consumers and companies and sells data analysis services. The company has nearly 6,000 employees in 26 countries.
But in recent days, Wirecard has been hit by a scandal over accounting irregularities that led to a comparison Enron, an American energy giant that went bankrupt in 2001.
Wirecard CEO Markus Brown resigned last week after the auditor found that to be the case $ 2 billion in cash appears to be missing from the company’s account, delays the release of the technology company’s financial results for 2019 and sparked by fraud charges. Then on Monday, Wirecard admits that after “further examination” the missing two billion dollars probably never existed.
Brown, who helped make Wirecard one of Germany’s largest companies, he was arrested the next day on suspicion of increasing the balance sheet and selling through fraudulent transactions to make it more attractive to investors and buyers.
The company is now in crisis, one could worsen if large payment networks cut off its access.
Since last week, the value of the Wirecard has fallen more than 96%. Wirecard filed for insolvency Thursday due to over-indebtedness.
