Payments Firm Wirex Pauses New Customer Onboarding on FCA Orders

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.

See also: ‘Thrill’ and ‘Status’ Driving Young People to Crypto Investment, Says UK Financial Watchdog