Wirecard

Wirecard Overview

A German supplier of electronic payment and risk management services, Wirecard was founded in Munich, Germany on January 1st, 1999. In the beginning, Wirecard briefly operated as InfoGenie AG. Eventually, in April of 2005, it was renamed into the Wirecard we know today. The company was even listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in addition to being a part of the DAX stock index from September 2018 to August 2020. Being in the business of providing financial services, it operates as a fully licensed German Bank. As such, it provides services and products in several aspects of the online banking industry.

With a goal to overtake the German market above all, Wirecard covers mobile payments, e-commerce, digitalization and finance technology. More specifically, Wirecard offered electronic payment transaction services and risk management. This is in addition to issuing and processing both virtual and physical cards. Furthermore, the company has several offices internationally. It has a subsidiary in Newcastle upon Tyne, a North American branch(by purchasing Citi Prepaid Card Services). Additionally, it also has operations in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil and Turkey

Wirecard – The Scandal

However, in January 2020 the company declared bankruptcy. In addition to giving an official statement that 1.9 billion euros in cash were ‘missing’. The announcement of this ‘missing’ money was released in June 2020. In the aftermath, all of the 730 employees lost their jobs, in addition to several company key figures being arrested and accused on multiple accounts. Moreover, the UK Financial Conduct Authority froze all activities of Wirecard in Newcastle, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited. The restriction lasted between June 26th and June 30th, 2020, and afterwards received permission to resume business. However, these were more relaxed restrictions.

Consequently, in September 2020 the central bank of Singapore, MAS(Monetary Authority of Singapore) announced that it stops all payment services and return all funds that are owned. Today, we are still waiting for a clear and final verdict, explanation or general more info as to what really happened. And everyone wonders how nearly 2 billion euros went ‘missing’ and 730 people lost their jobs, without any reasonable explanation whatsoever.

In addition, below we will present you with the official statement that is currently displayed on the Wirecard website:

” The Local Court of Munich – Insolvency Court – opened insolvency proceedings over the assets of EUR 500 million bonds in a ruling dated August 25, 2020 (Ref. 1542 IN 1308/20). On this website, you will find the court decisions, information on the issued bond, the required capital market information and the press releases of the insolvency administrator.