TenX, Bitpay, Xapo & Co.: crypto payment cards suspended by Wave Crest!
The news came this morning: most crypto credit cards have been deactivated! TenX unveiled the information on Twitter, and Bitpay gave explanations to its customers by email. The problem would come from VISA which ordered Wave Crest to disable the cards of the residents outside the US.
TenX, Xapo, Bitpay, Wirex are in a boat ....
Lately, the effects of ads on the mythical crypto payment cards have chained. Behind the marketing facade of decentralized payment hiding a major failure point: the vast majority of crypto payment cards are produced by the same company: Wave Crest. This morning, it was TenX who first announced the bad news, without giving any explanation.
Bitpay, however, gave more explanations by sending an email to its customers, announcing the immediate deactivation of their Bitpay Card account. This deactivation applies to all users not residing in the US, and is effective this morning.
The ban would therefore have come directly from Visa, which would have required Wave Crest to immediately close all the accounts concerned. The Bitpay team apologizes, within the mail, for the sudden appearance of this measure, however severe. Indeed, there was no sign of such an incident in recent weeks.
And after ?
For now, only Bitpay has actually communicated on this event, and repayment terms are obviously provided. First, the remaining balance on the cards will be credited to the users. Then, some measures were taken for those who ordered a card from December 1, 2017.
"If you ordered a Bitpay card recently, you were hoping to have more time to use it. Bitpay will reimburse card order fees to all who ordered them from December 1, 2017. »Bitpay advert
The email concludes with speculation about the future of Bitpay Card. It is explained that only users outside the United States are concerned, but that the team sincerely hopes to be back in the banished countries as soon as possible. If this prohibition is lifted, Bitpay will even propose the return of cards for free.
"As part of our commitment to Bitpay Card users, we will send you an e-mail when the Bitpay Card is available again in your country. If you still want a Bitpay Card, we will give you one for free »
The motivations of Visa are for the moment still obscure, the case remains to follow ...