People with prepaid cards from firm in wind-up ‘can still spend the money’
People with the cards can still spend the full amount or balance remaining. Photo posed
Consumers with prepaid cards from a company that has had liquidators appointed to it by the High Court have been told they will still be able to use them for goods and services.
Provisional liquidators were appointed last month to PFS Card Services (Ireland) Limited (PCSIL), which is owned by Australian financial technology group EML Payments.
More than 2.4 million of its prepaid cards are in circulation across Europe, with a number of these in Ireland, although the exact number is unclear.
While owned by the same company, the more popular Perx card is not affected by the move to appoint liquidators and Perx cards are operating as normal.
PFS Card Services had liquidators appointed after an application to the court by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Alison Donnelly, director of governance at consultancy company Fscom Ireland, said customers of PFS Card Services will be able to spend the amount ‘loaded’ to their cards.
She said the money is avail-able as the business is in a solvent wind-down and is still regulated in Ireland. It is an e-money institution authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Ms Donnelly said the liquidation is unique in the Irish payments sector.
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“This is the first collapse of a non-bank payment service provider [payment or e-money institution] in Ireland,” she said.
“We note that the business is in a solvent wind-down situation, which is important for the customers so they are not left without access to their funds and the ability to make payments. This is particularly true given many may rely on their e-money cards for day-to-day expenses.”
Ireland’s regulatory rules mean every effort will be made to ensure customers can spend what is on the cards, she added.
The High Court was told the company holds €516m of segregated funds for its customers.
It lost €7.3m in 2022, is expected to confirm around €15m in losses for last year, and in the current financial year is projected to lose an additional €3.7m.
The Central Bank said it expects the firm will ensure customers’ interests are fully protected.
PFS Card Services was acquired by EML in 2020. While significant capital investment had been put into the company by its parent since 2020, the EML group was not prepared to invest further in the company, the court was told.
The company employs 144 people, 112 of them based at its facilities in Bray, Co Wicklow, and in Trim, Co Meath.
