UPDATE 30/06/2020 – All systems back online
Further to our in-app notification to customers this morning, we’re delighted to share that all McLEAR Ring accounts are now fully working.
If you have any issues with the app showing your ring as deactivated, please log out and log back in.
Thank you for your patience through this difficult time.
What happened?
On the 26th June 2020, without prior notice, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suspended permission for Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WDCS) to operate its electronic money issuing, card issuing and acquiring business with immediate effect and until further notice. The suspension has been put in place following the imposition of requirements on WDCS by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
WDCS is currently our upstream provider that facilitates the running of the McLEAR Smart Ring financial programme.
Further details of the requirements imposed can be found on the FCA Register.
What does this mean for me?
Put simply, this means that you cannot load any money on to, or make transactions with your Ring. If you try this, loading will fail and transactions will decline.
We know many of you will be worried about your Ring balance. Safeguarding is a key consumer protection measure within the EMRs and the PSRs. The purpose of safeguarding is to protect and return customer money if a firm was to fail.
Wirecard is required under the EMRs to maintain appropriate measures to safeguard customers money. It does this by holding it separate from its own money in accounts with banks (or another credit institution). Effective safeguarding arrangements are critical to help ensure that customers’ money is protected and returned if a firm fails. Adequate safeguarding arrangements which are compliant with the regulatory requirements are a condition of Wirecard’s ongoing FCA authorisation.
What is being done about this?
The operational resilience of the McLEAR payments ecosystem is always our paramount concern. We are working closely with Wirecard Bank AG/Wirecard Card Solutions and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the services they are offering can be maintained appropriately and uninterrupted whilst also assuring the integrity of the Visa payments system and protecting the interests of our consumers.
WDCS is working hard to have the steps in place which will enable the suspension to be lifted so business can resume as usual.
We are working with Visa and Wirecard to understand the timeline for this and when transactional services can resume. Of course, we will keep you up to date with these conversations.
We understand this may be a frustrating time for you, it is for us too. Please rest assured we are doing all we can to bring our services back online.
We’ll keep you up to date via in-app notifications, email and these news post updates as we work towards resolving this situation.
The McLEAR team
FAQs
What has happened to the McLEAR RingPay service?
Your McLEAR Smart Ring and all associated transactions and payment services have had to be temporarily suspended with immediate effect.
This has happened because on 26th June 2020 (without prior notice), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suspended permission for Wirecard Card Solutions Limited to operate. This action is not directly related to McLEAR – but we currently depend on Wirecard for part of the operation of the McLEAR Ring.
What does this mean for me?
For the short term it is not possible to load funds to your wallet or make any purchases using your ring.
Is there a chance I won’t get my money back? What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is a key consumer protection measure within the EMRs and the PSRs. The purpose of safeguarding is to protect and return customer money if a firm was to fail.
Wirecard is required under the EMRs to maintain appropriate measures to safeguard customers money. It does this by holding it separate from its own money in accounts with banks (or another credit institution). Effective safeguarding arrangements are critical to help ensure that customers’ money is protected and returned if a firm fails. Adequate safeguarding arrangements which are compliant with the regulatory requirements are a condition of Wirecard’s ongoing FCA authorisation.
What does this mean for the money in my wallet?
The money in your wallet has followed the guidelines above. The Financial Conduct Authority have taken the decision to freeze this account and this unfortunately means that McLEAR cannot process any withdrawal requests at this time.
What are the time frames for resolution?
We are working with our partners to resume operations as quickly as possible; we expect this disruption to last for a limited period and will send email updates as soon as we can.
Access to cash is always paramount and as such the FCA, Visa and Wirecard are working tirelessly to resolve this as soon as possible.
Can I get a refund for the purchase of my Ring?
You are entitled to send your Ring back and receive a refund within 14 days of purchase however once a Ring is activated it cannot be returned and refunded. We are working hard to resume Ring use and hope to be back online very soon.
Why is my Ring account now showing as deactivated in my app?
You will notice that your screen has changed within your app to show that your Ring account is now in a deactivated state. This is completely normal during this process and to ensure we comply fully with the FCA requirements of suspending all activity.
All accounts will be reactivated in due course and when we are told we can resume operations.