ePayments has begun the process of closing its doors and entered into an orderly, solvent wind-down.

As you will be aware, the business has been closed for the past three years after our regulator (the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA)) identified some weaknesses in our financial crime controls. We have over this period been working hard to ensure these are up to the required standard, but in these extremely challenging and unprecedented global economic conditions, and with the business being restricted for such an extended period we can no longer sustain the business to build back to what the FCA require and a ‘business as usual’ state.

In practice, this means that we will not return to full operations and will now focus entirely on providing customers with refunds and working through the process of closing your accounts as we close down the business.

Your funds with us remain in safeguarded accounts. The FCA is aware of our decision and this communication.

As we close the business over the coming months we encourage those with funds in their e-Wallets to withdraw these funds, and those not currently open for refunds to supply any required information required for us to open the refund for you.

If you experience any difficulties with the refund process, please contact us so we may assist you.

We will be in contact again in the weeks ahead with more information about the wind-down process.

Dear Customers,

We just wanted to let you know that we have been keeping a close eye on what's been happening in Ukraine borders. Over the last couple of days, with the USA, EU and UK having released sanctions in response to recent events. We have identified that the scope of these sanctions may impact the way we are able to continue offering services to some of our customers.

As you may know, accountable and regulated payments and banking institutions such as ePayments are not allowed to transact with any person or entity caught by the scope of these new imposed sanctions.

Sanctions are prohibitions against individuals, entities, regions, industries (or even ships!), published by governments and other international bodies (for example the UN). The sanctions lists identify parties who those governments or international bodies believe are engaged in illegal activities. When an entry appears on a sanctions list, that may prohibit certain types of activities, for example payment processing.

What we can say at this present moment of time, is that for most of our customers, who are not near any conflict zones, there will be no changes to the services that we are able to provide, and they can continue accessing the refunds process.

We are continuing to monitor the situation for any updates or increased sanctions that may be imposed. In order for us to be compliant with any new sanctions, there may be an impact on some groups of customers.  

We want to keep ePayments safe and secure, and this includes making sure that we comply with all our legal and regulatory obligations, including those related to sanctions. We are pleased that most of our customers will not be impacted by the current sanctions, but as ever, if things change, we will keep you updated.

Thank you for understanding and be safe,

ePayments Team

At ePayments we believe that asking the right question is half the answer.

There's great power in enquiry – in asking the right questions to seek understanding, create breakthrough change, or improve customer support, getting clarity. Growth happens when the right questions are asked.

Most people understand that if you don’t ask the right questions, you can’t get the right answers

At ePayments we like to ask questions, some are simple while others are sophisticated, but asking questions is something we started doing a long time ago that helped to drive our growth, and improved operational efficiency. Persisting through the complexity of regulatory processes has helped us to better understand and match to our customer expectations; to reach you with the right tone and answers.

Therefore, we took the time to look at all the questions our customers have sent, thought about the drivers of such questions, and selected the right questions that could be of use to enlighten our customers, because ultimately, there are no right answers to the wrong questions.

As we’ve gone through the pile of questions, feedback and emails that customers from around the globe have sent us, we can say that customers are eager to either start working with us again, get their refund or are missing some of the old products and services we once had that are temporarily disabled.

We want to be close to our customers and develop a transparent relationship that’s supported by values like respect, that promotes an honest relationship for the future ahead. We selected a batch of the “right questions” that can help several customers at once, and we’re listing below the most often asked questions and our point of view or answers at this moment of time.

Hopefully this will bring some needed clarity and peace of mind to those among you who can’t wait any longer to start using ePayments again, get a refund or get access to your account.

Moving forward in the spirit of transparency, to keep all our customers in the loop, we’re going to share an article on our own reflections on some of the most frequently asked questions from time to time, hopefully the “right questions”, so that we answer only the missing half-answers, because the right question is half the answer ;)

January Top 5 Questions

Question about Refunds: Why are you withholding my money if the regulator lifted restrictions on your company?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifted the restrictions on ePayments, and we couldn't wait any longer to share the news with you. We promptly released this news to all our customers, however, there are still some operational things to do and technology systems to restart. These include our business partnerships who serve the ePayments network and enable us to process customer funds, whether it be refunds or normal operational payments, to customers all over the globe.

Please rest assured we’re doing our best to expand the refunds as fast as we can so our customers will get their money as soon as possible. You should expect to receive an email when the refunds are available to you. Please be assured that your money is protected and safeguarded, and we are eager to return it to you.

Question about Payment Services: When will ePayments support digital assets investment (crypto) related services?

We support the vision around crypto products and services; we understand that cryptocurrency and blockchain will become more relevant than ever. The growing adoption indicates there’s a place and role for crypto in the future, so we’re actively working to return and give the opportunity for our customers to use these products. Sadly, it’s too soon to announce any timeframes, as we’re currently undergoing a licence application in several geographies to be able to better serve our global customers.

We truly hope we can offer you this in the near future, hopefully one that’s not too far away. You can help us to move faster into this direction by letting us know how much you want digital cryptocurrency to pay and get paid, so we can evidence the priority of getting this new service and products to market.

Question about Account Closure: How can I close my account, e.g. if I disagree with the new T&Cs?

We understand that announced changes to the new T&Cs and services we’re going to provide our customers may no longer meet your needs. We’re truly sorry that you’ve decided to leave ePayments, but it’s your right to close your account that you have with us.

The account closure service is temporarily unavailable in our app/web as we're still working on getting these fully operational, but you can send your enquiry to our support team. We will record and process your request as soon as we are in a position to do so.

Question about Back to Business: Why can't I make (P2P) transfers to other individuals?

We've been on the edge of the industry for almost two years and as we all know the world around us is changing rapidly. Our mission is to get our service back as quickly as possible. That’s why we’ve made the decision to switch off transfers between individuals, and this is a temporary measure to test our risk and compliance framework.

Once we’re sure we’re doing it right, we will review this payment option. So for now if you have a personal account you won’t be able to send internal transfers to other personal account holders of the system, and withdrawals will be only available on your personal linked account. That said, you can still receive payments from companies to top up your e-Wallet.

Question about Back to Business: Will I be able to use my ePayments card again?

We've been getting a lot of questions asking when you’ll be able to use your ePayments card. We also understand how essential it was for you to use our payment card from across the globe. One of our top priorities is to get this service back to you on the same terms. We’re actively working with MasterCard to reinstate our card program and expect this service to be available once operations within the system are fully restored.

ePayments is back, and we couldn't be more excited!

It’s been a while, and it's only fair that we have a lot to say. This will be a long article, so bear with us and let's start with the most important, we’re delighted to reopen for business after challenging times, and we can’t wait to start serving you again. We want it, you deserve it, and it’s happening!

It’s taken a lot of work, huge investment from our shareholders, and some tough decisions to get to this point, but we’re very excited to get back to doing what we do best: making your cross-border payments a breeze to your operational needs.

We’re gradually reopening our doors to existing and new customers, while enabling the whole host of our most valued features and services:

• Your safe and secure multi-currency wallet, to receive and send payments worldwide;
• Your flexible ePayments Mastercard for everyday spending (available soon and not from day one of BAU); and
• A simple, reliable, and easy to use app that keeps your money secure across multiple OS platforms

We know the last year was rough for both us and our customers, as such, instead of prioritising business as usual activities or growth targets and onboarding of new customers, ePayments decided that in the initial weeks post reopening doors we’re going to prioritise all efforts, focus and resources into giving our customers the access to its funds through the refunds process. We are working with our banking partners to be able to open refunds for more customer. We are now open and giving qualified customers access to trigger refunds process as a business priority.

We still want to keep our platform as open, cost-effective and inclusive as it always has been, serving freelancers and entrepreneurs around the world without discrimination.

There are many things we want to say to our customers at this huge moment in the ePayments journey. For now though, we’ve chosen our top five.

1. Thank you for the trust and confidence.

We would firstly like to thank every one of our customers and partners for their patience, loyalty, and support whilst we’ve embarked on this difficult journey.

As well as now being able to open our doors, we’ve been steadily ramping up our refunds process. We are delighted to announce that we’ve now processed millions in refunds for the eligible customers who completed remediation, and with your help this was made as smooth and organised as possible.

This past year has been tough for everyone, in many different ways. At this time, more than ever, we wish we’d been able to deliver the service you’d come to expect from ePayments.

We’re delighted to know that so many freelancers and businesses are keen to remain ePayments customers into this next chapter. We deeply appreciate your loyalty and trust.

We will always aim to go above and beyond the high expectations of our customers and partners. Our commitment to our customers remains our greatest strength and the reason we spent the past year building back better.

We also want to thank everyone who has taken the time to share feedback about our products and services to help us create an experience that’s streamlined and easy to use. We really appreciate your help, and everything we do is motivated by the willingness to better serve our customers.

2. We take this seriously

Since the day our operations were turned off, we’ve made sure to do the right thing at every stage of the process.

Since the very beginning, our shareholders have been committed to bringing ePayments back to full strength; letting the company fold has never been an option. They have invested £15 million over the past year to keep the company going, keep our 150-strong team in their jobs, and provided the resources needed to build back better.

We have engaged with expert consultants, overhauled all of our systems and controls, enhanced our senior management and leadership team, and had our work signed off by an approved audit firm.

As part of this process, we’ve created hundreds of new regulatory and compliance documents and hired 50 new team members. Here are some snapshots of what’s been happening * while we’ve been away.

* Disclaimer: We’re not authorized to share all the complex information, so we are sharing the highlights in a summarized form that may help you understand why it took so long.

2020

    February: The day after our doors close, we start looking at the problems within our business and pull together a roadmap for fixing them. We hire a top law firm to represent the interests of the company and our customers.

    March: We start working with a top four firm to rebuild our systems and risk framework, and stay in touch with the regulator to keep them updated on our progress.

    April: We work with the regulator to figure out how to make refunds to customers. We continue to build out our authentication systems to further protect our customers from any cybersecurity risks while being fully compliant with PSRs.

    May: Our revised anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures come together, and we finalise our company-wide assessment. We also start to add specialised people to our leadership team, so we can make greater strides towards being fully operational.

     June: Our financial crime team hires a new manager with experience of the remediation process. We update our transaction monitoring rules and create policies to meet our obligations as an e-money institution (EMI).

    July: We start a new company-wide training programme on compliance and preventing financial crime. Further, investing in our people, we create new committees to manage the business more openly and transparently. We build new know-your-customer (KYC) checks.

    August: We bring in Brighter Management Consultancy to help us move even faster through our compliance to-do list. After a thorough search, we choose an external auditor and hire a new head of transaction monitoring, an essential jigsaw piece for returning to normal.

    September: We decide to bring our entire compliance operations team back to the UK, and work to smooth out many of the product processes for customers.

    October: We work with the external auditor on a new plan towards reopening our doors. We hired another key member of the team: a new Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO).

    November: We are getting there! The latest refunds plan is approved by the auditor, and we share it with the regulator. Plus, our new screening processes for onboarding new customers and our customer risk rating management are both audited and approved as fit for purpose.

    December: Our new CEO joins ePayments, bringing strong management experience and expertise. Our customer fund protections are audited and approved, and our financial stress tests pass.

2021

    January: Since audits are slow and complicated, we inform the regulator we’re ready to trigger the final stages to reopen our doors, and we get back in touch with our banking partners to put new agreements in place. Our new CPO joins the team, with a mission to transform the product and build the future. Our governance framework is audited and approved.

    February: It’s been a year since restrictions were enforced, during which we’ve worked continuously to defend the company and protect our customers’ interests. We get approval for our refunds plan, and we test the infrastructure to make sure we’re ready to carry it out.

    March: The first customers receive their refunds, and we receive permission to communicate with all customers. We inform all customers about the refunds. The master program that tracks all the work required to return to normal is around 73% completed.

    April: The shareholders reinforce their commitment to the business with further investment, and approve the 3-year business plan. More customers receive their refunds.

    May and June: Many more accounts are remediated, enabling thousands of individuals to access their funds. We start talking to prospective banking partners in the UK and US, and we start the search for a new EU tech centre in which to establish a second base as part of the Brexit implementation strategy.

    July and August: We go through the very last audits and processes to get FINAL approvals from the regulator to reopen our doors, in a tiered process that will quickly scale up to full services and functionality. As part of a wide regulatory communications plan, we wrote to all our customers to remind them of how we protect their money as an EMI.

     September, October and November: We keep collaborating with legal and regulatory entities to receive the written approvals and terms of business. At the same time, we started to enable the banking relationships with all the banking partners while testing all the integrations and components of our banking IT infrastructure, this is an essential process to serving our customers without any issues or surprises.

So, now we’re ready. It’s been a while, and it may take a little bit more time to get up to full speed. But we have so many plans for the months and years ahead - so watch this space for the next product and feature announcements.

We understand that it’s been frustrating not to know when we were going to be ready to turn our business back on. We hope you understand that we’ve needed to make sure we have the full support of all parties, before making this announcement.

In the backstage, we’ve rebuilt the whole business while we’ve been away. We have taken steps far beyond what we believe was expected of us, so that we and you can be completely confident in our products and services from now on.

3. We’ve got your back

Our customers rely on us for products and services they can’t get anywhere else. Many have grown with us from startups to global success stories, and we’re very proud to be able to show up for you once again.

We’re hugely inspired and motivated by the digital and creators economy’s response to the current crisis. In the face of adversity, freelancers, small businesses, and international entrepreneurs are continuing to do what they do best: driving the world forward.

We understand our customers’ businesses thanks to decades of experience in the market, and we’ve invested heavily in our products and technology over the past year. This deep knowledge has enabled us to rebuild the product to be even more aligned with our customers’ goals. We believe that our platform is fast, secure and cost-effective, and what people need right now.

The pandemic has compressed five years’ worth of change into less than one, and people no longer live, work and get paid in a single country and currency. The explosion in remote working has created massive and growing demand for cross-border payments.

Consumers now want their retail experience to be replicated in the payments world. That means instant, frictionless services and great experiences.

We see that, and we’re here for you.

4. You’re safe with us. We mean it.

We’re not going to let this happen again. ePayments is still the same company with all the benefits that attracted you in the first place, and we still have the same values and mission, but now with a much stronger technology and business approach that’s focused on serving while protecting you and us at the same time. Our team and shareholders believe passionately that businesses, entrepreneurs and freelancers need a payments platform that they can rely on.

We’ve now worked on every part of the business to make sure we’re ready to serve you again. We’re determined to help you grow and expand without barriers, as you deserve.

Each part of ePayments is connected to everything else, so in the process of revamping our systems and controls, we have rebuilt the product, our company structure, and more. This is one of the reasons why we’re feeling confident about what comes next.

Have you heard the modern day expression that “Lightning doesn’t strike twice.”... We have gone above and beyond in order to relaunch a product that we believe you can trust and use with confidence.

5. You won’t want to miss what’s next!

We’re delighted to be back, and we have big plans for what’s next, from the next few months all the way up to 2025. Our ambitions for our product, technology and international expansion are sky-high.

We’re in conversations with potential new banking partners that feel more constructive and exciting than ever before. We have new products and features in the pipeline that we know you’re going to love.

We plan to supercharge our wallet feature with extra currencies and new functionality such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, virtual cards for safe online shopping and a peer-to-peer service economy all within the ePayments platform.

We are developing new products and solutions that are tailored for growth and expansion, including new currencies, new payment channels, digital asset investment, new products, automatic tax payment and more. You’re not going to want to miss out.

We would be very glad to work with you again, and we’re keen to keep in touch. What does your business need from us? Let us know by email feedback@epayments.com: we want to keep building products and services to support your business as you grow.

We’re delighted to announce that we are rolling out the refunds process to all customers, both personal and corporate. Yes, it’s really happening, and thank you for being patient with us.

Why has it taken so long?

We’re really sorry that it’s taken so long for us to get to this stage, the process is indeed complicated, and we did everything we could to protect our customers' interests.

Following the initial successful rollout of the refunds process to individual customers that were rated as low or medium risk, we’ve received all the required consents and approvals to expand the scope of refunds to all customers.

Please bear with us a little longer while we’re making the last amendments and reactivate the banking connections, payment rails, contractual agreements etc… Basically, turning ON all the buttons that exist in our complex panel of instruments.

This has been complicated, and we know you’ve come a long way on this journey with us. We wanted to give you an update, even though you will still be waiting a few more weeks. This is the good news: In a few weeks you will be able to get your long-awaited refunds.

As soon as we’ve finished going through and reactivating the banking connections, we will be initiating batch processing for refunds, and we believe this is the last step before we are able to fully reopen our business.

What do I need to do right now?

Just one simple but very important thing, to bear with us a little longer.

We will be inviting more customers to start the refunds process once all the banking connections are fully operational again. Since it’s been a while since we had all the buttons ON, we’re going to invite customers in batches to make it easier to process. But rest assured that soon enough, you’ll either receive an email from us about your refund, with the next steps clearly set out, or you may receive a message through our ticketing system, outlining all the actions needed from you.

The access to your funds also depends on you, as you need to follow the process explained in the email or the ticket. Please read the information very carefully as it will contain details of everything you need to do in order to access your funds, and those steps and instructions may vary from person to person, but it isn't anything that you can't do.

It’s likely that you’re going to be asked to provide us with some information, and please note that we won’t be able to process your refund until we receive it and check it. Once you receive the email or ticket, please do your best to reply or to provide the  information requested as soon as you can. The sooner you respond and provide all the information, the faster you will be able to access your funds or start using your account again.

Thank you for being with us on this journey, we look forward to serving you again very soon.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our Support team.

We’re delighted to announce that Stage 2 of the refund process has now been approved for low and medium risk Individual customers. Customers in this group will now start receiving their refunds.
However, we’re still waiting for approval before we can begin issuing refunds for our other customers, including Corporate customers.

What’s happening?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provided it’s consent for the next group of refunds to start.

We’ve been working really hard to make sure our platform is safe and secure. We have taken significant steps to protect our customers, which is why this next step has been agreed.

We’re ready to move on to the next stage of the refund process. This is another really big step forward! More individual customers who are classed as low or medium risk can now access their funds, irrespective of the balance in their accounts.

We want to thank you for your continued patience throughout this process. We’re getting closer to opening for business as usual, and we can’t wait to serve you again.

What do I need to do?
If you are in this category, you’ll get an email from us about your refund.
To access your funds, you will need to follow the process explained in the email. Please read the email very carefully. It will contain details of everything you need to do to access your funds.

You’ll be asked to provide us with some information, and we won’t be able to process your refund without it. This helps to protect all of our customers.
Please provide this information as soon as you can. The sooner you respond and provide all the information, the faster you will be able to access your funds and start using your account again.

We’re processing these refunds as quickly as we can, please bear with us.

I’m a corporate customer, why do I still have to wait?
We are awaiting consent to commence processing these refunds. We’ll let you know the timeframe for corporate refunds as soon as we find out.

We're continuing to process everyone as fast as we are able to do so, how fast and effective you are in providing the requested information once requested will help us speed up the process. We have teams in place ready and willing to support you, available to help with any questions or explanations. Even when you’ve got your refund, please do provide all the information, as that will be needed to enable you to use your account when we open for business as usual.

“We are delighted to announce that we have now successfully enabled our first batch of customers to receive refunds, the process was initiated on Wednesday 17th March, with more refunds happening every day. That's one small step for ePayments, one giant leap for our customers!

You may ask: What does this mean for me? Is this genuine? Will it take months or years to complete? Will I ever get my money back? Will I be able to use my account again?

Let’s be clear, this is not a trick or a scam – this is real, it’s happening now, and if you provide the necessary information that’s being requested by our customer support agents, it will happen in a fast and smooth way. We have commenced the phased reopening of our ePayments business and that’s starting with refunds. But hang-on because we’ve also been preparing improvements in many areas of the business, in preparation for re-opening to Business As Usual, that’s also coming soon!

Please be confident to follow the process when you are invited to do so and provide us with the information requested. Please carefully read the email and the requirements being asked for you to provide back to us, as getting the right information sent to us will make it easier and faster. The sooner you respond and provide all the information, the faster you will be able to access your funds and be able to use your account again.

To be clear for all: four stages need to commence, and will run simultaneously once launched:

• Stage 1 – faster refunds for customers with balances less than Eur150 (already commenced);
• Stage 2 – refunds for customers where known information allows for standard refunds (expected to commence very soon);
• Stage 3 – refunds for all other customers (likely to be a couple of weeks later after Stage 2 commences);
• Stage 4 – fully open for Business As Usual (we will keep you informed on progress).

You may ask: How can I get my money back? What are the available payment channels?

Our process is that refunds from your account must be paid out only to an account held in your name. So it is required that you undergo the process of linking this account following the system's guidance. Once you login to your account, you’re going to have visible all the payment channels that are available for your selection, please choose the most suitable option for you.

You may ask: Which stage will I be in?... Why am I in a later stage? ...What can I do to speed up the process?... Why the delay between stages?

In simple terms , the 3 groups of customers are:

• Stage 1 - lower balances
• Stage 2- lower risks
• Stage 3 – everyone else

We're going to start processing everyone as fast as we are able to do so, which ultimately depends on how fast and effective you are in providing the requested information once requested. Even when you’ve got your refund, please do provide all the information, as that will be needed to enable you to use your account when we open for Business As Usual.

Please understand that after each stage we're going to undergo a brief process where we liaise with our regulator to confirm we can move to the next available stage, so there will be a delay to enable the regulator to review what we have done.

We continue to be very committed to our customers and we're doing our best to resolve the final steps, we expect that all our efforts will soon be recognized and allow the business to be open for Business As Usual.

Thank you again for your patience, and we look forward to providing you with excellent service again

Following our announcement that we’ve begun to ease the suspension of our activities, we’ve developed some FAQs which we hope will help you with any questions you may have about the process.

Q: What does a refund mean?
A: By refunds, we mean enabling our customers with funds in their eWallets to be returned to their own accounts. In practice, what this means is that we will allow you to transfer the funds from your ePayments account to another account with another provider in your name.

Q: Does the company have enough funds to pay money back to all its customers?
A: We have taken steps to protect customer funds throughout the restriction period. We do not expect that any customers will be unable to retrieve their full funds.

Q: How can I understand if I have been granted access to my funds? When will you contact me?
A: We are working through our customer population. Once we are in a position to invite you for a refund we will send you an email.

Q: I have extenuating circumstances, can I get a refund sooner?
A: We understand the issues that the situation with our suspension may cause customers hardship and we truly apologise for this. If you have extenuating circumstances please inform us by sending a message to support@epayments.com.

Q: I have an ePayments card. Will I be able to use it for refunds?
A: We are currently unable to offer the card as a refund method. If this changes, we will let you know.

Q: Can I transfer funds to pay my bills or send money to my friends?
A: No, your e-Wallet balance can only be paid out to an account in your name.

Q: Can I use my account to deposit funds as well as get refunds?
A: Not immediately, but we are expecting to be able to open for business as usual as soon as possible.

Q: Can I close my account once the funds are withdrawn?
A: Yes, you can.

Q: Can I continue using my account once the funds are withdrawn? Have the Terms and Conditions changed?
A: Currently, full system functionality is restricted, but we expect to be able to re-open for business as usual soon, and we look forward to continuing serving our customers.

The current terms and conditions have not changed. Whenever there’s a change in our processes or systems, we will update our terms and conditions accordingly and notify you. The current terms and conditions, and other important documents can be found here: https://www.epayments.com/documents.html.

Q:Why do I need to transfer funds to another account in my name?
A: As we are currently unable to offer full system access, in order to be able to access the balance of your account, the only option we are currently able to offer is to allow you to send funds to another account in your name. Once we are able to offer fuller account access, we will let you know.

Q: Why do you ask me to pass verification again to get access to financial operations?
A: We may ask you to pass verification checks with us again where our records show that in order for you to access your funds, we need more information about you, to complete our records. Where we do ask you to provide further information please do read the requirements carefully and complete the information requested.

We are delighted to announce that we can now take the first steps on a phased reopening of the business. Today, we are able to open for the first groups of our customers to provide refunds. By refunds, we mean enabling our customers to withdraw their funds in full to an account in their name with another institution.This is a big step, not only for us as a Firm, but more importantly for you, our customers.

It is essential that you now follow the process set out in the customer portal and/or the email being sent to you, and provide us with the information requested. Depending on the balance in your account, different refund routes will be made available to you. For many customers, we will still need to collect updated information from you before accessing your funds. There is a straightforward process to follow, so please do read the requirements carefully and complete the information requested.

We then plan to complete the final steps to allow the business to be open for regular use or business as usual. We know this has been a long journey, we thank you again for your patience, and we look forward to providing you with excellent service again.

We are fast approaching the end of 2020, in what has been a very challenging year, on a number of fronts, for each of us. We want to reassure you that we are continuing to work our very hardest to resolve the issues, and to re-open as soon as possible, to make 2021 much better for our customers.

We wanted to let you know that Mike Rymanov has resigned as the CEO of the business with effect from the end of the year. The Board agreed that it was the right time for him to move on to other things. His replacement, subject to UK regulatory approvals, will be Simon Davis, who joins us as our Interim CEO. Simon has been working with us since June as a Strategic Advisor to the Board, so he already knows our business well. Simon brings a wealth of Executive experience and capability, which will help us better serve our customers, and build and grow our business going forwards. Before joining us, Simon was the Founder and Chief Executive of the innovative UK protection insurance challenger business known as Guardian Financial Services, an Insurtech business. As an experienced entrepreneur and business leader, he will be helping us to re-establish ourselves in the market, across existing and new markets, while delivering great outcomes for our customers. We are really excited about the future, and look forward to what we expect to be a much more positive 2021.

We wish you all seasons greetings, and look forward to a much better 2021 together.

We would like to provide you with the latest update we have with regards to our progress with remediation activities. In this update we will post some information which we hope will help customers run through the process faster.

Our progress on customers contacted

We continue to increase the number of customers we are contacting.
We have already contacted several groups of personal accounts and now we’re working with them in terms of collecting the information we need to move towards enabling access to funds. We will continue to extend the number of customers to be contacted.

We’ve also started contacting corporate customers. There are more steps to take in order to review our corporate customers in comparison to personal accounts so we will need some more time to make sure we process everything correctly. We soon plan to extend the number of corporate accounts to be contacted.

Some stumbling blocks during remediation the process - personal accounts

We have noticed a few areas where our customers struggle during the remediation process and we would like to provide some tips to help avoid these mistakes.

Your personal data

As the first step of the remediation, we will show you the personal data we have on file for you.

Please make sure that:

• Your name is written in latin exactly as it’s written in your ID document (international ID document): no spelling errors and no typos
• Your name is placed correctly in fields: your first name is written in the “First name” field and the last name - in the “Last name” field
• Your address is complete and correct
• Make sure home/apartment number is specified & correct.
  If you notice a mistake during the first step of the remediation, the system allows you to make a change.

Identity verification

• During the identity verification process please make sure you upload a document which does meet our requirements (available in the drop down menu during the verification process)

Proof of address (POA) verification

Here are some tips which will help you get through this stage faster:

• we do not accept local passports as a proof of address
• we do not accept printed out documents. If you received an electronic document, please provide it to us in the same format (if you have received a printed document in the post, this is acceptable)
• make sure your name, address and the date of issue show clearly on the document
• please upload a document which is on our list of acceptable documents

Please also note:

• The document should be the original document i.e. not a screenshot
• The document should not be older than 6 months old
• The document should not be blurry
• The document should be in your name
• The document should be authenticated i.e. QR code, stamp, signed etc.

Our list of acceptable documents

• Utility Bill
  This can be any of the following: Electricity Bill, Gas Bill, Water Bill, Fixed landline telephone.
• Bank or Credit Card Statement (not a prepaid card)
  The statement must show transactional history
• Certificate of Voter Registration
• Government-issued correspondence
  Can include, but not limited to tax return/assessment documentation, notification of benefits etc. Legal document from a Court