M1, Safra among big retailers with payments disrupted due to Wirecard's exit

TELCO M1 and Safra are among some of Wirecard's former merchants experiencing disruptions to their payment services following the cessation of Wirecard's services in Singapore last week.

In an e-mail to customers on Friday seen by The Business Times, M1 said its monthly recurring payment mode is temporarily unavailable as its payment processing partner, Wirecard, has stopped operating here.

In the meantime, customers can pay their bills via the AXS option on their My M1 mobile app. "We're working on it and will update you once your recurring payment arrangement is back," said M1.

Safra, via an alert on its website, informed members that it is temporarily suspending all online payment services due to Wirecard's exit. Members may visit Safra clubhouses for transaction matters.

"Safra is working expediently to reinstate the online payment and will provide status update in due course," it said.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) had on Oct 1 ordered Wirecard entities in Singapore to cease their payment services, as the firm told MAS that it was unable to continue providing payment-processing services to a "significant" number of merchants.

BT understands that thousands of merchants in Singapore are users of Wirecard's payment terminals, though some have already found new providers after news of Wirecard's collapse first surfaced in June.

It is unclear exactly how many affected merchants here have made alternative arrangements.

The firm became a well-known payments player in the Asia-Pacific region after acquiring the customer portfolio of Citigroup's merchant acquiring business. Following the announcement in 2017, Wirecard said its portfolio of clients in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, India, Australia and New Zealand comprised more than 20,000 merchants in the region.