• MuchBetter, a crypto payment app, suddenly halted most services and customers from European Union countries reported continuous reversals on bank withdrawals.
• The disruption of service comes days after the Central Bank of Lithuania suspended services of Payrnet UAB, an intermediary for card payment services.
• The US Treasury Department threatened foreign banks with strict sanctions if they formed partnerships with providers of MIR Cards, a state-subsidized payment system owned by the Russian government.
MuchBetter Crypto Card Suspended
The award-winning crypto payment app MuchBetter suddenly stopped most provided services, leaving many European customers outraged after consecutive unsuccessful attempts at cashing out their funds. Transfers to and from merchants worldwide are not available for EEA customers and cards, fobs, and wearables are also suspended.
Investigation Into Money Laundering
The disruption of service at MuchBetter comes just days after the Central bank of Lithuania suspended Payrnet UAB services due to suspicion of „severe and systematic violations of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing“. UAB MIR Lithuania served Payrnet UAB as an intermediary for card payment services which have both been targeted with similar violations.
Sanctions from US Treasury Department
The US Treasury Department has threatened foreign banks with strict sanctions if they form business partnerships with providers of MIR Cards, a state-subsidized payment system fully owned by the Russian government. This wave of sanctions is due to Russia’s invasion into neighboring Ukraine in 2022 which resulted in all credit and debit cards with the Russian logo being rejected in the European economic area. MIR cards are now only used in countries going through major financial crises such as Venezuela, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan.
Outrage Among Customers
European customers report continuous reversals on bank withdrawals as well as crypto withdrawals to Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and XRP (XRP) being constantly reversed without any possible way to use them – trapping user money on balance without access to it. This issue has caused serious outrage among customers who have taken to Twitter in order to express their frustration about this service disruption.
Conclusion
Overall, MuchBetter’s sudden halt on provided services has caused much upset among its users who rely on this app for various transactions including cryptocurrency payments. It is unclear when these issues will be resolved but there seems to be no end in sight until further investigations into potential violations are completed or until the US Treasury Department eases up its sanctioning policies regarding MIR Cards .