Internet gambling e-cash processor admits hassles
News on 15 Dec 2012
News on 15 Dec 2012
Quicktender, an online gambling e-cash processor that has been active in the US market, admitted in a statement this week that some payments had not reached the players, blaming Its bank’s “correspondent banking partners” where the funds destined for US players have accumulated and may have been frozen.
“We suspect it is possible that these funds may be subject to a seizure order by the US authorities,” the statement from Quicktender explains. “We would stress that we do not have bank accounts in the US of our own, and that the funds have left our account in Europe.”
The statement dwells for some time on how reliable and reputable QT has been in the past concerning its UseMyWallet and Quicktender withdrawal system.
“Our reputation is important to us, and until recently there has never been any question that players and merchants would be paid. In order to achieve this, we have built over many years relationships with payment intermediaries that share our values of honesty and integrity. In the jurisdictions from which we offer our services we are proud to be properly licensed and constituted, and have even worked with US law enforcement on occasions where criminal activity has been identified,” management claims.
“However, we cannot always predict some of the vagaries of the US administration. Over the past 2 weeks we have in good faith transmitted withdrawals initiated by Quicktender account holders to beneficiary bank accounts in the US. The money left our account in Europe.
“It was only in response to increasing complaints from our customers that we recognised there was a problem, and asked our bank to investigate.
“It emerges that the money has been accumulated in our bank’s correspondent banking partners accounts in the US, and has been frozen. We suspect it is possible that these funds may be subject to a seizure order by the US authorities.”
The statement ends with an assurance that the company continues to ensure that accounts holders’ funds are safe, and to this end notifies clients that it is suspending future withdrawals “….until we understand what has happened to the money that has been frozen.
“If we continue to transmit bank wires into the US we could find that these funds also do not reach their ultimate beneficiaries. This would simply make the problem worse.”
The statement ends on what appears to be a veiled warning against clients taking action against the company.
“It is not in the interests of anybody to attempt to financially impact QuickTender further,” the statement warns. “These actions may impact the future viability of the company and the ability of the company to pay its customers. We are assessing our current exposure, and how best to reintroduce withdrawals safely.”
