• MuchBetter, an electronic payment system, abruptly stopped most of its services.
• Customers from European Union countries reported that crypto withdrawals to Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and XRP (XRP) are constantly reversed.
• The disruption of service comes shortly after the Central Bank of Lithuania suspended Payrnet UAB services due to money laundering violations.
MuchBetter Payment App Suspension
The award-winning crypto payment app MuchBetter recently halted all transactions, leaving European customers unable to access their funds. Not only were transfers to and from merchants worldwide unavailable, but top-ups were also not available for EEA customers. Additionally, cards, fobs, and wearables were suspended. Crypto withdrawals to Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and XRP (XRP) have been constantly reversed with no way of using them.
Investigation by Bank of Lithuania
It appears that the disruption of service is related to investigations conducted by the Central bank of Lithuania on Payrnet UAB services for “severe and systematic violations of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing”. UAB MIR Lithuania has also been targeted with similar violations as they serve as an intermediary for card payment services in partnership with Payrnet UAB. Furthermore, foreign banks have been threatened with strict sanctions if they form business partnerships with providers of MIR Cards owned by the Russian government.
Sanctions Affecting MIR Cards
In response to Russia’s invasion in Ukraine in 2022, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on all MIR cards in an attempt to punish Russia economically. Consequently, these credit and debit cards have been rejected not only within the European Economic Area but globally except in countries going through major financial crises such as Venezuela, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan.
Customer Outrage towards MuchBetter
Many customers are outraged at MuchBetter’s sudden disruption in service as it left them without any access or control over their funds stored within MuchBetter accounts; this includes both fiat currency and cryptocurrency withdrawals which are now impossible due to consecutive unsuccessful attempts at cashing out funds via wire transfer or crypto withdrawals respectively.
Conclusion
MuchBetter’s sudden suspension has caused much outrage amongst its users who are now unable to access their funds due to investigations conducted by the Bank of Lithuania targeting Payrnet UAB services for money laundering violations along with sanctions imposed by US Treasury Department on all MIR cards owned by the Russian government which has resulted in global rejection excluding certain countries going through major economic crisis such as Venezuela , Belarus ,and Kyrgyzstan .
