Electronic money provider ePayments Systems Limited entered special administration on 15 October 2026, with insolvency practitioners appointed to manage the company and establish the position of customer funds.
The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that Mark Boast and Allister Manson of Opus Restructuring LLP had been appointed joint special administrators. They will manage claims against the company and seek to return funds to customers where possible.
ePayments Systems Limited is authorised to issue electronic money under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The FCA says the company remains authorised during special administration and continues to be subject to the regulator’s rules.
Responsibility for managing the company has transferred to the administrators, who are officers of the court and must comply with insolvency law. The FCA will continue engaging with them during the process.
The special administration regime was introduced by the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021. It is similar to an ordinary administration but includes additional statutory objectives tailored to businesses handling payment services and electronic money.
Those objectives include returning customer funds as soon as reasonably practicable and ensuring timely engagement with payment systems operators, regulators and other relevant authorities.
The administrators will collect information from creditors and customers about payments made to or owed by ePayments. They will then provide further details of the claims process and the arrangements for returning funds where possible.
The FCA has not announced a confirmed customer-loss total, identified a final shortfall in safeguarded funds or published a definitive explanation of the circumstances leading to the administration. Those matters cannot be established solely from the appointment of administrators.
The treatment of customer money differs from the protection available through ordinary bank deposits. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers certain eligible financial activities, but the FCA states that ePayments’ payment services are not protected by the scheme.
Electronic money institutions are instead subject to safeguarding requirements. As the FCA explains, these require relevant customer money to be held separately from the institution’s own funds, with the objective of protecting customers if a business fails.
Safeguarding is not the same as an FSCS guarantee. It does not mean that customers automatically receive compensation up to a statutory deposit-protection limit, nor does it establish that every balance will necessarily be returned in full or immediately.
The administrators must examine the funds held by ePayments to determine the position. Until that work has progressed, the amount recoverable by individual customers and the timetable for distributions remain uncertain.
Businesses and other customers with outstanding balances or transactions should use the administrator’s official communication channels for information about claims. The FCA says further instructions will be provided as the administrators gather the required records.
The regulator has also warned customers about potential scams. Anyone receiving an unexpected approach from a person claiming to represent ePayments, Opus or the FCA should verify the contact through independently established official details.
The FCA notes that most customers are unlikely to benefit from paying a third party to assist with a claim. Its guidance directs customers to the administrators for information about the process.
Special administration provides a legal mechanism for handling customer funds and winding down or resolving the relevant business arrangements. The outcomes for ePayments customers will depend on the administrators’ assessment of the company’s records, safeguarding position and creditor claims.
You must be logged in to post a comment.