Is ePassporte screwed?
09-03-2010
, 08:57 AM
Seems like Visa booted ePassporte or the Bank they where using, St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank.
If you have funds in your virtual visa account on ePass they are frozen (or lost4ever lol). If you have money in your ePass wallet they should be safe for you to cash out or transfer somewhere else.
I noticed that the default setting for receiving payments is into your virtual visa account. So I bet a lot of people are stuck a lot of money. Seems kinda shady to not default to the Wallet.
It's all Madoffs fault right? 
Middle Men trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3gcb_9Q10E
I wonder what the sequel is going to be about.
Does anybody have any thoughts or insight on this issue? Was it just a matter of time or was this a glitch of incompetence?
If you have funds in your virtual visa account on ePass they are frozen (or lost4ever lol). If you have money in your ePass wallet they should be safe for you to cash out or transfer somewhere else.
I noticed that the default setting for receiving payments is into your virtual visa account. So I bet a lot of people are stuck a lot of money. Seems kinda shady to not default to the Wallet.
Quote:
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LEGAL action has been brought against the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), five regional banks and the government of Antigua and Barbuda by a group of Stanford investors who claim they lost big after the “unlawful seizure” of the Bank of Antigua.
The Stanford Victims Coalition filed a class-action lawsuit in the US District Court in Dallas, Texas against the Caribbean financial institutions, complaining that the ECCB’s intervention in the Bank of Antigua was unlawful because the bank was of significant value to the victims.
Regional banks include the Antigua Commercial Bank, the St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, Eastern Caribbean Financial Holdings (Bank of St Lucia), the National Commercial Bank (St Vincent and the Grenadines) and the National Bank of Dominica – institutions that joined together to run the affairs of the Bank of Antigua after its Chairman Allen Stanford had been charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 17, 2009.
The Stanford Victims Coalition filed a class-action lawsuit in the US District Court in Dallas, Texas against the Caribbean financial institutions, complaining that the ECCB’s intervention in the Bank of Antigua was unlawful because the bank was of significant value to the victims.
Regional banks include the Antigua Commercial Bank, the St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, Eastern Caribbean Financial Holdings (Bank of St Lucia), the National Commercial Bank (St Vincent and the Grenadines) and the National Bank of Dominica – institutions that joined together to run the affairs of the Bank of Antigua after its Chairman Allen Stanford had been charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 17, 2009.
Quote:
Dear ePassporte Account Holders,
Please be advised that, at 12:00 PM PDT today, September 2, 2010, we were notified that effective immediately, Visa International has suspended our banking partner's (St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank) ePassporte Visa program. The ePassporte e-Wallet program continues to be up and running, except funds cannot be transferred between your Visa Account and your e-Wallet. At this time ePassporte can no longer issue Visa Cards, and the ability for our Account Holders to make point of sale purchases and withdraw funds from ATMs has also been suspended.
At this time we do not know why this drastic action was taken by Visa. To us, it is unconscionable that such action would be taken without the opportunity for ePassporte to fully understand Visa's reasons and to be able to take all steps necessary to keep our program running the way it has so successfully done for over 7 years. But that is what Visa has done.
As soon as we have more information we will be in contact with you.
In the meantime please be assured that your funds are safe.
We are very sorry for the short notice and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The ePassporte team is working diligently to rectify this situation.
We kindly ask you to bear with us while we work through this issue.
Please feel free to contact us via the message center or at our call center, should you have any questions, comments or concerns.
Thank You,
Christopher Mallick
Please be advised that, at 12:00 PM PDT today, September 2, 2010, we were notified that effective immediately, Visa International has suspended our banking partner's (St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank) ePassporte Visa program. The ePassporte e-Wallet program continues to be up and running, except funds cannot be transferred between your Visa Account and your e-Wallet. At this time ePassporte can no longer issue Visa Cards, and the ability for our Account Holders to make point of sale purchases and withdraw funds from ATMs has also been suspended.
At this time we do not know why this drastic action was taken by Visa. To us, it is unconscionable that such action would be taken without the opportunity for ePassporte to fully understand Visa's reasons and to be able to take all steps necessary to keep our program running the way it has so successfully done for over 7 years. But that is what Visa has done.
As soon as we have more information we will be in contact with you.
In the meantime please be assured that your funds are safe.
We are very sorry for the short notice and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The ePassporte team is working diligently to rectify this situation.
We kindly ask you to bear with us while we work through this issue.
Please feel free to contact us via the message center or at our call center, should you have any questions, comments or concerns.
Thank You,
Christopher Mallick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3gcb_9Q10E
I wonder what the sequel is going to be about.
Does anybody have any thoughts or insight on this issue? Was it just a matter of time or was this a glitch of incompetence?
10-05-2010
, 03:45 AM
Epassporte.com is now officially dead.
Christopher Mallick's movie "Middle Men" about this great business tanks and a month or so after the entire company goes down in flames.
Christopher Mallick's movie "Middle Men" about this great business tanks and a month or so after the entire company goes down in flames.
Quote:
Dear ePassporte Account Holders,
It is with great regret we inform you that ePassporte must close its doors due to a lack of revenue and circumstances beyond our control.
Effective immediately, the call center, ePassporte's sales and marketing team and risk management staff will no longer be available. A small group will remain to organize wallet requests and help disburse funds. On the ePassporte website, in the near future, wallet holders will be provided further information on what is needed to obtain your funds. This will mainly be a process to protect wallet holder funds from fraud. We expect this will be a simplified process, and as we receive the necessary information, our small remaining staff will process requests as quickly as they can. Please direct your wallet questions, concerns and requests to walletrequest@ePassporte.com.
For those of you with funds on your Visa Accounts, we are informed that St. Kitts Bank is working on a plan to provide everyone with full access to their funds through their Visa Electron Cards or by bank wire transfers and will inform you accordingly.
We appreciate your support for the ePassporte program over the past 7 years and deeply regret we must close our doors at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
ePassporte.com
It is with great regret we inform you that ePassporte must close its doors due to a lack of revenue and circumstances beyond our control.
Effective immediately, the call center, ePassporte's sales and marketing team and risk management staff will no longer be available. A small group will remain to organize wallet requests and help disburse funds. On the ePassporte website, in the near future, wallet holders will be provided further information on what is needed to obtain your funds. This will mainly be a process to protect wallet holder funds from fraud. We expect this will be a simplified process, and as we receive the necessary information, our small remaining staff will process requests as quickly as they can. Please direct your wallet questions, concerns and requests to walletrequest@ePassporte.com.
For those of you with funds on your Visa Accounts, we are informed that St. Kitts Bank is working on a plan to provide everyone with full access to their funds through their Visa Electron Cards or by bank wire transfers and will inform you accordingly.
We appreciate your support for the ePassporte program over the past 7 years and deeply regret we must close our doors at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
ePassporte.com
10-05-2010
, 03:48 AM
Also, 
10-08-2010
, 06:45 AM
10-08-2010
, 09:15 AM
Maybe there is some hope for those of you that have money in the epass wallet after all:
Yeah I never really knew it was shady either. Just because they deal with adult/gambling business doesn't mean the it's a shady business, there is a lot of money to be made in that biz and the service they provided was pretty damn good.
Kinda scary how fast the house of cards fell down on them though, they had a nice 7 year run only to get shut down in less then 1 month after the bank/visa cutoff.
Yeah I never really knew it was shady either. Just because they deal with adult/gambling business doesn't mean the it's a shady business, there is a lot of money to be made in that biz and the service they provided was pretty damn good.
Kinda scary how fast the house of cards fell down on them though, they had a nice 7 year run only to get shut down in less then 1 month after the bank/visa cutoff.