Hej alle,
I have followed the discussions regarding this closely and many of the comments regarding the institutions like VISA, MASTERCARD, NETS etc and the hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I will try to explain how the system works and what could have gone wrong with E-Wire. Maybe it is something totally different, but that will become apparent Monday.
First lets look at the registration process;
PCI/DSS compliance
If a payment gateway processes less than 250,000 transactions a year, then they can be a 'self certified' provider by fulfilling the requirements of The Associations, which would be accepted by the Acquiring Bank that they use for processing the transactions. This Accreditation only covers how they store card data and ensures that the protocols that are needed to protect that data are fulfilled. Self Certification would still require an organisation (as of December 2012) to be registered with VISA here https://www.visamerchantagentslist.com/ this should always be guided by the Acquiring Bank who holds the ultimate responsibility as part of their license, and also the one that has approved the processes and ultimately processes the transactions and transfers the money.
Third Party solutions;
Organisations like E-Wire work on the perception that they can accept and process organisations without them having to go through the 'normal' acceptance processes of NETS, Euroline, SEB etc that allows them to process the brands advertised...Dankort, VISA, Mastercard etc. Naturally these mainstream brands do not like this, as it can devalue the brand and allow 'traders' to accept organisations that would normally be rejected.
Acquirers, like NETS (the only Acquirer for Dankort) need to protect their Monopoly, which could lead us to an answer to the closing of E-Wire. The new owners no longer want solutions like E-Wire playing with their profits and possibly devaluing the brand. This would mean that their terminal would be closed with immediate effect, and based on Bankruptcy laws the management cannot make any further decisions regarding the distribution of money, without the direction of a 'Kurator', as they could then be dealing with a personal liability case.
Distribution of Money
Organisations like E-Wire receive all funds in one lump sum from the Acquiring Bank (NETS) and their system divides it up into portions dependent on the trading values from each of their registered web shops, minus their fees obviously.
What could happen is a web shop has not been honest about their trading processes, which has left E-Wire with a minus on their accounts as follows;
Total trade weekly = 10M KR
Un-delivered/refunds/chargebacks minus 3M KR
This scenario would mean that they are fishing to find 3M kr they do not have, and maybe why the accounts would show such losses as the Acquiring Bank hold them responsible for the difference.
Finanstilsynet;
As a public organisation their position is to ensure that the organisations registered with them follow certain protocols, however the protocols that E-Wire and others follow are lead by the Acquirers, NETS, VISA, Mastercard. These organisations require Card Data to be protected (PCI/DSS), and also dictate the internal administrative processes of the provider (E-Wire). F.ex. distribution of money, transaction administration, fraud to risk scenarios etc. etc.
Finanstilsynet on the other hand only puts guidelines in place and checks on processes and the management of an organisation, to ensure that they are deemed "fit and proper" to administer such a business. This includes checking CV's to determine that individuals have gained their experience within the financial sector.
Finanstilsynet is also a direct cost for such organisations like E-Wire as they do not exist from the public purse, they are financed from the commercial organisations registered with them, where their Audit rights are extensive which also carry a separate cost to those registered.
Yourpay
If they are associated to First Data rest assured that they are OK and can be checked directly through their main website https://www.firstdata.com.
Maybe no PCI/DSS Data requirements are needed as they will NOT store card data, but use a payment window created by First Data where they fall under First Data's approval for compliance with the Card Associations.
A rule of thumb for anyone with concerns is to ask what the descriptor will be on a customers credit card statement, this will give you a good idea as to who is processing the money.
MCC (Merchant Category Code) rules state that each and every web site needs to be identifiable by the products sold, which determines the processing fees per industry (A gaming site does not carry the same cost as a web shop selling socks)
As this organisation is offering third party solutions the most important thing to ask is as follows;
1. Who will pay you. Will your transactions be paid to Yourpay to send to you? needs to be registered with Finanstilsynet if the later is the case.
2. What will your descriptor be (www.yoursite.dk) the information on your customers credit card statement. Make a test transaction with your own card once approved to double check.
3. What is your MCC code?
4. What is your risk classification?
5. What are your chargeback rights and the Acquiring Banks processes when handling them. Do they have good connections with the Issuing Banks?
Conclusion;
I know nothing about E-Wire or how their business was administered, however if I look inside the industry I would say that someone else has 'pulled the plug' on them. They exist through organisations bigger than them... IE NETS/Teler, where without them E-Wire cannot function and subsequently they cannot send out a communication to their customers as it is not them that hold all the cards.
NETS have new owners with new ideas and this business model I know they do not like irrespective of the repercussions, hey, they have a monopoly so they can do what they want and when they want....
Like I said I have no idea what the reason is, but based on the information posted my 100kr bet is on this outcome.
NB; Sorry about doing all of this in English...