Worldpay and Visa disclosed late last week that they are reversing duplicate transactions that resulted in unauthorized withdrawals.
According to a report in CNBC, the withdrawals were by some users of Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange. “Worldpay and Coinbase have been working with Visa and Visa-issuing banks to ensure that duplicate transactions have been reversed and appropriate credits have been posted to cardholder accounts,” the two payments processors said in a joint statement reported CNBC. “This issue was not caused by Coinbase.” The two noted the reversed transactions would show up in affected customers’ accounts in the next few days. It said most have posted already.
According to CNBC, during the past few days, customers of Coinbase were complaining on Reddit and other social media forums about duplicate transactions that in some instances resulted in them getting hit with overdraft fees because their balances went down to zero. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission told CNBC late last week that it was looking into the issue and that it knew of the complaints on the part of customers.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told CNBC, “we are aware of the reports, and expect companies to comply with all applicable laws regarding the treatment of consumers’ funds. Consumers who find unauthorized charges in their bank account or credit card should contact their financial institution immediately.”
Coinmama, a bitcoin marketplace that supports Visa as a payment method, told CNBC that it hasn’t had any issues with payments as of yet. CNBC noted that the impact appears to have been limited. Coinbase can operate in more than 30 states — and when CNBC reached out to them, of the eight that responded to the inquires, none saw an increase in complaints having to do with Coinbase.