WEX Shutters Consumer Travel Card In Enterprise Refocus

The consumer prepaid travel card, My Travel Cash, owned by payments company WEX, will shut down and has stopped taking new customers as WEX plans to refocus its business on corporates, according to reports.

WEX Europe owns the consumer travel card company, first launched in 2009. In an email to its customers last week, reports said on Thursday (Aug. 18), the firm revealed it would cease operations on Oct. 4 of this year.

This is Money reported that WEX said the decision to close the unit was made before the Brexit vote, and it would be focusing on corporate payments moving forward.

“WEX is refocusing all of its efforts in support of its strategic objective to grow our corporate virtual card business globally and, in particular, in Europe,” a spokesperson for WEX Europe told the outlet.

“As part of this initiative, we have decided to close down our physical card program for My Travel Cash that we offer to consumer customers in the U.K. today,” the spokesperson continued. “This action will allow us to consolidate our issuer and processor partners and ensure that we are using our people to support our existing and future virtual customers in the best possible way.”

Customers using the My Travel Cash card product have been advised to withdraw their funds, spend them or transfer to a bank account for free by the October deadline, reports said.

Last year, WEX made another move to bolster its corporate payments operation. In October, it said it reached a deal to acquire Electronic Funds Source for $1.4 billion, which analysts said is likely a response to declining fuel costs and WEX’s efforts to tap into corporate payments revenue in industries other than fleet.