Cork shopping centre warns it cannot honour gift cards after allegations against card provider

Mon, 26 Jun, 2023 - 17:48

Alison O'Reilly

One of Cork’s best known shopping centres has warned customers they cannot honour gift cards specific to the centre after the company who provided them had their licence revoked.

Management at Mahon Point Shopping Centre issued a statement on Monday, saying it could not “sell or accept” the gift cards provided by UAB PayrNet.

The statement came after it emerged regulators in Lithuania revoked the licence from the UAB PayrNet company citing “gross systematic and multiple violations”.

They included allegations of money laundering, as well as concerns over terrorist financing law violations.

It is understood up to 18 credit unions that use the service are also affected.

The statement by Mahon Point Shopping Centre said: “We understand that this may be concerning and inconvenient and want to assure you that this issue is not confined to our shopping centre, but it is affecting other centres and service providers across Ireland and Europe that also use the services of UAB PayrNet.

At this stage, the full implications and the timeline for a resolution are not completely clear. However, we are working closely with the gift card provider and exploring every possible avenue to rectify the situation as swiftly as possible.

“In the interim, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. We will continue to provide further updates as more information becomes available."

The shopping centre went on to say the issue is “beyond our control and we are exploring every possible solution to rectify the situation”.

It continued: “At this stage, we do not have a clear timeline for resolution. We are working closely with the gift card provider to rectify this situation as quickly as possible and will provide updates as we have them.”