Belize-regulated retail broker Alpari announced on Friday via its website that it will pause withdrawals through Visa in euros and dollars until March of this year. The broker specified that only cards with new bank details will be affected.

Withdrawals are still available with cards that have previously been used (up to and including November 30, 2018). Withdrawals via Mastercard are available as usual.

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“We will inform you again once normal service has been resumed,” said the broker in its statement.

Although Visa withdrawals will be unavailable, the company did note that its Mastercard services would be running as usual. Alongside its Visa and Mastercard solutions, Alpari does offer a swathe of other payments options to its different clients.

Payment Challenges to the Industry

While Alpari isn’t likely to be badly hit by its temporary problems with Visa, many companies in the wider retail trading industry are struggling to find both banking services and payments providers that would allow them to operate a brokerage.

Speaking to Finance Magnates at the end of last year, Leverate’s Chief Executive Officer, Yasha Polyakov, noted that although regulation is held up as being the biggest hurdle to pass for brokers, it is actually payments providers who are making life toughest for companies in today’s market.