ePayments Systems customers face wait for funds after firm enters special administration
The e-money firm is not covered by the FSCS, and administrators are now working out how much customer money can be returned.
Firm placed into special administration
ePayments Systems Limited (EPS) entered special administration on 15 October 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed. Mark Boast and Allister Manson, both of Opus Restructuring LLP, have been appointed as joint special administrators and are now responsible for running the firm and handling customer claims.
EPS is authorised by the FCA to issue e-money under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, and its details remain listed on the Financial Services Register. The FCA says that although the firm is now under the control of the special administrators, it continues to be FCA authorised and subject to the regulator’s rules.
What it means for customers
Anyone who holds money with EPS does not have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the FCA has confirmed, because the scheme does not cover payment services of this kind. Instead, e-money firms are required to keep customer funds separate from their own, a rule known as safeguarding. The special administrators will now assess all funds held by EPS to establish exactly what is available.
The administrators are gathering information from creditors and customers about payments made to, or owed by, EPS, and say they will set out how customers can make a claim “in due course”. No timescale has yet been given for when claims processes will open or when any funds might be returned.
The special administration regime being used was introduced under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021. It works in a similar way to an ordinary company administration, but comes with extra legal duties: administrators must return customer money as quickly as reasonably possible and keep payment system operators and regulators, including the FCA, informed as they go.
Warning over third parties and scams
The FCA has warned EPS customers to be cautious of any company that approaches them offering to help recover their money, saying there will be “no benefit” for most customers in using a third party to make a claim. The regulator has also urged people to be alert to fraud, warning that if anyone is contacted unexpectedly by someone claiming to represent EPS, Opus or the FCA itself, they should end the call and get in touch using independently verified contact details rather than any number or email given during that call.
Customers with questions about the administration process are being directed to contact the special administrators at Opus Restructuring LLP directly. The FCA’s own Consumer Helpline is also available for general queries from affected customers.
What happens next
The FCA says it will continue to engage with the special administrators “to seek the best outcome for customers” as the process unfolds. For now, the key unresolved question for EPS customers is how much of their money was properly safeguarded and when it might be paid out, something the special administrators have yet to confirm. Further updates on how to submit a claim are expected from Opus Restructuring LLP in the coming weeks.