SANTA MONICA, Calif.—ePassporte sent a letter to account holders late Thursday that notified them that Visa International had suspended the ability its banking partner in the West Indies nation of Saint Kitts—St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.—to process ePassporte through Visa.
As the word has circulated through the adult online community, a number of affiliate programs are already contacting their affiliates to alert then to the situation and put into place alternative means of making payment transactions.
The letter from ePassporte chief executive Chris Mallick is, as follows.
“Dear ePassporte Account Holders,
“Please be advised that, at 12:00 PM PDT today, September 2, 2010, we were notified that effective immediately, Visa International has suspended our banking partner’s (St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank) ePassporte Visa program. The ePassporte e-Wallet program continues to be up and running, except funds cannot be transferred between your Visa Account and your e-Wallet. At this time ePassporte can no longer issue Visa Cards, and the ability for our Account Holders to make point of sale purchases and withdraw funds from ATMs has also been suspended.
“At this time we do not know why this drastic action was taken by Visa. To us, it is unconscionable that such action would be taken without the opportunity for ePassporte to fully understand Visa’s reasons and to be able to take all steps necessary to keep our program running the way it has so successfully done for over 7 years. But that is what Visa has done.
“As soon as we have more information we will be in contact with you.
“In the meantime please be assured that your funds are safe.
“We are very sorry for the short notice and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The ePassporte team is working diligently to rectify this situation.
“We kindly ask you to bear with us while we work through this issue.
“Please feel free to contact us via the message center or at our call center, should you have any questions, comments or concerns.
“Thank You,
Christopher Mallick.”
AVN has contacted all of the relevant parties and will report on this developing story as it unfolds.
