An update on the Railsbank migration

Debit Cards

During the final week of November we started issuing debit cards connected to Railsbank ANNA accounts for customers with both Wirecard and Railsbank accounts. We’ve been doing this in batches to make sure it’s a smooth process for everyone. So far we’ve sent out new cards to about half our customers, and if you haven’t already been contacted, we’ll be in touch by 11 December.

Once you receive and activate the new card for your Railsbank account, the cards linked to your old Wirecard account will no longer work. So make sure you have enough money in your Railsbank ANNA account to cover any card purchases. Your Wirecard ANNA account will remain active along with any Direct Debits set up on it.

We won’t cancel any existing Wirecard debit cards until your new Railsbank cards have arrived.

Virtual Debit Cards

As soon as you’ve received and activated your new Railsbank ANNA debit card, you can be issued with virtual debit cards for your Railsbank account.

Direct Debits

Direct Debits will remain active on your Wirecard account. If you don’t have enough money in your Wirecard ANNA account to cover payment, money will automatically be transferred from your Railsbank ANNA account - if it’s available.

If you’re wondering when Direct Debits will be available on your Railsbank ANNA accounts - they’re on their way. Railsbank has completed their integration of Direct Debit payment systems but they need a bit more time to run their final tests.

We’re now aiming to launch Direct Debits on Railsbank Accounts in January 2021. As with the issuing of new cards, this will be done in batches. We don’t have a start date for this process but we’re working as hard as we can to start as soon as possible.

Fees

From January 2021, monthly ANNA subscriptions will be taken from your new Railsbank ANNA accounts so please ensure you have enough money in your account to cover it.

Wirecard only customers

Some customers didn't open a Railsbank ANNA account during the migration and only have their Wirecard ANNA account. These accounts are now operating under the Railsbank/PayrNet licence. There hasn't been any update to these backend systems yet, so existing debit cards will continue to work and Direct Debits will continue as normal.

We're aiming to migrate these accounts onto the Railsbank backend systems in January 2021, when they'll benefit from the advantages of the Railsbank system such as quicker Faster Payments (FPS) transfers and having their business name on transfers.