U.S.-based customers with money in Neteller accounts will have more to balk at as the payment processor remains from all sides assailed.
Various news sources are reporting that the company has stopped offering U.S. customers peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, moreover, that the FBI has frozen access to their accounts as part of its ongoing investigation into the company.
Some U.S. customers were using P2P transfers--a service whereby one customer sends funds directly to another via Neteller's P2P network--as recourse to remove funds from their accounts, after the company last week suspended its ATM services in the United States.
On Neteller's FAQ site, last updated on Saturday, the company states, "U.S. members have been temporarily de-certified to revoke [P2P] capabilities. These accounts should be automatically re-certified in the next 10 business days, but [P2P] transfers will no longer be available to U.S. members."
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Neil Donovan told USA Today on Feb. 1 that funds from Neteller are being held in court as potential evidence. Some customers may be returned their money, but Donovan did not offer any estimation as to when.
The company has so far offered limited instruction for customers wishing to cash out their accounts. "We are working to resolve all withdrawal issues, but in the meantime we continue to maintain these funds in trust on your behalf," said a posting on Neteller's Web site.
Neteller conducts business with financial institutions and merchants worldwide, though it had--prior to the enactment of the U.S. legislation in October 2006--derived two-thirds of its business via online gambling companies, allowing them to transfer money garnered from U.S. players to non-U.S.-bank accounts.
Neteller co-founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre were arrested in the United States on Jan. 15. Both are due to appear in court on Feb. 14 in New York.
Attempts to reach Neteller for comment were unsuccessful.