Visa and Mastercard both slapped eight figure fines on Wirecard years before the German payments processor's recent spectacular collapse in the face of an accounting scandal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The payment networks have been concerned about Wirecard's business for years, particularly its association with risky areas such as gambling, pornography and unregulated healthcare products, says the Journal, citing sources.
Mastercard fined the firm £11 million in 2008 for processing gambling transactions under the wrong codes. Then, two years later, Mastercard wrote to Wirecard about concerns it was rerouting gambling transactions that had already been declined by banks.
Meanwhile, Mastercard and Visa have long been worried about the number of chargebacks on Wirecard transactions. Visa fined Wirecard's banking unit $12 million in 2009 over the issue.