It was with great excitement that ZipZap announced last year they would be adding thousands of cash-to-bitcoin locations in the United Kingdom — effectively allowing clients to purchase bitcoin at over 25,000 participating locations.
Fast forward to the present time, and the program has come to a grinding halt. The company is currently not accepting cash for bitcoin in the country anymore, according to a report from CoinSpectator.
The reason? “Ongoing” issues with PayPoint, the company that serves as ZipZap’s payment processing backbone. PayPoint has asked ZipZap to stop accepting cash for bitcoin until the legalities surrounding bitcoin become clearer.
That’s according to company CEO Alan Safahi, who Monday evening to clarify the situation:
We are not shut down by PayPoint. We are still working with them for non-digital currency clients. They only asked that we halt processing digital currency transactions until they have better legal clarification from government on Bitcoin which we hope to have within weeks.
Safahi says the company is seeking alternative avenues and adds that “good news” is forthcoming (it was not specified what this good news relates to).
For now, though, if you were looking to use ZipZap’s service for bitcoin, you’re out of luck.