FirePay halts transactions, prepares for shutdown

FirePay, the U.K.-based online payment processor, is shutting down its services. According to a statement on the company's Web site, as of Monday it stopped allowing users to deposit funds or transfer money. It also stated that users have 150 days to withdraw their funds or review account statements.

The entire statement read like this:

"Effective Monday, December 10, 2007, FirePay will no longer allow funding, spending, or payment transactions. FirePay account holders will still be able to access their account to review their online statement, register and validate their bank account, and withdraw any existing balance free of charge for a 150-day period ending on Thursday, May 8, 2008. After this date the FirePay website will no longer allow account access and all further inquiries will have to be directed to FirePay via email at info@firepay.com. Any requests for withdrawal of a remaining balance after Thursday, May 8, 2008, will incur a $25 payment handling fee. Please sign in to your account now at www.firepay.com to confirm whether you have a balance and, if so, to initiate a free withdrawal."