US Samsung Pay users can't send money internationally after Travelex hack (update)
The ransomware attack is affecting people around the world.
Travelex's ransomware attack continues to affect people and businesses around the globe -- including those that might not consider themselves affiliated with the company in any way. Engadget can reveal that Samsung Pay's international money transfer service -- which relies on the Travelex platform -- has been suspended as a result of the issues faced by its partner.
In a call, a customer service representative for Travelex confirmed that Samsung Pay payments are down and will continue to be until Travelex resolves the ongoing issue. Any users attempting to make a transfer will be unable to complete the process.
While a number of Britain's biggest banks have been affected by the attack, Samsung Pay international money transfer is only available to customers in the US, demonstrating the widespread consequences of the hack -- many banks and services quietly use Travelex in the background of their operations, as well as UK customers using the service directly.
The Travelex website currently still redirects to an advisory page, informing visitors that the site has been taken down as a "precautionary measure" following the data breach that has seen hackers demand $6 million for the safe return of sensitive customer information. The company maintains that there is no evidence that the data -- which includes credit card details and birth dates -- has yet been exfiltrated.
Update: 01/09/2020 - 12:40pm ET: Samsung has issued a statement on the payment suspension, noting that it does not believe any transaction or user data has been affected by the incident:
"We are aware of a recent incident impacting the internal systems of our partner, Travelex. Samsung Pay has not detected any abnormal activity on our own systems, and we have been informed by Travelex that there is no indication that Samsung Pay user transactions or customer data have been affected by the incident. As a precautionary measure, Samsung and Travelex decided to disable the international payment service at this time."
