Across the UK, more than 16,000 people who rely on vital care services are currently unable to access the funds they need. Local authorities and care organisations are facing major disruption to their payment systems, affecting direct payments to carers, personal assistants and service users.
Since Friday, 18 July, many councils have reported a full-scale outage at EML (Prepaid Financial Services), halting prepaid card transactions used to fund essential care. The issue has sparked concern among the public, delayed critical disbursements, and highlighted major vulnerabilities in how Direct Payment programmes operate.
The outage has effectively cut off the flow of money to those delivering and receiving care. Some have been forced to pay upfront from their own pockets; others have been left without care altogether.
Providers are waiting for payment, families are left to fill the gap, and local authorities are being asked why their systems relied so heavily on a single point of failure.
Direct Payment Disruption: Your questions answered
1. Why are my EML Payments delayed?
On Friday, 18 July 2025, a major outage at EML (Prepaid Financial Services) disrupted the prepaid card systems used by many local authorities and care organisations to distribute direct payments.
The issue left thousands of users – including carers, personal assistants, and vulnerable individuals – without access to essential funds for over a week. Care and support payments simply stopped. For many, that meant being unable to pay for care, cover transport costs, or buy everyday essentials for support services.
While EML did not immediately publish a full explanation, feedback on review platforms reveals widespread frustration. Users reported being locked out of their accounts, receiving no clear updates, and struggling to get support.
Whether the root cause was a technical failure, a security issue, or an operational breakdown, the result was the same: critical funds were inaccessible, and the systems in place failed the people who rely on them most.
2. What can I do if I have not been paid?
If your payment has been delayed or missed entirely due to the EML outage, there are a few important steps you can take to regain access to the support you are entitled to:
- Contact your local authority’s direct payments team
This should be your first step. Most councils have a dedicated team responsible for managing direct payments. They can confirm the status of your payment, provide updates on the outage, and advise on any steps being taken to resolve the issue. In some cases, they may be able to prioritise your case or escalate it internally - Request an emergency workaround
Some local authorities are putting contingency measures in place to support those most affected. This may include issuing one-off bank transfers, providing vouchers, or using an alternative payment route temporarily. If your situation is urgent — for example, if you are unable to pay a carer or purchase essential supplies — make this clear when you speak to their payments team. - Keep a record of missed payments and any impacts
Documenting the dates and amounts of payments not received, as well as any personal or financial consequences (such as missed care, out-of-pocket costs, or disrupted services), can be helpful. These records may support any future claims for reimbursement or complaints made to your local authority or care organisation. - Ask whether an alternative system is available
If you have experienced repeated issues with your current provider, it is reasonable to ask whether your local authority is considering a more resilient payment solution. Some alternative systems, like Soldo, offer real-time visibility, decentralised access, and proactive controls — which can reduce the risk of widespread outages.
In short, you are not powerless. Reach out, record everything, and explore all options available to protect your care and your independence.
3. What caused the EML Payments outage?
As of now, EML (Prepaid Financial Services) has not provided a full or detailed explanation of the outage that began on 18 July 2025. What is known comes primarily from user reports and public feedback.
Affected individuals have described a complete breakdown in access to prepaid cards — with transactions failing, account portals being inaccessible, and no clear timeframe for resolution. Many also reported difficulties getting through to customer support, with long wait times, inconsistent information, and little clarity on what was happening behind the scenes.
This lack of transparency has compounded the impact of the outage. Without clear answers, users have been left uncertain about whether their funds are safe, when payments will resume, or how to plan for the days ahead. Whether the cause was technical, security-related or operational, the failure to communicate has undermined confidence in the system — particularly for those who depend on it daily.
4. Who is affected by the outage?
The outage has affected a wide range of individuals and organisations that rely on prepaid cards issued through EML for direct payments. Most notably, this includes:
- Carers and personal assistants, who use prepaid funds to provide essential services, cover transport, and manage daily care tasks.
- Care recipients, often older adults or individuals with disabilities, who rely on these payments for personal care, wellbeing, and daily independence.
- Families and guardians, who oversee spending on behalf of vulnerable relatives.
- Care providers, community care services and agencies, who are paid through this system and use it to fund operational costs.
In total, more than 16,000 people have been impacted, with many facing sudden financial uncertainty due to delayed or blocked payments.
5. Why are care and support services and care recipients most vulnerable to outages?
In the care and social services sector, timely payments are indispensable due to their direct impact on daily operations and individual wellbeing. When payments are delayed, carers can be left without their due wages, essential services risk discontinuation, and families often find themselves forced to personally shoulder financial burdens. These delays have the potential to interrupt or completely stop care provision, posing significant risks to vulnerable individuals who rely on consistent support for their safety and independence.
The ramifications extend beyond mere financial inconvenience — they influence livelihoods and the stability of care routines. To address these challenges, the sector requires a resilient payment infrastructure that is transparent and dedicated to protecting the individuals and services it underpins. It is crucial to eliminate
dependency on singular failure points by strengthening and diversifying payment solutions to ensure continuity and reliability.
6. How do councils normally manage direct payments?
Most local authorities in the UK manage direct payments using a fairly standard model. Once an individual is assessed as eligible for care funding, the council allocates a personal budget and offers the option of managing that budget directly. Funds are typically disbursed via:
- Prepaid cards issued by third-party providers like EML
- Direct bank transfers to service users or nominated representatives
- Payments to managed accounts held by a care agency or support organisation
This system is meant to give recipients and family members more control and flexibility over their care. But in practice, it often comes with serious limitations.
For example, prepaid card systems are usually centrally managed – meaning councils rely heavily on a single vendor for all disbursements, tracking, and support. If that provider experiences a failure, as EML did in July 2025, thousands of vulnerable individuals can be left without funds, and councils have little recourse.
There are also challenges around visibility and control. Local authorities must balance oversight with user autonomy, but legacy systems make it difficult to track spending in real time, set tailored controls, or respond quickly when issues arise. Many are still reliant on manual checks, delayed reconciliations, and disjointed reporting.
That is where modern platforms like Soldo offer a meaningful alternative. Unlike traditional prepaid card models, Soldo gives councils and care providers real-time visibility over spending, decentralised access for service users and carers, and automated workflows that simplify compliance. Funds can be allocated to individuals or teams instantly, with controls that reflect each user’s specific needs and permissions.
By using a platform built for resilience and flexibility, councils can protect care continuity — even when things go wrong — and make the direct payments model more secure, efficient, and future-ready.
7. Do prepaid cards frequently have outages?
Prepaid card systems, like any digital financial service, are not immune to disruption. However, not all systems are created equal – and how a platform is designed makes a significant difference in its reliability and resilience.
Many local authorities use centrally managed prepaid card platforms that handle all accounts and payments through a single provider. While this can be efficient, it also creates a single point of failure. If the provider experiences a technical issue, cyber incident, or operational breakdown, the entire network of users – including carers, personal assistants, and vulnerable individuals – may suddenly lose access to funds.
By contrast, modern systems like Soldo are built to decentralise access. Instead of relying on a single source or channel, Soldo gives councils and care organisations the ability to allocate funds across multiple wallets, cards, and teams – each with individual controls and real-time visibility. This not only reduces the impact of any one system issue but also gives finance teams greater flexibility in how funds are managed.
In short, prepaid cards themselves are not the problem. The issue lies in the infrastructure behind them. Choosing a platform that prioritises resilience, decentralisation, and transparency is essential — particularly when lives and care depend on it.
8. Are there alternatives to EML for care payments?
Yes – there are alternatives to EML, and councils do not have to rely on a single provider to manage such critical payments.
One trusted alternative is Soldo. Unlike traditional prepaid card systems, Soldo offers a platform that combines real-time control, decentralised access, and built-in governance – all designed to meet the demands of care environments.
With Soldo, funds can be allocated instantly to individual carers, personal assistants, or service users. Councils and care organisations retain full oversight, with the ability to monitor spend in real time, set spending limits, and automate top-ups or approvals. This reduces the risk of disruption and makes the system more responsive to people’s day-to-day needs.
Importantly, Soldo’s infrastructure avoids the central bottlenecks that have caused issues in legacy systems like EML. By spreading access and control across teams and users, Soldo helps to maintain continuity – even when individual components fail.
In care, where delayed payments can directly affect someone’s safety, support, or income, a more resilient and transparent system is not just preferable – it is essential. Soldo is designed with this reality in mind.
9. What features should I look for in a better prepaid card system?
If you are responsible for managing care payments – whether as a local authority, agency, or individual – choosing the right prepaid card system is critical. The right platform can simplify admin, reduce risk, and protect those who rely on timely, reliable access to funds.
Here are the key features to look for:
- Real-time fund disbursement
Funds should be available instantly, not in hours or days. This is especially important in care settings, where unexpected needs can arise at short notice. - Role-based card access
The ability to assign cards to individuals or teams – with permissions tailored by role – helps ensure that everyone has what they need to do their job, without compromising security. - Transparent approval workflows
A good system should allow for easy, auditable approval flows. Requests for funds or top-ups should be tracked, approved, and recorded – without resorting to manual workarounds. - Granular spend controls
Look for tools that let you define what can be spent, where, and by whom. Pre-spend rules, merchant restrictions, and time-based limits can all help reduce risk and misuse. - Real-time visibility of spend
You should be able to see what is being spent, as it happens. That includes card activity, wallet balances, and flagged transactions – all in a single, accessible platform. - Automated reconciliation and reporting
Integrations with accounting tools and automatic receipt matching can remove the need for time-consuming end-of-month reconciliation. - Flexible wallet structure
The ability to ringfence funds by person, location, or project ensures accountability and simplifies budget tracking — particularly across multiple facilities or teams. - Strong uptime and system resilience
Finally, reliability matters. Choose a provider with a track record of uptime and infrastructure that avoids single points of failure – so care never gets held up by a technical issue.
Rethink how you manage care payments
Avoid the disruption caused by system failures. Discover how Soldo helps local authorities and care organisations allocate and monitor funds with greater speed, security, and control.
