EML Payments has been forced to “remove” European clients to meet growth restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of Ireland.

In its latest update on a regulatory issue that has dogged the company most of this year, EML said the CBI will permit its European subsidiary PFS Card Services (Ireland) Ltd to sign new customers and launch new programs, but it must stay within material growth restrictions.

The growth restriction applies to total payment volumes over a 12-month period. It may be rescinded earlier following third party verification that PFS Card Services has effectively implemented a remediation plan.

EML said it has been removing “higher volume, lower yielding programs” to enable it to comply with the growth restrictions. It said its remediation plan is on track.

It did not specify the number of clients it has offloaded or quantify the CBI’s restriction.

EML acquired UK/Irish company Prepaid Financial Services early last year. PFS is a provider of white label payments and banking-as-a-service technology. Its customers include financial institutions, non-financial corporates, fintechs and public sector organisations in 24 countries.

In May, the CBI wrote to PFS, to raise concerns about the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing within the business, as well as concerns about the company’s risk management framework and governance.

EML said the issue with the CBI does not have any impact on EML’s Australian or North American businesses, or PFS’s UK business, which is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, or other European businesses.