Binance will shut down the European Visa Debit Card in December.
Binance Visa debit card services will be closed on December 20 in the European Economic Area (EEA), according to the announcement of the cryptocurrency exchange on October 20, Binance exchange accounts will not be affected.
According to a message posted online to customers, Binance's card issuer, Financiens Paslaugos “Contis” – or Contis Financial Services – will stop issuing the card. Kontis is a Lithuanian electronic money institution and exchange operator owned by the German bank-as-a-service platform Solaris Group, operating in 30 European countries.
The Binance Visa Debit Card allows users to convert crypto in their Binance accounts into local currency and use crypto to pay for purchases in stores and online. The EEA consists of all 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
And the #Binance Visa Debit Card is here!
First Paysafe offers euros on boarding, now Contis offers its debit card, what's next? pic.twitter.com/e7EF7G7CVN
— Michael ⚡️S⚡️ (@M_afirmed) October 20, 2023
The Binance Visa Debit Card was launched in the EEA in September 2020. At that time, there were plans to introduce Binance Cards, possibly in Russia and the United States as well. In a statement to Cointelegraph, a Binance spokesperson said:
Although Binance users from all over the world enjoy using it. [the Binance Visa debit] Card to make everyday payments with crypto assets, only 1% of our users are affected by this change.
The shutdown of Binance's Visa service is the latest in a series of setbacks for Binance. The end of Binance Visa card service was announced a day after the exchange returned euro deposits and withdrawals, which had been absent for a month after payment processor Paysafe suspended the exchange. Binance is still not onboarding new users in the UK due to the loss of a third-party service provider.
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Binance.US has suspended US dollar deposits in June and warned that withdrawals will also be suspended. It has partnered with MoonPay to allow US users to buy Tether (USDT) on the exchange. It announced earlier this week that US customers will be able to withdraw dollars from their accounts by converting fiat into a stable coin.
MasterCard completed its partnership with Binance in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain in September. At the time, regulatory oversight was suggested as the motivation for the divorce.
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