Binance discontinues EEA debit card services by December 20, 2023, citing regulatory challenges; user accounts unaffected.
On December 20, 2023, Binance plans to discontinue its debit card services within the European Economic Area (EEA). The official notification from yesterday (Friday) stated that Binance accounts will not be impacted by this action.
The action, which reflects a wider trend in the bitcoin business, is taken as the cryptocurrency exchange struggles with regulatory pressure and obstacles. The Binance Visa Debit Cards will no longer be issued by the card issuer, Contis Financial Services. The Solaris Group owns Contis, an electronic money institution and currency exchanger.
Binance said, “Your Binance accounts are not affected.” “Holders of the Binance Visa Debit Card issued under the EEA programme will have until December 20, 2023, 00:00 (UTC+0) to use their cards, after which card purchases will no longer be possible.”
Binance Suggests Using Some Other Service
Although Binance’s Card services in the European Economic Area are coming to an end, the leading cryptocurrency exchange has pledged to offer its users an alternate option. In a statement, Binance suggested that its users use the cryptocurrency payment technology Binance Pay to make purchases at the approved merchants.
2020 saw the EEA receive the Binance Visa Debit Card thanks to Binance. Users can convert and use their digital assets at more than 60 million places across the globe. All 27 members of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, are included in the EEA. Even with its broad use, Binance pointed out that just about 1% of its users will be impacted.
Handling Regulatory Inspection
This choice was made in the wake of several setbacks for both Binance and Binance.US, its US partner. US users could only withdraw dollars by converting fiat money into stablecoin, according to a recent announcement from Binance.US. The platform announced a halt of withdrawals in June and stopped accepting deposits made in US dollars.
With a cryptocurrency twist, the Binance Visa Debit Card functions similarly to a traditional debit card. Users can keep digital assets like BTC, BNB, and BUSD with it. Within Binance’s accounts, the card is connected to a card wallet. Through this connection, customers can add more money to their spot wallet.
Instant purchases are made possible with the Binance Visa Debit Card by converting cryptocurrency funds into local currency. This service was discontinued after Binance reinstated euro withdrawals and deposits, which had been suspended for a month because Paysafe had left the company.
