Prominent cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced plans to halt its crypto debit card services in Latin America and the Middle East from September 21, 2023.
This development was revealed on August 24 in response to the exchange’s customer support to a client who enquired about issues regarding using the Binance card in the Republic of Colombia.
Binance’s Crypto Card Withdrawal, Another Strategic Move?
Like regular debit cards, the Binance Card is designed to make daily purchases and transactions, albeit funded by cryptocurrency rather than traditional fiat currencies.
The Binance Card was first introduced in April 2020 to drive crypto adoption further on the global stage. The exchange claims its crypto card service is active in 35 countries, and over 90 million merchants accept it.
Hello there,
The Binance Card will no longer be available to users in Latin America and the Middle East. The product, like most debit cards, has been utilized by Binance’s users to pay for basic daily expenses but in this case, the cards are funded with crypto assets. Only a tiny…— Binance Customer Support (@BinanceHelpDesk) August 23, 2023
However, according to the post by the Binance Help Desk on Thursday, the exchange expressed that its latest decision would produce minor effects on its markets in South America and the Middle East, claiming that less than 1% of its customers use its crypto debit card.
For now, Binance has yet to provide a specific reason for the decision to abolish its debit card services in the specified regions. In addition, the exchange has stated that all user accounts will still function normally, nudging affected users to embrace another of its payment platforms – Binance Pay.
Interestingly, this latest move follows other controversial organizational changes by the world’s largest exchange.
Earlier in August, the Seycheslles-based company shut down the Binance Connect service, a one-stop regulated crypto on-ramp platform, due to the termination of the platform’s supporting card services.
However, reports also stated that the exchange decided to enhance its focus on its primary operations. On August 22, Bloomberg reported that Binance.US had partnered with MoonPay, a payment startup, to resolve its payment issues in the United States, having encountered problems with several bank partners.
More Changes From Binance
Binance has also announced another development, albeit about its trading platform. According to a blog post on Thursday, the exchange is terminating the zero-fee Bitcoin trading initiative for the BTC/TUSD spot and margin trading pair.
Binance intends to introduce takers fees for customers that engage with the BTC/TUSD trading pair; however, maker fees will remain valued at zero. Starting September 7, traders must pay a taker fee based on their VIP tier level.
In calculating the VIP tier level of each user, several factors will be involved, including the corresponding trading volume in the BTC/TUSD trading pair, BNB discounts, referral rebates, and other fee changes.
Total crypto market cap valued at $1.031 trillion on the weekly chart | Source: TOTAL chart on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Reuters, chart from Tradingview.