Binance Connect to Shut Fiat-to-Crypto Payment Services

• Binance Connect is shutting down one of its primary services.
• The payment service provider cited a partnership technicality.
• Representatives of the parent company say they are still in business.

Binance has reportedly planned to shut down its fiat-to-crypto on-ramp subsidiary, Binance Connect. Formerly known as Bifinity, Binance Connect will be disabled today, August 16, as the company seeks to focus on core products and services.

The regulated buy-and-sell crypto provider launched back in March 2022 with the envisioned goal of helping businesses become crypto-ready via digital asset payments. Besides supporting 50 cryptocurrencies, the company offered other primary fiat payment methods, such as Visa and Mastercard.

The Exit of Card Payments Service Provider

BNB Chain-based decentralized exchange Biswap was among the first to break the news on Twitter, citing that Binance Connect is shutting down following the exit of its card payments service partner. The exchange notified its customers that Binance Connect would be turned off on its website on 15^th August at 01:00 PM UTC.

Dear Biswappers,

The Biswap team keeps abreast of the latest DeFi news and aims to inform you right away.

After a thorough consideration, @binance has made a difficult decision to disable @Binance_Connect on 15 August due to its provider closing the supporting card payments… pic.twitter.com/HcooyLn4sg

— Biswap (@Biswap_Dex) August 15, 2023

Turbulence From the Start

The move to shut down Binance Connect follows a cascade of bad news for the payment service provider since the company launched one year ago. On the same day of the launch, United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took a jab at the company’s partnership with Eqonex, terming it as a cause of concern for U.K. regulators.

FCA further warned that Binance’s U.K. subsidiary, Binance Markets Limited (BML), had demonstrated the incapability of “being effectively supervised,” adding that some of its products carried significant risks for investors.

During the same month, Binance Australia also halted fiat deposit and withdrawal services, citing technical issues with a third-party service provider. Presently, Binance is entangled in litigation with the U.S. authorities for allegedly operating an unlicensed crypto exchange in the country.

Here is the latest from Binance as the exchange eyes the bigger Asian market:

Binance Initiates Taiwan’s AML Compliance Process

Stay updated on the serious vulnerability of Binance’s wallet protocol:

Binance Acknowledges Vulnerability in Wallet Protocol: Coinbase, ZenGo Also Affected