Binance Halts Its Crypto Debt Card in Middle East, Latin America

World’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance suspended its crypto debit card services in Latin America and the Middle East from August 25.

These debit cards functioned like regular debit cards, except cryptocurrency assets funded them. The suspension is expected to last until September 21, following which the services in these regions will be terminated. However, users can still process refunds and disputes until December 20, 2023.

Recently, a user on X (formerly Twitter) inquired about issues with crypto debit cards in Colombia. Binance responded to the query by announcing that debit card services will be suspended starting August 25.

However, they did not clarify what led to the decision. Binance announced its plan for crypto-backed debit cards in April 2020 to enter the global payment market. By July 2020, the crypto debit cards were being shipped to European countries and other parts of the world.

Later, the crypto exchange partnered with payment processor Swipe to offer crypto debit cards in the United States. Binance claims that only less than 1% of users in the affected markets will be impacted by this decision.

In a statement, Binance said: “This recent announcement follows a concerted effort by the crypto exchange to refocus its core products. A similar decision was reached by the crypto exchange when it pulled support for another of its crypto payments services, Binance Connect. The service, rolled out last year, was designed to allow companies in the traditional market to adopt crypto payments for their services.”

Recently, Binance has collaborated with crypto startup MoonPay following the termination of ties between U.S. banks and the crypto exchange. The partnership with MoonPay enables Binance.US customers to easily convert their fiat currencies to USDT.