- Binance cites “Paysafe” as it halts sterling transactions.
- The announcement affects less than 1.0% of its users.
- Binance says it’s already looking for an alternative.
Binance continues to pause deposits and withdrawals in notable currencies. On Tuesday, it suspended transactions in sterling as well – about a month after it had ceased dollar transfers.
Why did Binance pause sterling transfers
Reason cited for the halt was Paysafe – its partner for GBP transfers that paused pound transactions for new users on Monday. The service will be terminated for all users on May 22nd. According to a Paysafe spokesperson:
The U.K. regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time and so this is a prudent decision on our part taken in an abundance of caution.
Binance will continue to work with Paysafe in Europe and Latin America, though. Paysafe is yet to make an official comment on the development.
Binance is hunting for an alternative solution
Binance that currently serves over 128 million customers worldwide also confirmed today that it had already started looking for an alternative to resume sterling transactions.
Binance will ensure that affected users are still able to access their GBP balances. The change affects less than 1.0% of Binance users.
Remember that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in June of 2021, had warned consumers that Binance did not have permission to undertake regulated activity in the United Kingdom.
Binance is currently under investigation by the Justice Department for suspected violations including money laundering as well.
