Binance’s EU fiat payments partner, Paysafe, will stop offering SEPA deposit services to users from September.
Much like the year 1992 for the late Queen Elizabeth, 2023 is unfolding to be Binance’s annus horribilis (Latin for ‘horrible year’). The exchange has faced heavy-handed enforcement-as-regulation tactics from the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), which accuses it of 13 charges including money laundering, misleading investors and securities laws evasions.
The exchange has announced that its EU banking partner, Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited, will pull support for the exchange after September 25.
In a June 28 email, Binance said “We are contacting you to let you know that we will be changing the provider for EUR deposits and withdrawals. Our current EUR fiat payments partner, Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited (Paysafe), will stop offering SEPA deposit services to Binance users from 25th September 2023.”
Related: Binance strikes deal with the SEC, avoids asset freeze
SEPA is an EU initiative that establishes a harmonized payment system for euro transactions. It simplifies cross-border payments within the eurozone by providing a unified set of rules and standards, making transactions smoother and more efficient.
Unlike the recent suspension of USD deposits on Binance.US, the move doesn’t entirely obliterate fiat on/off-ramps. It will only impact the EUR deposit and withdrawal functions provided by Paysafe, such as Bank Transfer (SEPA).
“No other Fiat deposit or withdrawal services will be affected at this time”, the exchange stated.
Binance added that customers will be required to “use new banking details” to make Euro deposits from September. There will be no impact for users until then.
Earlier this month, Binance.US abruptly halted USD deposits and notified customers that fiat dollar withdrawal channels could be paused as early as June 13. The latter is yet to come to fruition, with USD withdrawal requests still operating within the five-day timeframe.
The exchange however expects their US banking partners to discontinue services “in the near future” as it shifts to becoming a “crypto-only exchange”.
Read more: Binance.US suspends USD deposits as banks prepare to cut ties with the exchange
On June 17, the exchange narrowly avoided an asset freeze after reaching an agreement with the SEC.
The freeze would have “shuttered” the business, Binance stated. The exchange maintains that the entire ordeal has been unfair and unnecessary.
“This fight has damaged our business and our reputation but not our fighting spirit or our resolve to defend ourselves against unwarranted charges and ‘regulation by enforcement’ tactics that do not belong in our system of justice,” the exchange tweeted.
The Paysafe announcement comes shortly after the exchange a retreat from the U.K., Netherlands and Cyprus.
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