Payments giant Mastercard to end crypto card partnership with Binance
Payments giant Mastercard is set to end its co-branded crypto card partnership with Binance, with four pilot programmes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain due to end on 22 September, a Mastercard spokesperson confirmed to FinTech Futures.
Mastercard to end crypto card partnership with Binance
The spokesperson adds that this timeline provides cardholders with a “wind-down period” to convert holdings in their Binance wallets, and that there is “no impact” on any other crypto programme.
Binance’s customer support team wrote on X last week: “The product, like most debit cards, has been utilised by Binance’s users to pay for basic daily expenses but in this case, the cards are funded with crypto assets.
“Only a tiny portion of our users (less than 1% of users in the markets mentioned) are impacted by this. Users of this product will have until September 21, 2023, when the card will no longer be available for use.”
The move comes after Visa also stopped issuing new co-branded cards with Binance in Europe as of July, according to a report by Bloomberg.
However, a Binance spokesperson tells FinTech Futures that “Visa did not end our partnership”.
“On 19 July, Binance paused new card applications for the EEA. This does not impact existing cardholders who can continue to use and reorder their cards.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Forbes reported that Checkout.com, a UK-based payment solutions provider, ended its alliance with Binance, its “once-largest customer”, over money laundering, sanctions and compliance concerns.
Forbes reports that Checkout.com’s CEO Guillaume Pousaz sent two letters to Binance on 9 August and 11 August, notifying the company of its decision to terminate their contract, effective 17 August.
Binance tells FinTech Futures: “As of August 16, 2023, Checkout.com is no longer servicing Binance as a payment service provider. There is no impact on our services and users can continue to use on-and off-ramps as usual.
“We do not agree with Checkout’s purported basis for termination and are considering our options for legal action.”
Binance has had to navigate a number of regulatory hurdles in recent times. The crypto exchange abruptly exited the Dutch market in June following its failure to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence in the Netherlands, while it is also facing an investigation in France.
In the same month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 13 charges against Binance Holdings and its founder Changpeng Zhao. Binance has denied the charges and also filed a protective order against the SEC this month. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed a lawsuit against Binance and Changpeng Zhao in March.
