Binance “temporarily suspends” payments from the EU’s Sepa network

Binance said it will suspend euro bank deposits from one of Europe’s leading payment networks at the latest signal of how the cryptocurrency firm is losing key connections to the conventional financial system following a regulatory crackdown.

In an email to users on Tuesday, the stock exchange said that as of 8 a.m., Wednesday’s coordinated universal time, customers would no longer be able to deposit funds through the single-euro payments area (Sepa). His move was due to “events beyond our control,” the exchange said.

The network, an EU project that aims to harmonize euro payments across the region, allows consumers to send euros to three dozen countries.

Binance, who normally accesses Sepa through payment intermediaries, described the move as “temporary”. But the restriction marks the last ban on customers transferring funds to the exchange of conventional banks and other types of financial accounts. There is revenue through the UK’s fastest paying network has also been disabled during the past week. Barclays, one of the region’s top lenders, said yes on Monday except customers in the UK to buy cryptocurrencies on the stock exchange using bank cards.

According to the Binance website, they can still be withdrawn through separate and faster payments. The European Payments Council, headed by Sepa, could not be contacted immediately.

Clear Junction, a payment processor that has provided Binance access to Faster Payments and Sepa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Regulators around the world have been cracking down on the extensive company, which this year has processed more than $ 5 billion in operations and says it has no formal headquarters.

Last month, the UK financial watchdog said Binance is not authorized to conduct a cryptocurrency asset transaction in the country, while Japan recently warned the exchange that it was conducting unauthorized cryptocurrency business with Japanese citizens. Thailand has launched a criminal investigation into the company, while in the Cayman Islands, where Binance is incorporated, it has said the group is not licensed to do cryptography business in the jurisdiction.

Binance customers have been able to circumvent the bars to deposit traditional coins by transferring their digital coins from another exchange wallet or cryptocurrency.

Binance added that users could still buy coins and assets on their credit and debit cards. He was “working hard to find a solution with our partners,” he added.

The exchange also allows customers to transfer payments in euros through a network called Sofort, widely used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Binance confirmed the authenticity of the email to customers, but declined to comment on its relationship with paying partners.