Binance financial services took another hit, this time in Latin America and the Middle East.
Binance, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, announced its Binance card will no longer be available in Latin America and the Middle East.
The crypto debit card, issued by the company itself, will no longer be serviced from September 21st, 2023.
Did you know?
Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?
Subscribe - We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!
What is Polygon in Crypto? (Animated Explainer)
The announcement came in the form of a tweet from customer support on August 24th, with no additional confirmation from Binance itself. The Binance card was a popular way to pay for expenses on the platform.
The Binance card already has limited availability, with a focus primarily on European countries. Currently, the card is being issued according to a waiting list.
The message on Twitter stated that only 1% of users in the aforementioned markets will be impacted by the discontinuation of the service.
The crypto-only card was first announced in 2020, and in 2022, there were still plans to launch it in some Latin American countries.
The Binance card works like many debit cards, meaning you can only use the crypto you already own (without going into credit). It also automatically converts crypto into fiat. However, despite the ever-increasing acceptability of crypto as a payment method, using a crypto-only card is limited to select vendors.
Additionally, the tweet explained that this issue only affects the card, not the accounts or other Binance features.
Where available, users can also shop with crypto and send crypto using Binance Pay, a contactless, borderless and secure cryptocurrency payment technology designed by Binance.
Despite discontinuing the support for the physical card, Binance retains a digital payment option that functions largely similarly to the crypto card.
However, the news came at a challenging time for Binance. Earlier this month, the company announced the closure of Binance Connect, a regulated buy-and-sell crypto service.
