Mastercard Cancels Crypto Card Partnership with Binance
- Mastercard noted that the decision to stop offering crypto cards with Binance does not affect its other crypto endeavors.
- Checkout.com recently ended its partnership with Binance due to concerns about the exchange’s relationship with regulators.
- Binance announced on Thursday that it was ending its crypto-debit card service in Brazil, Argentina, and the Middle East.
Payment company Mastercard has terminated its crypto card partnership with crypto exchange Binance. Mastercard’s senior vice president of communications, Seth Eisen, announced that the company will stop offering crypto cards starting September 22 in Bahrain and Latin America. Some of the affected Latin American nations include Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina.
Mastercard said the announcement will give cardholders “a wind-down period to convert any holdings in their Binance wallet.” A spokesperson for the company added that the decision to end its partnership with Binance does affect its other crypto card programs and has “no impact on our wider commitment to enabling and securing digital assets, which we continue to support.”
Mastercard has increased its footprint in the crypto industry over the past few years. The payment service provider began allowing banks or merchants to provide cryptocurrency services in October 2021. Last year, Mastercard enabled banks to offer crypto trading and also launched a service allowing them to evaluate the risk of crimes caused by crypto merchants.
Mastercard’s decision to end its partnership with Binance reflects how traditional financial institutions are becoming less willing to cooperate with the exchange as it comes under close regulatory scrutiny and faces widespread concerns over its operations.
Binance and Mastercard collaborated to introduce a Bitcoin rewards card in Argentina last August. However, Binance announced on Thursday, August 24, that it was ending its crypto cards service in Latin America and the Middle East.
Interestingly, Mastercard is not the only card provider to end a partnership with Binance. The crypto exchange has also lost its partnership with Visa. Visa stopped providing co-branded cards with Binance in July.
Binance’s poor relationship with regulators has been cited as one of the reasons for its recent difficulties. For example, Checkout.com recently ended its partnership with Binance, citing “reports of regulators actions and orders in relevant jurisdictions” and concerns over Binance’s “anti-money laundering, sanctions, and compliance controls.”
In addition, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao with commingling billions of dollars in customer funds with Binance’s money. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission also sued Binance for not properly registering its services.
Furthermore, recent reports claim that the US Department of Justice is investigating Binance for allowing Russian users to access its platform and evade Western sanctions.
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