Unless Binance finds a new payment processor for British pound transactions by May 22, the most popular crypto exchange worldwide will be forced to suspend such transactions on its platform.
In an email sent to Binance customers yesterday, the company explained that soon they would not be able to deposit or withdraw the British pound because Skrill Limited, a payment processor that partnered with Binance to facilitate these transactions, would no longer support the currency.
A Binance spokesperson also revealed that no new users of the exchange would be able to open an account with British pound deposits going forward. However, they said current clients can still access their British pound balances.
According to Binance, the change only affects 1% of its users. But the exchange acknowledges how much these users value the service, so it is exploring an alternative solution for them and has promised to share updates on the matters soon.
Binance’s On-and-Off Relationship With British Pound
Binance first launched British pound trading pairs in 2020, a few weeks before rolling out its United Kingdom-based exchange. At that time, users in the UK could easily convert fiat to any crypto on Binance via Binance Jersey, a trading platform based on an island between France and England.
However, in July 2021, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority demanded Binance’s British entity suspend its activities in the country.
Until March 2022, British citizens could not use pounds to fund their trading accounts. The following month, Binance partnered with PaySafe’s Skrill to reintroduce British pound transactions.
But it looks like the partnership is coming to an end soon. A Skrill representative said the company found the United Kingdom regulatory framework regarding crypto too challenging. Therefore, it cannot continue facilitating British pound transactions for Binance users.
It remains to be seen which payment processing company Binance is going to partner with next.
Skrill’s Owner Posts Increased Transactions
PaySafe, the parent company of Skrill, reported its fourth-quarter earnings last week, noting that it had processed payments worth $135 billion in 2022, representing an increase of 7% from 2021.