Binance Visa debit card service will shut down in the European Economic Area (EEA) on December 20, according to an announcement from the cryptocurrency exchange on October 20. User accounts on the Binance exchange will not be affected.
According to the announcement made online to customers, the card issuer for Binance, Finansinės paslaugos “Contis” – or Contis Financial Services – will cease card issuance. Contis is a Lithuanian cryptocurrency and currency exchange operator owned by the German Solaris Group banking service platform, operating in 30 European countries.
The Binance Visa debit card converted cryptocurrency in users’ Binance accounts into local currency, allowing them to use cryptocurrency for in-store and online purchases. The EEA includes all 27 European Union member countries, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
The Binance Visa debit card was introduced to the EEA in September 2020. At that time, there were plans to introduce the Binance card in Russia and possibly the United States. A spokesperson from Binance said in a statement:
“While Binance users from around the world have greatly enjoyed using the Binance Visa debit card to make everyday payments with their crypto assets, only about 1% of our users are affected by this change.”
The closure of the Binance Visa service is the latest setback for Binance. The announcement to end the Binance Visa debit card service came one day after the exchange resumed euro deposits and withdrawals, which had been unavailable for a month after payment processor Paysafe stopped trading. Binance still does not accept new users in the United Kingdom due to the loss of a third-party service provider.