Binance suspended British Pound deposit and withdrawals for new users on March 13

Binance confirmed to CryptoSlate that it suspended the British Pounds deposit and withdrawals for new users on March 13.

In a March 14 emailed statement, a Binance spokesperson said its fiat partner for the British Pounds deposit and withdrawals, Paysafe, would no longer offer the exchanges its services from May 22.

Due to this, Binance said it suspended GBP deposits and withdrawals for new users on March 13 and would stop these services for all users by May 22.

The exchange did not provide a timeline for restarting these services. However, it stated that it would ensure affected users could still access their GBP balances.

The spokesperson said:

“This change affects less than 1% of Binance users. However, we know that these services are valued by our users and our team is working hard to find an alternative solution for them. We will share updates on this as and when we are able.”

In February, Binance said it temporarily suspended US Dollar-denominated bank transfers for its users.

Since then, U.S. financial regulators have taken over several crypto-friendly banks like Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank because of their systemic risk to the broader economic landscape.

Why is Paysafe ditching Binance?

Reuters reported that Skrill — Paysafe’s unit working directly with Binance — said the current UK regulatory environment made it challenging to offer its services to the crypto exchange. Skrill added:

“This is a prudent decision on our part taken in an abundance of caution.”

Like its U.S. counterparts, the UK authorities are working on increasing their regulations of crypto-related activities within their jurisdiction. In January, the UK parliament extensively debated the need for crypto regulations in their first parliamentary debate of the year.

Meanwhile, Binance’s operation in the country has also drawn consternation from financial regulators in the country. In 2022, UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expressed concerns about one of the exchange’s partnerships in the country.

A Paysafe spokesperson corroborated Skrill’s statement. The firm added that it would be pleased to continue working with Binance in other regions like Europe and Latin America.

(Updated with Paysafe’s comment.)