Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a blog post published on Oct. 20 that it will stop offering its Visa debit card product in Europe.
The company said that it will no longer offer those cards in the European Economic Area (EEA) and that existing cards will not be usable after Dec. 20. The termination date is just over three years after the card’s launch date in September 2020.
This change in policy will affect users in nearly 40 supported European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland. Current reports from Bloomberg suggest that the change will affect about 1% of the company’s user base.
Binance added that the discontinuation of the card program will affect Ukrainian Refugee Crypto Cards, a program that the company launched in April 2022. This program offered a free card and a starting balance of $75 per month to verified refugees.
The termination of European card services will not eliminate all service and payment options in the area. Binance assured European users that their main accounts would not be affected. It added that users can continue to use the Binance Pay app to spend cryptocurrency at compatible merchants, although it seems that the app is not as widely accepted as the Visa cards, which were supported by 60 million merchants globally.
The company also said that cashback rewards for successful transactions will continue as normal and said that users can order replacement cards until Dec. 6.
Binance cutting services
Binance has otherwise reduced card availability outside of Europe, halting that option for customers in Latin America and the Middle East in August.
The company has reduced other services in Europe. Binance said that it would lose Paysafe as a bank transfer partner in June 2023. Binance additionally exited specific European markets entirely, including Austria, The Netherlands, and Cyprus, and withdrew its licensing applications in Germany over the past several months.
And, although the country is no longer a member of the European Union (EU), Binance has also stopped accepting users in the U.K. due to new advertising rules,
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