Binance suspends sterling deposits and withdrawals after losing UK partner

finextra.com:

In an email to customers, Binance says it will suspend sterling deposits and withdrawals via card and Faster Payments from 22 May. The exchange says the move has been forced by Paysafe subsidiary Skrill's decision to stop offering fiat services. Less than one per cent of Binance customers are affected and those that are can still access their GBP balances. The sterling news comes shortly after Binance had to suspend all dollar bank transfers and amidst growing regulatory scrutiny of the exchange in the wake of the FTX collapse. Th US Justice Department is investigating the firm over suspected money laundering and sanctions violations while the SEC is eying its BUSD stablecoin. Binance says it is working to find an alternative to Paysafe but a partner could be hard to come by. In 2021, the exchange lost access to Faster Payments after the FCA ordered it to stop regulated activities in the UK. The following year, it regained access via Paysafe but even then the FCA raised concerns about the move while conceding that is had "limited powers" to object. Now, Skrill says it has "concluded that the UK regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time".

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