Image courtesy of Binance Twitter page
- Binance has continued to lose its partners, with Clear Junction, one of its key payment partners in Europe, the latest to pull out.
- The payments company cited the direction issued by the Financial Conduct Authority as the reason it withdrew its support for the embattled exchange.
Binance already had enough problems to deal with, from regulators such as the U.K’s Financial Conduct Authority and Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission cracking down on it to lawsuits from its clients. However, when it rains, it pours, and for Binance, this couldn’t be more true. In its latest blow, one of its key payment partners Clear Junction has pulled its support for the embattled exchange.
Clear Junction is a London-based payment solutions provider facilitating end-to-end regulated payment solutions. As Financial Times editor Adam Samson now reveals, the company is withdrawing its support for Binance. This is a big blow to the exchange as Clear Junction was “one of its key payment partners in Europe” according to Adam.
Clear Junction – which had been one of #Binance‘s key payments partners in Europe – says it has “decided to suspend both pound and euro payments and will no longer be facilitating deposits or withdrawals in favour of or on behalf of the crypto trading platform.” pic.twitter.com/mGQqZWIbhU
— Adam Samson (@adamsamson) July 12, 2021
A snippet of the payment company’s announcement states:
The decision has been made following the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent announcement that Binance is not permitted to undertake any regulatory activity in the U.K.
“We have decided to suspend both GBP and EUR payments and will no longer be facilitating deposits or withdrawals in favor of or on behalf of the crypto trading platform,” the company added.
Clear Junction follows other financial services giants
The ban by Clear Junction, while very impactful, comes as no surprise for Binance. Clear Junction is regulated by the FCA and as such, it was bound to cut ties to an exchange that has been booted out of the U.K. As we reported, the FCA stated that Binance Markets Limited (BML) “is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK.” BML is part of the wider Binance Group, led by Changpeng Zhao.
In a saving-face move, Binance denounced BML earlier this month.
“BML is a company incorporated in the UK and regulated by the FCA. BML is a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services via www.binance.com” it stated in a notice on its website.
However, whether BML is part of Binance or not, the damage was already done for the exchange. Financial service providers, who are regulated by the FCA, are in a rush to drop Binance.
Santander, one of the biggest banks in Europe is among the latest to drop the exchange. It follows in the footsteps of Barclays, the British banking giant which prohibited payments to Binance some time ago. The two are some of the most important financial institutions in the U.K, with over $3.7 trillion in combined assets.
Even before the FCA raised red flags on Binance, TSB Bank had already called the exchange out for laxity that allowed scams to flourish. As we reported, TSB claimed that in a one-month period earlier this year, it received a shocking 849 reports of fraud relating to Binance.
Read More: U.K bank bans crypto purchases for 5M clients, expresses fraud concerns with Binance and Kraken
Do I look more regulated already? 😂 pic.twitter.com/AGTl4erl7H
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) July 12, 2021
However, Binance’s woes are a godsend to its rivals. Julian Sawyer, the CEO of Bitstamp exchange told CNBC
We’re seeing an increase in customers in the U.K. coming to us, with no changes in marketing. I think it’s a flight to safety. If you’re told that the bank you’re with is less secure, you move the money out of the bank and move it into the next bank which is super secure.
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