The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance reported that its Australian arm is facing some issues with the banking sector as the payment provider has cut their services. As a result, Australian customers would be unable to deposit or withdraw funds from the trading platform.
The crypto exchange announced through its social media platforms that the users won’t be able to deposit Australian dollars immediately after the payment provider — Cuscal — cut access. It also reported that the withdrawals would also be cut off but didn’t mention the time frame for it.
Cuscal Cuts Access to Services
When asked about the off-boarding of Binance Australia, the third-party payments provider pointed at the potential effect of “frauds and scams” linked with the “ID takeover, account fraud, and the crypto activity.”
The spokesperson on behalf of the Cuscal didn’t elaborate on the reason it off-boarded Binance Australia. Furthermore, the company’s official statement also didn’t have anything mentioned related to Binance or any other crypto exchange.
The official statement from Cuscal regarding the matter stated that “Cuscal reaffirms its dedication and critical role in recognizing and enacting detection services throughout the Australian payments system in light of current news coverage regarding the rise of scams and fraud in Australia.”
It also stated that the company has a huge emphasis on account fraud, ID takeover, and cryptocurrency activity. The statement also said that “It has and will continue to remove clients or their customers and/or merchants if they don’t align with the onboarding and compliance requirements.
Growing Number of Legal Actions against Binance’s Australia Arm
The off-boarding by the payments service provider is the second blow to Binance in Australia in a span of a few months. It has been a forfeited financial services license in the last month due to the regulatory probe against the company.
The company has been dealing with regulatory suits and other legal issues not just in Australia, but throughout the world. Being the top crypto exchange globally, Binance has come under strict scrutiny due to the crypto crash in 2022.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, for continuing their operations when the regulator alleged an “illegitimate” exchange.
Furthermore, it has also come under a strict crackdown by the regulatory authorities in Canada. The company, in return, decided to wrap its operations and leave the country. Binance has said that Australian users can continue to perform transactions using their credit or debit cards.
Working Towards Finding an Alternative Provider
Binance has come under a lot of criticism after the users can longer use the fiat AUD service. The company in an official statement said that they are working towards offering AUD deposits and withdrawals to Australian users.
Things aren’t looking too positive for the service provider on other ends as well. As per the Australian Financial Review, the country’s second biggest retail bank, Westpac, is not letting customers perform transactions with Binance.
The bank has not given any statement or comment about its recent move. In an earlier statement, Westpac pointed out that the bank had blocked a few crypto-currency payments in a bid to reduce losses because of an increasing number of scams.
However, neither did it name any crypto exchanges nor did it provide any further details about it. As for now, Binance is looking for a payment services provider for its Australian branch.
The company has been in touch with a couple of service providers but hasn’t provided any specific details about it.