Binance Stopping Debit Card Services in Latin America, Middle East

• Binance announced its pulling support for crypto debit card services in Latin America and the Middle East.
• The crypto exchange says the withdrawal will affect less than 1% of its customers in those regions.
• The announcement adds to a growing list of similar decisions from the crypto exchange as it refocuses its main products.

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, announced today the withdrawal of its crypto debit card services from Latin America and the Middle East region. The announcement, which came via a post on its customer support page, says the card services will no longer be available to users in these regions.

Notably, customers have until September 21, 2023, before they can no longer use the card. Pending then, they can still transact and make payments using the card.

The crypto debit card service, introduced to the regions last year, was intended to improve crypto payment services. The cards, which function as normal debit cards do, allow users to utilize their crypto assets for payment and transactions.

Furthermore, the crypto exchange mentioned that the development will only affect less than 1% of their users in the region. The low numbers of cardholders indicate a possible low adoption, which could have prompted the halting of the services. However, no reason was given for the service withdrawals from these regions.

However, the post stated that customers affected by the service withdrawal can still make payments using Binance Pay – another payment option developed by Binance. Additionally, it mentioned that refunds and disputes can still be processed until December 20, 2023.

This recent announcement follows a concerted effort by the crypto exchange to refocus its core products. A similar decision was reached by the crypto exchange when it pulled support for another of its crypto payments services, Binance Connect. The service, rolled out last year, was designed to allow companies in the traditional market to adopt crypto payments for their services.

In related news, Binance announced a partnership with crypto startup MoonPay after U.S. banks severed ties with the crypto exchange. Through the partnership with MoonPay, Binance.US customers can convert their fiat currencies to USDT.