Binance has stopped Ukrainian users who used Bifinity services from withdrawing money from Visa and Mastercard accounts. The company says this is because of changes related to changes in regulations.
A notification emailed to consumers this week said that Binance has stopped card-based withdrawals for users in Ukraine.
Several local Ukrainian news agencies reported that the modifications went into effect on Monday. They include the temporary stop of direct withdrawals to Visa and Mastercard bank cards.
On December 15, Binance told its users that Bifinity UAB, its fiat payment provider, would discontinue offering services at the end of the month because of changes in the law. The exchange claimed at the time that the change might disrupt some fiat on- and off-ramp payment methods, but customers would still be able to deposit, withdraw, buy, and trade crypto without any problems.
More changes for people in Ukraine
Ukrainian news sources say that Binance has also notified users that during the suspension time, they won’t be able to make recurring crypto purchases or process existing fiat-based limit buy orders.
Still, most of the key fiat on-ramp features are still there. Visa and Mastercard can still be used by Ukrainian customers to deposit money and buy crypto. According to a report, Apple Pay and Google Pay are still available for adding money to accounts, and Swift transfers still work for both deposits and withdrawals.
The upgrade also changes how Zen.com, a payment site that is often used for euro and Polish zloty transactions, is available. Binance claimed that Ukrainian users will be able to fully deposit and withdraw money from Zen again on January 6, 2026. Until then, people who want to shift money off the exchange may have to employ Swift transfers or other methods like peer-to-peer trading, assuming that’s allowed.
Binance is being looked at again
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Binance let a group of accounts that might be suspect keep moving crypto cash even after promising to enhance controls as part of its $4.3 billion US criminal settlement in 2023. This has led to more scrutiny of the exchange.
The study indicated that 13 connected accounts had handled over $1.7 billion in transactions since 2021, including about $144 million after Binance entered its plea bargain in November 2023. These transactions involved users from a number of high-risk areas.