Binance Users Shut Off From UK Faster Payments Network

Binance customers using U.K.-based payment system Faster Payments have been locked out, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

The news comes just three days after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned the cryptocurrency exchange from operating in Britain.

Binance said Monday (June 28) that the ability to withdraw and deposit pounds using the platform via Faster Payments had been “suspended for maintenance,” according to FT.

Faster Payments is used as a major service for fast payment processing. As Faster Payments is considered a fundamental way for the movement of traditional currencies to and from the exchange, a lack of access to the service could be bad for Binance, FT reported. The company said U.K. customers still have the ability to move money with bank cards.

Binance’s regulated U.K. affiliate took back its application for a registered crypto exchange last month, following several discussions with the FCA, according to FT. The regulator looks to block money laundering or terrorist financing. But Binance said over the weekend that its talks with the FCA had “no direct impact” on its services.

No other entity in the Binance Group currently holds any form of U.K. authorization, registration or license to conduct regulated activity, PYMNTS reported this week, citing an FCA report.

Binance has been under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the IRS after an attempt by both to put a mostly unregulated market in order. Binance, as well as the larger crypto market in which it operates, hasn’t had a wealth of regulatory oversight. But as crypto becomes more mainstream, that could change.

“We have worked hard to build a robust compliance program that incorporates anti-money laundering principles and tools used by financial institutions to detect and address suspicious activity,” spokesperson Jessica Jung said in May.