In brief
- European payment processor Clear Junction said it would stop processing Binance payments.
- A number of UK banks have also placed restrictions on the world's biggest crypto exchange.
European payment processor Clear Junction today said it would stop processing transactions for the world's biggest crypto exchange, Binance.
The London-based company said on its website that the decision was made after the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), last month issued a consumer warning against Binance-owned Binance Markets Limited, which planned to launch a bespoke UK crypto exchange.
Clear Junction said that it acts in “full compliance with FCA regulations and guidance in regards to handling payments of Binance.”
“We have decided to suspend both GBP and EUR payments and will no longer be facilitating deposits or withdrawals in favour of or on behalf of the crypto trading platform,” the company said.
“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 UK.”
Last month the FCA said that Binance Markets Limited, Binance’s only registered entity in the UK, is not licensed to do business there — but clarified that UK customers can continue to use Binance.com.
Since then, a number of UK banks, including NatWest and Santander, have limited their account holders’ ability to access Binance itself or other crypto exchanges.
Binance is the world’s biggest crypto exchange. Unlike other popular exchanges, like the publicly listed San Francisco-based Coinbase, Binance has no official headquarters.
The UK’s FCA last month told Decrypt that it has concerns with this and the company’s approach to anti-money laundering standards.