Binance Australia’s third-party payments provider, Cuscal, alluded to the impact of “scams and scams” related to “account fraud, ID hijacking and crypto activity” after it was questioned as to why it shut down the platform on May 18.
The payments provider did not specifically address Binance exchanges or cryptocurrencies in its statement to Cointelegraph and declined to say why it was specifically withdrawing support for Binance Australia.
A spokesperson for the Sydney-based B2B financial services company told Cointelegraph that it is “focused on supporting the industry in protecting Australians from financial crime and fraud.”
“Following recent media attention regarding the impact of scams and scams in Australia with a particular focus on account fraud, identity theft and cryptocurrency activity, Cuscal reaffirms its commitment and important role in identifying and implementing detection services for our customers across the Australian payments system,” wrote the accompanying statement from Cuscal.
Binance suspends AUD fiat services in Australia.
I received this email this morning.
Very disappointing as it was one of my favorite on/off ramps.
Chokepoint is real.. pic.twitter.com/ZYiWY3aO0C
– Miles Deutscher (@milesdeutscher) May 18, 2023
It added that it “has, and will continue to, terminate any customers or their customers and/or merchants” who do not meet the onboarding and compliance requirements.
It declined to comment specifically on Binance Australia or why it had instructed its partner payments firm Zepto to “de-clutter” the exchange, saying it had “no comment on any other parties at this point.”
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On May 18, Binance Australia said its Australian dollar services had been suspended “with immediate effect,” citing a “decision made by a third-party payment service provider.”
We have confirmed with our local payment partner that our users can continue to withdraw AUD and we will update with any further timing changes as we know more. Users are still able to buy and sell via debit and credit cards. https://t.co/ReS6V7FbZu
– Binance Australia (Binance_AUS) May 18, 2023
A Zepto spokesperson told Cointelegraph at the time that it “processes payments for Binance Australia” and “our partner, Cuscal, has directed us out of Binance.”
Since then, Binance Australia has been looking for an alternative payment partner. Binance said that Zepto and Cuscal continue to support users who want to withdraw Australian dollars.
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