Ukrainian crypto users who relied on Binance to move
funds straight from exchange to bank cards now face a sudden gap in their
withdrawal toolkit.
The platform has reportedly paused direct fiat payouts to Visa
and Mastercard for affected customers, turning a technical change in payment
partners into a new test of how resilient crypto off‑ramps really are under
tightening regulation, local media outlet Minfin reported.
Binance notified Ukrainian users that it suspended
withdrawals to Visa and Mastercard bank cards, with the pause tied to changes
at its fiat provider Bifinity UAB. The exchange said the update applies only to users in
Ukraine who previously used Bifinity, rather than to its wider global customer
base.
Binance уточнює, що нещодавнє оголошення про зміни у способах оплати стосується виключно тих користувачів з України, які раніше користувалися послугами Bifinity.Сервіс ZEN для українських користувачів тимчасово недоступний і відновить роботу з 6 січня. Зміни в роботі сервісу… pic.twitter.com/4bPRftCBnH
— Binance Ukraine (@BinanceUkraine) December 30, 2025
What Exactly Has Changed
The pause affects several automated features around
fiat flows. Local reports say recurring crypto purchases and existing
fiat‑based limit buy orders will not execute during the suspension.
The disruption follows Binance’s December
communication that Bifinity UAB would stop providing fiat services by the end
of 2025 because of regulatory changes.
In that earlier notice, Binance said it would
transition to other regulated providers and maintained that users would still
be able to deposit, withdraw, buy, and sell crypto without interruption.
The Zen.com payment platform, often used for euro and
Polish zloty transfers, has seen its full deposit and withdrawal functionality
for these customers pushed back to an expected restart date of January 6, 2026.
Until then, users who want to move funds off the
exchange must route transactions through Swift or rely on peer‑to‑peer trades
where local rules allow.
What Still Works for Ukrainians
Despite the pause on card withdrawals, Binance
continues to support several key on‑ramp options in Ukraine. Users can still
top up accounts and buy crypto with Visa and Mastercard for incoming payments,
even though they cannot send funds back out to those same cards.
Digital wallets remain part of the toolkit. Apple Pay
and Google Pay stay available for account funding, and Swift transfers still
handle both deposits and withdrawals, preserving a bank‑linked channel for
fiat.
A recent Financial Times investigation, based on
leaked internal data, reported that 13 linked accounts processed about 1.7
billion dollars in transactions from 2021, including roughly 144 million
dollars after Binance’s 4.3 billion dollar criminal settlement with United
States authorities in November 2023.
Those accounts reportedly showed red flags, including
alleged ties to networks later accused of moving money for sanctioned actors,
and unusual login patterns.
This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
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