3 Minutes to Read (Adds Faster Payments comment) (Reuters) – LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) – Customers of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange reported they were unable to deposit or withdraw pound from the platform on Tuesday, just days after British officials cracked down on some of the exchange’s operations in the nation. Last week, the UK’s financial watchdog ruled Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, could not perform any regulated activity and issued a consumer warning about the platform. The move, according to Binance, will have no effect on the services supplied by its main site, Binance.com, which may still be accessible by UK-based customers despite the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision (FCA). Users on Twitter, however, reported that they were unable to withdraw or deposit pounds at the exchange, using either the Faster Payments network or bank cards. According to some, a “down for maintenance” notification flashed. Others complained that Binance had provided no additional information. Faster Payments, which is controlled by Pay.UK and manages the clearing and settlement of UK automated payments and checks, allows payments between British bank accounts by mobile, internet, and other means. “All direct and indirect participants in Pay.UK are required to do proper due diligence on their clients. The FCA ruling has not affected the fact that Binance has never been a direct or indirect participant in the Faster Payment System “According to a Pay.UK spokesman. He went on to say that “any modification in Binance’s access to the service was made separately.” A request for comment from Binance was not returned. “I tried to withdraw Fiat (sterling money), but it’s been stopped and all it says is that it’s under repair. When Binance performs maintenance, they usually notify their users via social media “On the condition of anonymity, a Twitter user informed Reuters. “There was no explanation or anything. Frustrating.” Others tagged Binance Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao, claiming that the situation had not been resolved. “@cz binance Why aren’t you addressing withdrawals for Binance customers in the United Kingdom? “Peter Englefield, a country DJ from Leeds, Northern England, was curious. Binance, which is being scrutinized by regulators throughout the world, provides services ranging from digital token trading to derivatives, as well as cutting-edge technologies like tokenized copies of stocks. Separately, a representative for Britain’s Natwest Group told Reuters on Tuesday that the daily amount users can send to cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, has been capped due to worries about investment schemes and fraud. (Tom Wilson contributed reporting; Rachel Armstrong and Edmund Blair edited the piece.) Continue reading
