Binance has informed its retail client base of a possible incoming service outage that may stop bank payment transfers on and off the ramp.
The outage will affect users of US dollar bank accounts who are looking to buy or sell cryptocurrencies for less than $100,000 through the SWIFT payment system. The discontinuation will take effect on February 1.
Binance announced the news to its “Binances” via email on Jan. 21, emphasizing that they are now “actively seeking” a new SWIFT (USD) partner to avoid service interruptions for future bank payment transfers.
The cryptocurrency exchange added that this was the decision of the banking partner and that Binance would not be the only trading platform affected by the change:
“This is the case for all of their cryptocurrency exchange clients. Please note that until we can find an alternative solution, you may not be able to use your bank account to buy or sell USD cryptocurrencies via SWIFT with a value of less than $100,000 USD after February 1, 2023.”
However, Binance emphasized that customers would still be able to use their credit or debit card to buy or sell cryptocurrency, and that payments to or from third-party exchanges would still be processed.
The cryptocurrency exchange added that SWIFT-based transfers would remain operational for non-US dollar bank transfers, such as the euro.
Related: Binance Suspends Trader’s Account After Twitter Complaints
Binance confirmed that the change would not affect its “Corporate Accounts”.
The banking partner involved is Signature Bank, according to to a Jan. 21 report from Bloomberg. The bank set the minimum transaction limit at $100,000 in an effort to decrease its exposure to the digital asset market, Bloomberg explained.
While the discontinuation of the payment service was not Binance’s decision, the trading platform has suspended transfers of late.
Binance recently imposed a temporary suspension of Solana-based USDT and USDC deposits on Nov. 17.
While the exchange also temporarily suspended Ether (ETH) and wrapped Ether (wETH) deposits and withdrawals for about 10 days prior to the Ethereum merger.
Update at 12:50 am UTC time on January 22: Added a statement from Bloomberg.
