Barclays Stops Binance Payments to Protect their Clients' Money

According to the Financial Times, UK bank Barclays has informed its clients that they are stopped from sending payments to cryptocurrency exchange Binance to “protect their money.”

Barclays Stops Clients’ Payments to Binance

“Because you paid Binance this year, we wanted to let you aware that we are stopping credit/debit card payments to them until further notice. This is to protect your money,” according to a notice given to Barclays clients.

The action follows a crackdown on Binance by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA issued a consumer warning last month against Binance Markets Limited, a firm bought by Binance to support the launch of a custom UK cryptocurrency exchange.

The FCA stated that, while it cannot prohibit Binance, it has done everything it can to secure consumers by preventing Binance Markets Limited from performing “regulated activities” in the UK.

Binance’s Problems With Compliance

In recent months, the crypto exchange has encountered a variety of regulatory compliance challenges.

According to the Financial Times, an executive at a payments company that assisted Binance in connecting to the larger financial market stated that the crypto exchange “talks a big game on anti-money laundering and know-your-customer” rules, but is “resistant to throwing human resources at compliance issues.”

FCA’s Concern Towards Company’s Approach To Money Laundering

The FCA was also worried about the company’s attitude to the regulations on money laundering. The Regulator “clearly has problems with standards in that sector,” an FCA spokesman said.

In recent months, the FCA has joined an already extensive list of regulators who take a critical position regarding Binance. These include the Malaysian, Thai, and Japanese authorities.

A week ago, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority declared Binance could not operate as a “crypto exchange” from or within the Cayman Islands as “registered or licensed, regulated or otherwise permitted.”

On the other side, Binance has previously claimed that it takes “extremely seriously” its compliance duties, which it continues to call no headquarters.