Binance has suspended card-based withdrawals for users in Ukraine, according to a notice sent to customers this week.
The changes took effect on Monday and include the temporary halt of direct withdrawals to bank cards issued by Visa and Mastercard, several local Ukrainian news outlets reported.
A Binance spokesperson confirmed the news to Cointelegraph, adding that the “announcement regarding changes to payment methods applies exclusively to users from Ukraine who previously used Bifinity services.”
On Dec. 15, Binance informed users that its fiat payment provider, Bifinity UAB, would stop offering services by the end of the month due to regulatory changes. At the time, the exchange explained that the change would affect some fiat on- and off-ramp payment methods, but said users’ ability to deposit, withdraw, buy, or sell crypto would continue without interruption.
Binance remains the top crypto exchange by volume. Source: CoinMarketCap
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More changes for Ukrainian users
According to the Ukrainian outlets, Binance has also told users that recurring crypto purchases and existing fiat-based limit buy orders will not be processed during the suspension period.
However, the core fiat on-ramp functionality remains largely intact. Ukrainian users can still deposit funds and buy crypto using Visa and Mastercard for incoming transactions. Apple Pay and Google Pay remain available for account top-ups, while Swift transfers continue to support both deposits and withdrawals, per the report.
“The changes are not related to the National Bank of Ukraine and do not affect P2P operations, which continue to function as usual,” the spokesperson said.
The update also affects the availability of Zen.com, a payment platform commonly used for euro and Polish zloty transactions. Binance said that Zen’s full deposit and withdrawal functionality for Ukrainian users is expected to resume on Jan. 6, 2026. Until then, users seeking to move funds off the exchange may need to rely on Swift transfers or alternative routes such as peer-to-peer trading, where permitted.
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Binance under scrutiny again
Binance has come under scrutiny again after a report by the Financial Times last week claimed the exchange allowed a group of potentially suspicious accounts to continue moving crypto funds even after agreeing to tighten controls under its $4.3 billion US criminal settlement in 2023.
The report said 13 linked accounts processed about $1.7 billion in transactions since 2021, including roughly $144 million after Binance entered its plea agreement in November 2023, involving users across several high-risk jurisdictions.
Binance rejected the report’s framing, telling Cointelegraph that all transactions were assessed based on information available at the time and that none of the wallets involved were sanctioned when the activity occurred.
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